This $120 HDMI Gadget Can Turn Any Smart TV Into A PC

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Smart TVs are pretty versatile devices and can do a lot more than what the older "dumb TVs" of yesteryear could. You can already use your smart TV to watch content from major streaming services, play AAA gaming titles on cloud gaming services, or listen to music or podcasts without attaching any extra devices. Now, thanks to a new HDMI gadget the size of a regular streaming stick, you can also add full PC capabilities to your TV. A US-based mini PC maker, Azulle, offers a mini PC in a stick-style form factor that attaches directly to an HDMI port on your TV and brings a full-fledged desktop operating system in the form of Ubuntu.

Most importantly, the Azulle Access ARM Mini PC Stick starts at just $120 on Amazon. While mini PCs in a stick-style form factor aren't exactly new, the Azulle offering is reasonably priced and comes with a modern and capable ARM-based chip that's built to run Linux distros and Android 14 effectively. Although the device is targeted at commercial use, such as in digital signage and kiosks, it's perfectly okay for home environments. You can turn it into your media center with apps like Plex or Kodi, or use it to run PC applications with your TV essentially acting as your monitor.

The Azulle Mini PC Stick has a built-in HDMI 2.1 connector that plugs right into a smart TV. It features the Rockchip RK3576 processor with Mali G52 MC3 GPU and 4 GB of LPDDR4X RAM, which is used to power the preloaded Ubuntu operating system. Although RK3576 isn't the most powerful processor, it's a reasonably capable ARM-based chip that has eight CPU cores and a built-in NPU for AI-related tasks. This is good enough for basic computing tasks, including web browsing, using office apps, and playing multimedia content. But don't expect it to run graphics-intensive games or other processor-hungry apps. In other highlights, the Mini PC Stick has built-in 5GHz Wi-Fi support for your wireless internet needs and Bluetooth 5.0 to pair wireless peripherals.

You also get a Gigabit Ethernet port for wired connectivity, 64 GB of onboard storage, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. Moreover, the company has included a USB 3.1 port, a USB 2.0 port, a mini-DisplayPort, and a microSD card slot. The Azulle PC stick is powered via a built-in USB-C port, which needs to be plugged into the 24W supplied wall adapter. The package also consists of an HDMI extender in case there is not enough space to attach the Azulle Access ARM Mini PC Stick directly to an HDMI port. If you want, you can also get an Android 14 variant of the Azulle Access ARM Mini PC Stick with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, while the rest of the hardware remains the same. The Android 14 version of the Azulle Access PC retails for $150 on Amazon.