Until now, it has been difficult to get an inexpensive TV Stick with Google certification that allows you to watch media in high quality on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video, and others. But thanks to Mecool KD2 that comes with a Google Certification DRM level L1 to stream HD or 4K and is equipped with an Amlogic S905Y4 quad-core SoC which offers superior performance in all tasks and is supported AV1 decoder and powered by Android 11, in addition to 4GB RAM and storage capacity of up to 32GB, all this allows you to watch and enjoy thousands of movies and series in 4K resolution, so it’s time To talk about this TV Stick and see if it is worth investing in and what its pros and cons.

Mecool KD2 Features
Amlogic S905Y4 Quad-Core SoC
ARM Mali-G31 MP2
Android 11
Google Certified Widevine L1
DDR3 4GB, eMMC 32GB
2.4 & 5G Dual Wifi
Support 4K Youtube, 4K primevideo, SD Netfli
Supports HDR10+, AV1
Support OTA update, Google Assistant

Design And Build Quality
The design implemented in the Mecool KD2 is beautiful and with professional touches, however, you will not need to see the design because the TV Stick will be behind the TV, the device is a rhombus plastic case with the good build quality and has the Mecool logo on the top with LED light.

Moving on to the ports, there are not many just HDMI 2.1, Micro USB  5V/1A, and USB 2.0, It obviously lacks many important ports like a microSD reader or ethernet port, this is a big drawback compared to other competitors.

Under The Hood
The SoC used in the Mecool KD2 is Amlogic S905Y4 64-bit Quad-core ARM Cortex A35 1.8GHz but they are slower than the Cortex-A55 that we can find in the Amlogic S905X4. This processor is known for its good manufacturing quality at 12nm and gives you more performance than the previous generation compared to the S905X3 found in most TV box devices. Also, It’s designed for high-performance devices and supports AV1 decoding which is now mandatory for popular streaming services and compatibility with HDR10+, HDR10, HLG HDR processing.

The Mali-G31 MP2 GPU offers good performance without forgetting the 4GB RAM for greater multitasking capabilities and provides excellent results in navigating and running applications. And storage capacity, it has 32GB eMMC without support TF card slot to expand. Unfortunately, one of the weaknesses of this TV box is a small memory, which is the minimum, and in 2022 I think it is not acceptable, and more memory capacities must be provided to choose.

Connectivity Of Mecool KD2
For connectivity, the Mecool KD2 box contains 2.4GHz / 5GHz WIFI IEEE 802.11 b / g / n / ac dual-band, the network is acceptable but not the most stable, with the absence of the LAN port, that’s why I recommend 5GHz because it provides better quality and Faster data transfer. And has Bluetooth 5.0 which is fast and works well.

Software
One of the strengths of the Mecool KD2 TV Stick is that its equipped with an Android 11 operating system to provide you with a more efficient and secure operation, better compatibility with the latest applications, and thus better user experience (not rooted).

launcher
In the beginning, it’s fast to boot up, it will not take 30 seconds to take you directly to the launcher with some configuration wizard, where we can connect to the Wi-Fi network and define which apps will be installed by default.

The launcher is clean with a flat design and has a complete desktop layout for Android 11, what I find missing is the lack of a navigation bar and status bar for easy navigation and multitasking. but, you’ve got shortcut Apps that you can customize yourself. The overall performance is very good, we can move smoothly and quickly between menus.

However, Google Assistant is integrated into the remote control, and thus users simply press the Google Assistant button to activate voice control and ask an unlimited number of questions such as checking weather information, finding the latest blockbuster, playing popular music, etc.

Applications
Android 11 allows the installation of apps from Google Play Store (Google Play Store version for Android TV OS) and contains pre-installed apps such as YouTube, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Hulu, Spotify, Tubi TV, and many more.

Mecool KD2 supports Google services and allows you to install the full app that is available in the play store because is a certified Android TV. and you can use a third-party store or use Google browser to search the apk app, then download and install the app you want.