Currently a work in progress. CE-NO22 is booting, video playback works (yes DV FEL too). It will be several days before compatibility patches are pushed to CE.
Booting CE requires an unlocked bootloader, currently possible on any FireOS firmware, including the latest PS7716. Read more here.
Specs:
POP1-G (A311D2 variant) - Dolby Vision/Audio licensed
CPU: ARM 4xCA73 @ 2.2GHz + ARM 4xCA53 @ 2.0GHz
GPU: ARM G52 MP8, 800MHz
2GB, LPDDR4/x - 4224 MT/s (64bit memory bus)
16GB eMMC
1x HDMI 2.1 input
1x HDMI 2.1 output (ARC) - HDCP 2.3
1x USB 2.0
6x IR blaster + IR Extender port,
IR receiver
10/100 Ethernet
Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax; 2x2 MIMO (2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz and 6GHz Tri- band)
Currently Working:
DV, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG
Dolby TrueHD and DD+ w/Atmos, DTS-HD/X
WiFi
CEC control
IR remote control
Bluetooth LE | BR/EDR
**Widevine L1 & Playready support unaffected by unlock or CE
I have been using a Fire Cube 2 for a couple of years now which has the same USB 2.0 and 2GB RAM limitations. I use a USB gigabit adapter for ~350 Mb/s and it performs very well for me.
The SoC performance is the standout attribute for the device though, yes. How much benefit you get from that on a device that mostly does hardware accelerated playback of videos is debatable. People using heavy skins and lots of widgets will get a snappier UI, so there is that.
What’s exciting to me about the Cube 3 getting support is that they are widely available at half the cost new of an AM9 Pro right now and even less used. A new AM9 Pro on Amazon today is $250. The Xiaomi Mi box 3 is also $90 on Amazon here now. I’d take a Cube 3 over that device for CoreELEC purposes.
there is nothing “beast” about it, it’s the same CPUs Cortex A73 and Cortex A53 as the AM6B+, but with 4x small A53 cores instead of 2x, won’t do anything for performance, nothing new, nothing revolutionary.
this is mostly an alternative for US based people or those who can get it cheap, for us in EU if you want something cheaper the Xiaomi TV Box S 3rd Gen is better option if you want to dual boot as it comes with clean Google TV Android 14, they sell for 50-60 euros now and then, sure not as good SoC performance but good enough for CE, I’ve bought 7 of them so I know they work fine.
The POP1-G is a clear step up from 2019 chips. It adds hardware-accelerated 4K AV1 decoding, jumps from 6 to 8 execution units, and brings faster RAM alongside a modernized wireless chip.
The A311D2 was the successor to the S922X/A311D. It wasn’t a huge step forward, but it improved most things in small to medium ways.
The A311D2/POP1-G has 2 additional A53 cores, and the A53 cores run at higher clock-rates. 2GHz vs 1.9Ghz 2nd gen Cube vs 1.8Ghz AM6+. The A73 cores are about 15% faster each than the S905x5 A510 cores. In terms of multicore processing the A311D2 has ~62.5K DMIPS vs ~40K (s905x5) vs ~36K (s928x). The s928x has a single A76 core that is ~35-40% faster than a single A73 core of the A311D2.
The A311D2 made memory improvements over the S922X/A311D, with faster LPDDR4 transfer rates, and only the A311D2 and S928X have a 64bit memory bus, while S905X4/X5 are limited to a 32bit memory bus. The S905X5 does have the option of DDR5 RAM, but from benchmarking performed by @Unlikeall3 of the AM9 vs AM9Pro it wasn’t clear what benefit DDR5 (AM9Pro) had over DDR4 (AM9).
The A311D2 GPU includes an additional shader core (MP8) over the S922X. While s928x and s905x5 SOCs come with newer Mali GPU models, the G52 MP8 still has more raw GPU horsepower. However the newer GPU models support some newer Vulkan features. How much does any of this matter for CE, probably not very much.
The 3rd gen Cube then adds a bunch of features over the 2nd gen Cube, that may not excite many, and some which are only relevant to FireOS.
WiFi6
HDMI-in
NTFS support
AV1 & AC4 hardware decoding
TrueHD & DTS-HD (Kodi-only) support – within FireOS
nicer rounded fabric exterior
forward facing speaker for better Alexa audio clarity.
Linux kernel 5.4
Full USB-A (still USB2) port
Integrated Ethernet (100mbps) port
newer super resolution / upscaling
The selling point with Amazon products like the Cube is that Amazon manufacturers in large quantities, and is more interested in getting a FireTV in your house, than they are making a profit off hardware sales. They sell hardware cheap, and sometimes at a loss. Amazon recently increased prices, following other device manufacturers, and then immediately had a sale at the same pre-price hike costs
ok sure, but once again, it’s not an alternative for everyone as it can’t be had worldwide compared to for example the Xiaomi if we are now only talking about the price, anyway again good with more alternatives.
