Most affordable mini PC in the world runs on Android, costs $15

Some of the most affordable PCs out there usually involve a Raspberry Pi board with decent processing power and connectivity. However, this is not the case for Mecool’s M8S Plus W system. Of course it is a Chinese device (it ships worldwide via AliExpress, at least) and has minimalistic connectivity and the processing power is only recommended for office loads or video streaming, but it only costs US$15 + shipping (almost three times less than most Raspberry Pi boards), so you cannot really go wrong with it.

The compact M8S Plus W mini PC from Mecool measures 4.72 x 4.72 x 0.98 inches and weighs 0.8 lbs. It runs on Android OS, but it is not the latest release, just the 7.1 version. Since it is an Android-based system, it is powered by an Amlogic S905W ARM processor with four Cortex-A53 cores, so we are looking at similar performance levels featured on entry-level smartphones. The graphics component is handled via the Mali-450 iGPU, which should handle 4K HDR video decoding, and the system comes packed with 1 GB of DDR3 plus 8 GB Flash storage. Unfortunately, there is no SD card expansion support, yet, for a bit more storage, users can also get a 2 GB RAM / 16 GB storage version. Connectivity options are also quite limited, with 2x USB-A 2.0 ports, audio jack, HMDI out and Wi-Fi + Bluetooth.

Bundled with the M8S Plus W are an HDMI cable and a remote controller, indicating that the device is targeted at users looking for the most affordable streaming solution.