AOpen recently released an entirely new Chromebox Mini: the AOpen Chromebox Mini 2. In this article we share our experience with this small powerhouse.
Introduction
A month ago we wrote a review of the new Acer Chromebox 2. This month we're looking at AOpen's version of the new Chromebox platform, which is basically the same as the Acer's as well as the latest Lenovo Chromebox. The primary difference is in the engineering of the casing. With it's all metal enclosure, the AOpen is more robust and has an IP5X dustproof rating. It also allows you to mount antennas for better WiFi reception. And finally, you can also connect an external power switch to it. So the AOpen is the one to get if you need to deploy such a Chromebox in a more challenging environment.
Why ChromeOS?
ChromeOS is ideal for digital signage because of its dedicated kiosk mode. It automatically starts up a device with just one app, after which nothing else can be done with the device. System updates are always performed in the background without the risk of annoying pop-ups. This is sometimes different with other operating systems, such as Windows.
Installation is also remarkably simple. When you buy a ChromeOS kiosk licence, you get login details that allow you to register a new Chromebox directly. The preconfigured kiosk app (in our case, the Bizplay app) is then automatically installed and launched. And that was that. It really couldn't be simpler.
In further use, you can log in to the Google admin environment, where you can find and manage all registered Chromeboxes. However, it's not free: and ChromeOS kiosk licence costs around $27.50/device/year.
Specifications
At 16 x 12 x 3.2cm, the Chromebox Mini 2 has a nice size that tucks well away behind a monitor. It has an Intel Celeron N4500 processor, Ethernet, WiFi 6, 2x HDMI 1.4b ports and 1x USB-C with DisplayPort support and finally some USB 3.2 ports and an audio jack. It can come with different memory and storage capacities.
4K display limitation
Just like the Acer, the AOpen Chromebox Mini 2 suffers from the fact that the two HDMI ports only support HDMI 1.4b. That means these can only drive 4K at 30Hz. That's fine for static content. But with animations, this is quite a bit more problematic. Especially if you want to show consistently smooth animation like a horizontal news ticker. The difference between 30Hz and 60Hz is then really dramatic: at 30Hz, such a news ticker is very unpleasant to read.
But the good news is that via the USB-C port, 4K at 60Hz is possible. Unfortunately, almost all professional displays have HDMI inputs and no USB-C input. And so the most logical way to connect this Chromebox is still simply with an HDMI cable, after which you're looking at 4K@30Hz.
The solution
Fortunately, there is workaround for the above problem. By using a USB-C to HDMI 2.0 adapter, it is actually possible to get 4K at 60Hz with an HDMI cable. We used a relatively inexpensive adapter from UNI for this purpose.
An alternative is a full USB-C to HDMI 2.0 cable, but during our tests with this, ChromeOS still occasionally struggled to determine that it should run at 60Hz instead of 30Hz.
We also tried a USB-C to HDMI 2.1 cable. In theory, even higher refresh rates can then be achieved, but when tested on a high refresh rate screen, interference occurred in the display. So such a cable is best avoided.
Overall performance
Once running at 4K@60Hz, the Chromebox Mini 2 works like a charm. All content displays razor-sharp. Videos plays smoothly and even a news ticker runs smoothly. If you have a lot of animations at once, page transitions can still be slightly jerky, but that is inherent to the fact that we are dealing with a model with a basic Intel Celeron processor running at 4K. If you want to be guaranteed the smoothest playback in all conditions, you will always have to look at a model with a more powerful processor.
Conclusion
The AOpen Chromebox Mini 2 is is an excellent ChromeOS device. For optimal performance, it is advisable to choose the video connection carefully. With the right setup, this Chromebox delivers excellent performance in a very robust package. Therefore, we highly recommend it.