Matricom has released a successor to the popular G-Box Q for 2016, but they decided to keep the same name….sort of: The Matricom G-Box Q2.

The new Matricom G-Box Q2, or Q² depending on how it’s written, is a much needed refresh of the original G-Box Q.

The spec sheet shows two huge improvements right off the bat.

The AmLogic S802 has been upd=graded to the newer (but still not cutting edge) AmLogic S812. As the comparison chart from CNX-Software below shows, the AmLogic S812 improves upon the S802 in several ways, but leaves some important features out.

The S812 handled 4K content much better due to the H.265 hardware decoder, but it’s internal memory is limited to 2GB. Sorry, there won’t be a 4GB version of the G-Box Q2.

The other big bonus is the Matricom has finally moved to Lollipop. As a bonus, existing G-Box Q owners will be receiving an OTA firmware update that will update their devices to Lollipop as well. We’ll have more details on that as the update is released.

Also included is a new HUD Launcher UI which appears to bring a more “Kodi-like” interface to the device, rather than the Android TV like interface they’ve used previously.

G-Box Q2 Specs

CPU/GPU Amlogic s812 Quad Core @ 2GHz Mali-450 Octo Core 3D GPU MEMORY 2GB DDR3 STORAGE 16GB Flash Storage ANDROID OS Android Lollipop 5.x, Full Version USB PORTS Two (2) USB 2.0 ETHERNET 10/100 Full Duplex WI-FI Broadcom 5G 802.11 Dual Band BLUETOOTH V.4.0 Low Power, Full Speed DIMENSIONS Lenght: 12.5cm, Width: 12.5cm, Height: 2.5cm

Initial Thoughts

In our review late in 2015, one of the main knocks against the original G-Box Q was the poor quality of 4K playback. It actually seems like Matricom heard that feedback and took some serious steps to improve it.

Not only that, but moving both current and new G-Box Q owners to Android 5 is a big win. We’ll see how that rollout goes, but anytime a manufacturer provides a free-of-charge update to the core Android operating system, I have to give them huge credit for it. Good job Matricom!