Redmi Fire TV was recently announced as an affordable smart TV running Amazon’s FireOS interface. In the last five years, ever since Xiaomi entered the Indian smart TV space, the company has been rolling out a host of value-for-money products. I was quite impressed with the Redmi Smart TV X 43 (Review) launch in 2021 for under Rs 25,000. However, the Redmi Fire TV is an even more budget-friendly option with a price tag of Rs 13,999. The device is the first FireOS-powered TV under Redmi’s belt and naturally it caught my attention. Can Redmi Fire TV live up to its expectations? Let’s know in this review.
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- From a design point of view, the Redmi Fire TV has been built to maximize the screen real estate. Apart from the bottom chin, which houses the Redmi and FireTV branding, the bezels on all three sides are quite thin. The build quality of the Redmi Fire TV is on par with other TVs under Rs 15,000. It features a plastic unibody construction that isn’t as sturdy as some of the more expensive offerings on the market, though it’s still durable enough to withstand normal use. Because of its relatively small 32-inch size, the Fire TV is easy to move around should you want to reposition it inside your home. To that end, the TV can either be mounted on your wall or placed on two stands that screw into the bottom.
- The device isn’t very thick, measuring around 8cm at its widest, and weighs around 5kg. All the I/O options on the TV are on the back and you get a pretty decent selection of ports. There are two USB 2.0 slots, along with an RJ45 Ethernet jack and two HDMI ports. Beyond that, you also get a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, AV input and, if you’re still connected to a cable network, an antenna port. I like that all these ports are arranged vertically side by side which makes it easy for cable management.
- The display quality is not the best on the TV but it is a budget TV after all. For all intents and purposes, the Redmi Fire TV offers a decent viewing experience through its HD (1,366 x 768) LCD panel. It has a refresh rate of 60Hz and uses Redmi’s Vivid Picture Engine to display content. The screen is quite bright and can show up to 16 million colours, while not having HDR support. I did notice that the output is a bit saturated but that’s to my liking. For audio purposes, the viewing is competently supported by the 20W stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos.
- FireOS 7, as the main software interface, is the driving force behind the Redmi Fire TV. Both Redmi and Xiaomi implement Android TV as well as the custom PatchWall platform on their TVs in common, so this is new territory for the company. Essentially Amazon’s Fire TV Stick interface is built within the TV allowing users to access over 12,000 apps as well as multiple streaming services and their content. It is a utilitarian approach that makes it easier for consumers to browse through the various movie and TV series options than PatchWall.
- Performance is handled by the quad-core Cortex A35 CPU and 1GB of RAM, and the UI feels a bit sluggish at times. 8GB of storage has been provided to store apps and media files. There is no Chromecast option available on the device and the only way to wirelessly cast your smartphone screen to the Fire TV is through Apple AirPlay and Miracast. I like that the smart TV has dual-channel Wi-Fi connectivity, which means it can use the high-speed 5GHz band. Lastly, there’s also Bluetooth 5.0 if you want to connect some wireless audio peripherals to the TV.
- The remote is sleek and not overdone with buttons, placing only the things that will be immediately useful to the user. These include keys to directly launch Netflix, Amazon Prime, Prime Music, and the App Store. Apart from this, there are also standard back, home and settings buttons. On top of that, you also have the Alexa Launcher for voice recognition.
Decision
The Redmi Fire TV is a value-for-money proposition in more ways than one. Of course, expectations should be tempered when it comes to smart TVs under Rs 13,999. Nevertheless, you are getting best-in-segment features including a decent UI, decent speakers, and dual-channel Wi-Fi connectivity. The performance might feel a little slow when switching between apps but at this price it is a compromise. The Redmi Fire TV gets my recommendation as a serious contender in the budget smart TV space.
Editor’s rating: 4/5
Pros:
- nice interface
- effective cost
- Supports dual channel Wi-Fi
Shortcoming:
- slow performance at times
