The specifications of the Mi TV Stick are the same as the Mi Box S, which was launched in the US in 2018
That's not quite right. The specs are similiar but the Mi TV Stick uses a newer CPU ( Amlogic S905 Y2 according to Gearbest). Mi Box S uses a Amlogic S905X .
Gearbest's pricing on Xiaomi tv boxes is not representative of traditional retailers in western markets.
For instance, MDZ-16-AB model was fully $US28 higher than Walmart's $69 when intro'ed in Oct 2016.
People were willing to pay Gearbest's premium to obtain the MiBox outside USA.
Looks interesting, I've been wanting to get an Android stick for when I travel, but I'll wait for Google's new one later this year.
The only big thing of it is the price,otherwise you have many choices.
Old News, see this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/gjcqc6/the_new_xiaomi_mi_tv_stick_is_available_for/
Is it an android tv stick?