Jide Technology Remix Mini (£50 Android PC) Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Design4. Software5. Performance6. Power Consumption7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

Last year, the Remix Mini was one of the most successful campaigns on Kickstarter, with 21,975 backers pledging $1,647,155 to fund the innovative mini-PC. Today, we look at the Remix Mini as it is now available for general purchase and assess whether it is worth the £50 asking price.

If you do not already know, the Remix Mini is not just a typical mini-PC. What makes it special is that it runs an adapted version of Android 5.1, named Remix OS 2.0. According to Jide Tech, this makes it the ‘world's first true Android PC.' In this review we put the Remix Mini through its paces and let you know whether it is worth the cash.

Features

• Remix OS 2.0, based on Android Lollipop 5.1.
• 1.2GHz Allwinner quad-core cortex A53 (64-bit) CPU.
• 2GB RAM.
• 16GB storage, with microSD cards up to 128GB supported.
• 1x HDMI output supporting up to 1920×1080 resolutions.
• 2x USB 2.0.
• Dimensions: 2.6 x 8.8 x 12.4cm (HxWxL).

The Jide Tech Remix Mini comes in a simple yet attractive cardboard box, with the top of the box letting you know that the Remix Mini is indeed the world's first true Android PC.

On the underside of the box there is a list of the product specifications, as well as the box contents.

Inside, users will find the Remix Mini, a power adapter to fit a UK socket (assuming you buy the UK model) and an 18-inch HDMI cable, as well as the standard quick-start guide and product information booklets.
To make it clear from the outset, there is very little wrong with the design of the Remix Mini.

The Remix Mini itself is pebble shaped which looks elegant and sophisticated. This is helped by the matte black plastic which is simple and understated, and also helps the Mini to blend in unobtrusively with your home setup – be it next to a TV or PC monitor.

As you would expect from a device named the Remix Mini, it is very small. It measures 2.6 x 8.8 x 12.4cm, small enough to fit on my outstretched hand. Because of this, the Mini will be able to fit right in next to a TV or PC without looking ugly or clunky.

One very nifty feature is the lack of a power button. Instead of reaching round behind the Mini to turn it on, users can simply tap the Remix logo on the top of the device. A single green LED will then let you know the device is powered on.

In terms of connectivity, the Mini does very well for such a small device. At the rear of the Mini, where all the ports are housed, you will find an HDMI connector, 2x USB 2.0, 1x microSD port, an Ethernet port, headphone jack and power connector.

The only potential downside with this array of ports is having just 2x USB 2.0 ports. This could raise problems if one assumes users will plug in either a wired or Bluetooth USB keyboard and mouse. This then leaves no space for a webcam or USB pen drive, for instance.

While this is easily solved by using ‘pure' bluetooth peripherals which do not require a USB dongle, not everyone will have this option available to them. It is far from a big issue, but something to bear in mind depending on how you want to use the Remix Mini.

Clearly, the fact that the Remix Mini is a mini-PC running Android is its unique selling point. The so-called Remix OS 2.0 is based on Lollipop 5.1, and Jide Tech have promised over-the-air updates at least once every month – something phone manufacturers could learn from.

Once you have set up your Mini (essentially just connecting to WiFi and logging into your Google account), users are greeted by the desktop, which you can see above. I must say on first impressions I was quite amazed at how Jide Tech have made Android, as a mobile operating system, look so much like the traditional desktop users will be very familiar with.

When you open an app, however, you can tell that the Android apps have not been created with a desktop PC in mind. An example of this is Google Chrome automatically opening all web pages in ‘mobile mode' as it is, of course, a mobile app. However, there is an easy fix by telling Chrome to request the desktop version of sites.

Despite this, most of the apps I tested out worked flawlessly. BBC iPlayer played back content at a high quality, Spotify streamed music just as I would expect it to and I was able to run a full suite of benchmarking apps like I would with any phone. Remix OS 2.0 has the advantage, though, of being able to display multi app windows, allowing you to multitask in a way you could not on an Android phone.

It is neat tricks like this which make you think Jide Tech have done a great job with Remix OS 2.0. Not only do you have access to 1.5 million Android apps, with the vast majority of apps which I tried running very well indeed, but there is multi-task support and a desktop feel users will be familiar with.

It even looks great. The settings menu and other OS menus are simple and easy on the eye while being practical to use with a mouse and keyboard. If you do not have a spare keyboard to hand there is even the option of pulling up an onscreen keyboard as if you really were using a touchscreen device.

It is not quite the perfect OS experience, though. As you might expect, the vast majority of Google Play apps are not built with a desktop in mind, so there are occasional frustrating moments where apps do not run as you would want. For instance, Stick Hero displays horizontally, cutting off the top of the screen. Furthermore, there is no way of navigating Chrome other than using the mouse wheel – which is both tiring and irritating after a while.

On the whole, though, I am incredibly impressed at how Jide Tech have brought Android to a desktop setting. Most apps run well, with just a few irritations now and then, and the OS is certainly sleek and attractive. With updates coming at least once a month, too, you can be sure of an ever-improving user experience.
As the Remix Mini uses budget mobile phone hardware, just in a different box, and Android OS, I was able to run the usual benchmarking suite as I would with any Android phone.

First, though, I want to talk about the real-world performance of the Remix Mini. As it is budget hardware – a 1.2GHz Allwinner quad-core cortex A53 (64-bit) CPU and 2GB RAM – I was not expecting close to the same level of performance as I would from any laptop or ‘real' desktop PC.

For the most part, though, the Mini does well. For simple video streaming purposes (as I would imagine lots of people would buy the Mini to plug into a TV and simply stream Netflix, for example) it is great, providing HD playback and no hardware-related lag.

Multitasking provides a tougher challenge, as I noticed when running my benchmarks. The mouse pointer would freeze up fairly regularly providing a frustrating few minutes while the benchmarks ran. However, for simple word-processing and web browsing tasks, the Remix Mini performed absolutely admirably for a £50 piece of kit.

In terms of benchmarks, I tested the Mini with Geekbench 3 first. It scored 525 for single-core performance and 1427 for multi-core performance, which is in the ‘budget phone' region as I was expecting.

I also tested the Mini with 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited, where it scored 3246. Again, not even close to mind-blowing but just where I expected it to be.

In order to complete our testing of the Remix Mini, I measured the power draw in Watts as you can see below.

To measure the idle power consumption, I left the Mini on the desktop for 30 minutes and then took the reading of 2.3 Watts. The power consumption under load was measured by running Geekbench 3 and Ice Storm Unlimited simultaneously, with Google Chrome open in the background.

Clearly, power consumption is minimal. In fact, it is so small it is hardly worth thinking about – it might as well be drawing no power at all. This is mightily impressive yet also perhaps to be expected – the Remix Mini, after all, is just budget mobile hardware repackaged.

Jide Technology have created something truly innovative with the Remix Mini – that is, creating a mini-PC than runs a version of Android. It is quite the piece of kit, too.

First off, it is very well designed. It is small, sleek and very unobtrusive – you could easily put the Mini under your TV, stream Netflix and forget about it. One very cool trick is the ‘touch-to-turn-on' feature, where users simply tap the top of the Mini to switch it on, rather than using a standard power button.

Jide Tech have also done a great job with bringing Android to a desktop environment, too. The vast majority of apps I tried out worked flawlessly, with BBC iPlayer streaming effortlessly and my benchmarking suite running without any hiccups.

However, it is not quite the perfect OS as many apps were not designed with a desktop in mind, so you will likely encounter some compatibility issues eventually. For example, I found that the only way to navigate in Chrome is to scroll down or up – there is no fast-scroll option. This is very annoying.

Still, for most people, I have no doubts that Remix OS 2.0 will do well. Most likely you intend to use the Mini to stream video content in which case you will find no problems with the OS – simply open up Netflix and off you go. If you plan on using the Mini for simple, web-based tasks you may find the occasional hint of lag but general performance is very good for the money.

Power consumption is also terrific. Under load, I did not see the Mini draw more than 7.2 Watts from the wall socket. This is a great achievement and cements my view that this would be a great device to put under your TV, stream media from and then forget about.

Overall, this is simply a very cool piece of kit which works very well. Users may find themselves frustrated at occasional laggy performance or an incompatible app, but Jide are promising updates at least once a month, so the user experience is going to keep improving. As for performance issues, I have no doubts for most people it will do the job absolutely fine.

You can pick up the Remix Mini from Amazon for £50 here.

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Pros

• Very cool idea.
• Software is mostly reliable.
• Gorgeous design.
• Affordable.
• Power consumption is essentially non-existent

Cons

• Occasionally laggy performance.
• Not all apps are fully desktop compatible.

KitGuru says: I am very impressed with how Jide Tech have brought the Android experience to a desktop environment. While it is not quite perfect, regular updates mean the software can only improve.

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