The NVIDIA Shield TV is not only the best Android set-top-box (STB) out there, but your best bet if looking for the best media streamer. Besides its capabilities, the STB is the only one that guarantees regular software updates for the longest period you may think of.
For instance, the original NVIDIA Shield TV was first unveiled in 2015 but it is still receiving big software updates to date, with the most recent tagging along Android 9 Pie in what the company calls “SHIELD Experience Upgrade 8.0”.
The Shield got a minor hardware refresh in 2017, however, there weren’t many changes worth upgrading from the OG model. With the recent additions to the family, the NVIDIA Shield TV 2019 and its Pro counterpart, perhaps you should think twice before upgrading, especially to the former.
Make no mistake, the NVIDIA Shield TV 2019 STBs are a breath of fresh air to the premium Android TV ecosystem. The features that make the older models great STBs are still supported on the 2019 models in addition to things like Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. And, yeah, you guessed it – AI-powered features as well.
The Tegra X1+ is allied to 2GB RAM and 8GB of expandable NAND flash storage on the standard Shield TV 2019 (down from 3/16GB on previous models) and 3GB RAM and 16GB of NAND storage on the Shield TV Pro 2019.
The 2019 Shield TVs come in an all-new design language and for the processing power, you get an improved Tegra X1+ SoC that is said to be 25% faster than the original X1.
Essentially, the new chip brings the same feature set and graphics (Maxwell architecture), meaning apps and games that have been developed to work on the original Tegra X1 should also play nicely with the new chip.
Well, apparently, this isn’t the case, at least for the standard NVIDIA Shield TV 2019, the Tube version. According to a thread in the NVIDIA forums that has been picked up on Reddit, the non-Pro Shield TV 2019 only supports 32-bit apps and not 64-bit apps.
The new Nvidia Shield Android TV NON-PRO version is running in 32-Bit Mode so 64 BIt Apps like Dolphin will not work! This is super upsetting, to say the least, so if you want 64-bit apps you will need to buy the PRO Version. Shame on you Nvidia!.
Source
ETA Prime, which has a YouTube review of the Shield TV Pro 2019 in action, had the below statement to say about the Shield TV Tube app compatibility while testing it out.
ATTENTION! The new Nvidia Shield Android TV NON-PRO version is running in 32-Bit Mode so 64 BIt Apps like Dolphin will not work! This is super upsetting, to say the least, so if you want 64-bit apps you will need to buy the PRO Version.
Source
Google has been advocating for the switch from 32-bit to 64-bit architecture for app developers. The company even provided tools for developers to ensure their 32-bit apps are ready to work on 64-bit OS, so it’s not in order that the NVIDIA Shield TV 2019 supports only 32-bit apps.
Of course, the Tegra X1+ is capable of running 64-bit apps, so it doesn’t make any sense that the standard 2019 model doesn’t support 64-bit apps. Perhaps NVIDIA will come out to clear the air on this soon.
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Hillary Keverenge
2094 Posts
Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.
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