In an interesting turn of events, Xiaomi on Tuesday announced that it’s ready to roll out PatchWall 3.0 for its first smart Mi TV, aka the 55-inch Mi TV 4, in India. The announcement comes just a few days after it was revealed that the Mi TV 4 55 will not receive any official Android TV update, leading to speculations that the product might have reached its end of life, just two years after launch. Turns out, Xiaomi isn’t abandoning the Mi TV 4 55 just yet.
Xiaomi took to its official Mi TV India Twitter page to confirm that it is rolling out the PatchWall 3.0 update along with 16+ content partners for the Mi TV 4 55 starting today. To recall, Xiaomi had started rolling out the PatchWall 3.0 update for “eligible” Mi TVs from April 6. The reason why all of this is interesting is because the Mi TV 4 55 wasn’t included in the original list of eligible Mi TVs. Be that as it may, software updates aren’t chalked out overnight, and chances are Xiaomi might not have been ready to reveal details that it was still working on during the initial announcement, which is possibly why the Mi TV 4 55 wasn’t on the list of Mi TVs eligible for the PatchWall 3.0 update.
Here's an exciting news for all the Mi TV 4 55 users.
We're rolling out #PatchWall3.0 update along with 16+ content partners. This update is being rolled out starting today. pic.twitter.com/EdTKqbKdRC
— Xiaomi TV India (@XiaomiTVIndia) May 19, 2020
You can say that the Mi TV 4 55 has been the odd one out in Xiaomi’s Mi TV portfolio when it comes to software. Xiaomi’s first Mi TV in India was launched with PatchWall (1.0) on top of AOSP, which means it doesn’t run full-blown Android TV like its other Mi TVs. That’s both a good thing and bad. Good that Xiaomi can keep updating it for as long as it wants to “independently”, much like its MIUI-based smartphones. Though all MIUI-based Xiaomi phones are officially also Android-based phones. The bad news is that all of this will largely happen without any underlying changes to core Android.
As a consolation of sorts, Xiaomi is offering its newly launched Mi Box 4K at a Rs 1,000 discount to those who have bought the Mi TV 4 55. The Mi Box 4K costs Rs 3,499 in India but if you happen to own Xiaomi’s 55-inch Mi TV 4, you can get it for Rs 2,499. Buying a Mi Box 4K (which is based on Android TV 9.0) will ensure your Mi TV 4 55 will be able to run the latest version of your preferred apps, including Netflix and YouTube.
PatchWall 3.0
PatchWall 3.0, will bring an all-new look to Xiaomi’s Mi TVs including a new font and horizontal scrolling ability through different lists, plus a dedicated sports channel courtesy the company’s tie-up with Disney+ Hotstar — among other things.
Xiaomi’s PatchWall 3.0 is available for the Mi TV 4A, Mi TV 4C Pro, Mi TV 4A Pro, Mi TV 4 Pro, Mi TV 4X, Mi TV 4X Pro, and now Mi TV 4 55, though it’s yet to be seen if it’s also going to get all or select features.
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