Not just Poco F1, none of Xiaomi phones suppport Netflix & Amazon Prime HD streaming: Know why

The Xiaomi Poco F1 is the latest smartphone from the Xiaomi's sub smartphone brand Poco, running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC. Do note that the Poco F1 is the most affordable Android smartphone based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, which retails in India at a price of Rs 20,999 for the base variant.

We recently made a story on the Widevine L1, L2, and L3 certifications and their application, and how the certification will enable smartphones to stream HD, FHD, and 4K content on various streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix. There was a tremendous amount of backlash when people got to know that the OnePlus 5T does not support HD streaming on the premium video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Soon after the news became viral, the company (OnePlus) did come up with a resolution, where the brand updated the smartphone (one has to submit the device to service centres to support and via software update) Widevine L1 certifications.

And now, coming back to the Poco F1, the first smartphone from Poco also lacks Widevine l1 certification, where the smartphone can only stream up to a maximum resolution of 560p, even though the phone has an FHD+ display with a powerful chipset. Not just the Poco F1, none of the Xiaomi smartphones have Widevine L1 certification. Even the smartphones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 8, Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s does not support HD streaming as well. Do note that, even the Xiaomi Mi A2 (Android One device) does not have Widevine L1 certification.

Why do Xiaomi phones not have Widevine L1 certification?

Xiaomi has to submit the devices to Google to obtain Widevine L1 certification (free of cost), and Xiaomi has not received the same, which is causing the issue. However, OnePlus did roll out a software update for OnePlus 5 and the OnePlus 5T to enabled Widevine L1 certification. Xiaomi might do the same, but, to enable Widevine L1 certification, the device should have device-unique secret key in the TrustZone. As of now, there is no information on that aspect.

Xiaomi might fix this issue with a software update, as watching a 560p video on a 1080p panel (at least on the Mi A2, Redmi Note 5 Pro, and the Poco F1) is not the best experience. We will try to contact Xiaomi/Poco officials to get an update on the same.