The next significant market where people are making large investments is TV, which comes after smartphones. While Smart TVs are progressively gaining control, the TV Box and Stick market is expanding steadily as a result of the push from ISPs. A trend first started off by Airtel then followed by Jio. We now have the Fastway+ Ultra 4K Android TV Box from Net+ Broadband in for review.
The Fastway+ Ultra 4K Android TV Box runs Android TV OS, supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, and delivers content at 4K 60fps. The company offers monthly rental options beginning at INR 699 that include the TV Box and a Net+ Broadband connection. We have been using the Fastway+ Ultra 4K Android TV Box for a little over two weeks, and it has held up its ground firmly.
Key Specifications
- Operating System: Android TV OS
- Resolution:4K 60fps, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
- Ports: HDMI 2.1 out, HDMI2.1
- RAM/storage:2GB/8GB
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
Box Contents
- Fastway+ Ultra 4K Android TV Box
- HDMI extender
- microUSB cable
- Power Adapter
- Voice Remote
- AAA batteries
- Documentation
Design
The Fastway+ Ultra 4K Android TV Box is made entirely of high-quality plastic and has a standard rectangular shape in a single matte black colour. The ports have been moved to the rear, leaving the front of the box relatively uncluttered with just the Fastway+ logo and status LEDs. The design has a significant number of tightly woven heat decimation features, which is crucial for modern streaming devices.
The TV Box has a Bluetooth remote with a complete number pad, a D-pad, Home, Back, and Volume keys. It also features specialised buttons for the top OTT providers. The remote also has a voice feature, using which you can summon the Google Assistant.
Software
The Fastway+ Ultra 4K Android TV Box comes with standard Android TV OS that has been slightly tweaked by the ODM and includes some Fastway+ references. This TV Box still has the old UI, although we would have liked the new Google TV interface. The UI has large thumbnails, neatly laid out menus and a decent recommendation engine.
Since the product is launched locally in India, we get the option to load content from Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, MX Player, YouTube, Prime Video, and Apple TV. As of writing this review the software on the TV Box was up-to-date and we hope that stays the same.
Performance
The Fastway+ Ultra 4K Android TV Box packs in the latest Amlogic Quad-core CPU with a powerful Mali-G31 MP2 GPU ideal for casual gaming. The unit comes with 2GB of RAM and just 8GB of internal storage. While the RAM is barely sufficient for smooth experience, the storage is certainly on the lower end.
The UI feels snappy and responsive for the most part barring some occasional hiccups. The TV box is able to output at 4K resolution, as is evident in the product name. The TV box gets support for HDR10+ along with Dolby Vision on the video side and Dolby Audio for an immersive experience. We did notice some heating issues on the box, that is perfectly normal for size of the hardware.
We did not encounter any severe problems with the streaming box throughout our brief use. The opening times for the apps were remarkably quick, and practically all of the big OTT providers consistently delivered content at 4K resolution. The setup could have some issues, but overall it can give a seamless experience.
