Acer AiTV Review  – The New 4K Google TV Box That Could Replace Your Smart TV

Almost all aspects of your household technology have become ubiquitous in everyday life. As a result, not only have they been fine-tuned over the years to be quite optimised, but there is a multitude of brands and devices across varying price ranges to choose from. While the majority of TVs on the market have some smart OS pre-installed, the need for a TV box hasn’t yet been surpassed. In a surprising move, Acer has joined the long lineup of brands in this category. The Acer AiTV aims to deliver the next step in the TV box market, delivering both AI and gamer support. 

The AiTV, or by its full title, Acer AiTV 4K UHD Google TV Streaming Box, was initially teased at this year’s Comic Con Africa, highlighting the device as more of an entertainment hub than a simple TV streaming box. The brand isn’t opposed to adding new technologies and products to its portfolio. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed Acer launch a number of these, including portable batteries, electric scooters, and even water coolers, to round out its portfolio. It is worth pointing out that many of these were launched under its AOpen brand. 

Another surprising bit of information about the device is that the idea came about during a brainstorming session at Acer South Africa’s offices. As a result, it was launched here first, with a global release scheduled for the coming weeks. 

What Is the Acer AiTV? | A New AI-Powered Google TV Box Enters the Game

During Acer AiTV’s launch, there was a lot of focus on its specifications, as you might expect when promoting a product with so many variants on the market to stand out from the pack. So let’s have a quick rundown of these. 

Starting with the resolution, it offers 4K UHD (2,160p) streaming. This is a minimum requirement in 2025, with the majority of brands featuring 4K and higher-resolution TVs. Its performance is driven by its Amlogic S905X5 Quad-Core CPU, which includes the Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, 2GB DDR4 RAM, and a dedicated 4 TOPS NPU for AI-powered applications. Given the device’s name, this is an essential feature of the CPU. 

Adding to the visuals is its support for Dolby Vision and HDR, and it is boosted by its AI Super-Resolution upscaling using Inline AI-SR (AISR-2). It includes official certifications for the most popular streaming apps, including Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, DStv and more. Running Android 14 for TV, it has access to Android’s 10,000+ supported apps, along with other Google features, including its assistant support. It includes 32GB eMMC internal storage, allowing users to download both apps and content, and also includes a microSD card slot, which is upgradeable to 512GB. 

In terms of ports and interfaces, it includes an HDMI 2.1b port with eARC support, x2 USB Type-C ports (one for power), a single USB Type-A port, and an S/PDIF optical audio port. In terms of connectivity, it features Wi-Fi 6 2T2R (1GB/Sec), an RJ45 Gigabit port, and Bluetooth 5.2 support. 

All in all, this is a solid list of hardware specifications and features. While it may not be ground-breaking on all fronts, with some having been available for years, it offers excellent value and future-proofing support to consider. The most significant caveat here is the 2GB of RAM, which, by today’s standards, should’ve been a minimum of 3GB, or preferably 4GB. 

Design & Build: Sleek, Compact and Easy to Hide Behind Your TV

Unlike its impressive list of specifications and features, its aesthetics are much more reserved. A small, compact unit, its square design measures 100 x 100 x 20 mm. It’s small enough to fit into your pocket and can be tucked away neatly behind your TV. This might be best with its white plastic frame standing out against most black TV designs. That said, it’s not unsightly, so it wouldn’t be considered an eyesore if positioned below your TV. 

The device has a mostly clean design. At the top, there’s only the Acer logo on the top right-hand side with the LED indicator on the bottom left. The four sides around the device are also minimalistic, featuring a single logo and the various ports. The left-hand side features one Type-C port and one Type-A port. The remaining ports are all on the rear, including (from left to right) the microSD card slot, S/PDIF port, LAN, HDMI, and the second Type-C port, which is used for power. 

There are four circular rubber feet below the device to keep it from sliding around, with a sticker in the centre that includes all the serial numbers, MAC addresses, and other technical information. 

Acer AiTV Performance Test: Fast UI, Smart AI & Brilliant 4K Streaming

With so many other TV boxes on the market, its performance alongside its specifications is crucial to standing out from the pack. Acer has focused heavily on future-proofing the AiTV, including its use and support of AI, as well as some aspects for users to enjoy. 

Using its native Google features, including the assistant, it does a pretty good job of deciphering your speech and interpreting your commands. In addition to being able to play the next episode of your favourite show, it’s also capable of providing more nuanced answers for questions you need answering. Although not available out of the box, Acer has confirmed that Google’s Gemini AI will be fully integrated to enhance this experience further. 

Another generative AI feature on the device is its customised screensaver options. Here, users can specify the criteria for the creations, which it then cycles through like a standard screensaver. This does add a unique touch to the device, turning your TV into an art exhibit. 

With its broad range of certified apps, the Acer AiTV delivers excellent quality across various streaming platforms. Its 4K@75fps support makes for beautiful visuals. And even if your content isn’t 4K, its AI upscaling feature makes light work of improving all visuals. In addition to the streaming options, the device supports a wide range of codecs, including V1, VP9, HEVC (H.265), and H.264, for all your video content on your external devices. This means you should be able to view a wide range of modern video formats, including MKV, MP4, and MOV. 

In addition to the visual certifications and support, the device also includes Dolby Audio, DTS passthrough, and Dolby Atmos support over HDMI 2.1 eARC or optical S/PDIF. As a result, you won’t find anything lacking from an audio requirements perspective, unless you’re still using any RCA cables. 

The device doesn’t support all storage formats of your external devices. Testing the various exFAT, FAT32, and NTFS formats, it doesn’t support NTFS. While many drives don’t use the FAT32 format these days, exFAT is the preferred choice thanks to its cross-platform support on Windows, macOS, and even your various gaming consoles. I still have a few NTFS drives around that I tested, but couldn’t boot successfully. While it detected the drive, the only option it offered was to reformat. Another reminder that I need to spend some time during the upcoming holidays copying and formatting these drives. 

Given that the device is based heavily on Google’s ecosystem, it is highly dependent on your profile usage. This means that many of the main interface customisations are based on your personal profile, making shared usage a bit tricky. Yes, you can easily switch between user profiles in apps like YouTube, Netflix, and the like, but it doesn’t split this on the main menu. Then again, this isn’t just a limitation on the Acer AiTV, but rather the majority of streaming boxes in the wild. 

Gaming on Acer AiTV: Steam Link & Cloud Play Shine

Key to the success of the Acer AiTV is its support for the gaming community. Acer notes the integration of Steam Link on the AiTV. As a result of its careful integration with the app, streaming from your PC feels like a native player. The process is the same as with your smartphone: sign in to your Steam account, then pair your chosen controller. You’ll then have access to your Steam library to commence gaming. 

A major issue I often experienced on my smartphone, which had stopped me from using the Steam Link app, was its latency and lag. However, there’s much less of that affecting the Acer AiTV app, which offers high frame rates while streaming on the same network as its underlying fibre. While it is limited to 60 fps, it is often stable at this frame rate, dipping into the 50s now and then without dropping any further to affect your gameplay. 

The device’s AI upscaler again becomes useful during the Steam Link gameplay. Streaming at 1080p from your PC, it upscales your visuals to your TV or monitor quite well, especially on larger screens. It’s sharp and clear when doing so and doesn’t feel overly processed. 

 In addition, when playing installed apps from the Play Store, they deliver solid performance. You can utilise the same controller you connected using the Steam Link feature (if you did) and enjoy the excellent performance and visuals of the Amlogic S905X5 Quad-Core CPU and Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. 

Should You Buy the Acer AiTV? | Price vs Performance Verdict

Overall, the Acer AiTV 4K UHD Google TV Streaming Box delivers solid performance across the board. With future-proofed hardware from its specifications and features, there’s a lot to enjoy and even more to look forward to in the near future. You’ll be able to enjoy all the benefits of your favourite streaming apps, many of which are certified, as well as additional entertainment for gamers.  

Given its hardware capabilities, it’s surprising that the AiTV retails at a price similar to other 4K TV boxes. The unit is available for R1,499 at multiple retailers, including Incredible Connection, Computer Mania, Takealot and Amazon.

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