Orange Pi Zero Plus 2 H5 Board Replaces Allwinner H3 by Allwinner H5 for $1 More

It’s hard to keep up, but Shenzhen Xunlong has launched another Orange Pi board, as two weeks after introducing Orange Pi Zero Plus 2 development board, the company has now introduced “Orange Pi Zero Plus 2 H5” board, with the exact same specification, except Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 32-bit processor has been replaced by Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 64-bit processor.

Orange Pi Zero Plus 2 H5 board specifications:

  • SoC – Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 processor with 2+4 core Mali-450MP4 GPU
  • System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 SDRAM
  • Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot
  • Video Output – HDMI port
  • Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 LE (Ampak AP6212) with u.FL antenna connector and external antenna
  • USB – 1x micro USB OTG port
  • Camera – MIPI CSI port
  • Expansion headers – Unpopulated 26-pin “Raspberry Pi B+” header + 13-pin header with headphone, 2x USB 2.0, TV out, microphone and IR receiver signals
  • Debugging – 3-pin serial console header
  • Misc – 2x LEDs for power and status
  • Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port
  • Dimensions – 48 x 46 mm
  • Weight – 20 grams

Allwinner H5 is pin-to-pin compatible with Allwinner H3, so the PCB is exactly the same. The upgrade brings slightly better CPU performance, as well as – in theory – better GPU performance, but the latter might not be usable right now (in Linux) due to a lack of software support. Power consumption might be a little higher too (TBC).

The company claims support for Android, Ubuntu, Debian, and “Raspbian”, but I can’t double check since their website won’t load (yet again). Armbian will likely have Ubuntu Xenial nightly images with mainline Linux ready soon, like they did for NanoPi NEO 2 and Orange Pi PC 2, and while they are usable for some applications, you should not expect everything to work just yet.

The board costs just $1 more than the H3 version, as it sells for $19.90 + shipping on Aliexpress.

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26 Comments
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Rogan Dawes
Rogan Dawes
6 years ago

Pardon me being a little confused, but my Orange Pi Zero has ethernet on board, and no HDMI. It also only cost $7 (or thereabouts). Is this a derivative of a different Orange Pi board, perhaps?

Rogan Dawes
Rogan Dawes
6 years ago

Doh! Now I see the Zero Plus board you linked in comparison. Sorry!

fkpwolf
6 years ago

So many Orange Pi boards… Why not add a version tag like ZERO-PLUS-2-H5?
We call it as “hardware” because it it hard to change since it was brought out, but Orange Pi turn it into software…

Theguyuk
Theguyuk
6 years ago

I notice the H5 runs at 1.2GHz ( saw tkasier OMG post yesterday ) wonder why 1.2GHz ? Amlogic s9XX range can do 1.5GHz. so why Allwinner H5 running so low?

Also find the H3 & H5 board pricing odd as they seem to each compete against each other for market share. What next a $1 dollar less H2+ plus version?

tkaiser
tkaiser
6 years ago

@manuti If Xunlong would break compatibility with their own ‘Zero standard’ that would be a rather stupid move. Currently I don’t know whether eMMC on both ‘Zero Plus 2’ is populated but since they did so with all other eMMC equipped OPi in the meantime I would assume there will be an Android 4.4 on the H3 variant and 5.1 on the more expensive but also slightly faster H5 thingie. So simply add an enclosure and the $2 Dock and you have a wireless Android TV box (not worth a look IMO). No idea though why people buy these two… Read more »

willmore
willmore
6 years ago

tkaiser :
@manuti
… I would’ve preferred a slight upgrade to real OPi Zero still without HDMI but RTL8189FTV replacing XR819 for maybe $1 more and another variant with Gigabit Ethernet to make some use of ‘NAS Expansion board’

I second the GigE and the H5 upgrade to the Orange Pi Zero, but I’m willing to leave the wireless off entirely. If a board had ethernet, I don’t see much value in it having (non-router performance) WiFi as well. BT would be nice, though–for remotes, keyboards, etc.

manuti
6 years ago

The H5 blind my mind and the naming convention makes me forget the lack of any Ethernet not even Gigabit.
OK, just waiting for the cheap holy grial of NAS SBC.

TC
TC
6 years ago

@willmore
exactly. the space of wifi-stuff should be used for emmc

tkaiser
tkaiser
6 years ago

@willmore Well, the nice thing about Zero having Ethernet (especially with PoE) and Wi-Fi too for me is being able to use the Zero as an energy efficient AP for sensors (ESP8266 and the like — I would never allow these devices to join my main wireless network for obvious/security reasons!). Performance close to irrelevant there so it should already work with disabled powermanagement (otherwise performance will decrease significantly but that’s exactly the same with AP6212 now used on ‘Zero Plus 2’) Today also XR819 documentation and a new driver code drop (same firmware but updated sources and a patch… Read more »

Benjamin
6 years ago

@Theguyuk
Because allwinner h5 is manufactured at 40nm fab, while amlogic s9xx range is 28nm. This means lower voltages for a given frequency point.

For h5 to run at anything more than 1.37Ghz, it requires unsafe amount of volts coupled with tons of heat. Not something you want on a small board with potentially no heatsink.

parrotgeek1
parrotgeek1
6 years ago

@tkaiser
WTF are they doing? I can’t even figure out what’s different between it and the others…

tkaiser
tkaiser
6 years ago

@parrotgeek1
Well, this one was already leaked last August with a different name, just search for ‘New Oranges with H5 and H2+’ thread in Armbian forum. The differences are pretty simple: 2GB DRAM and RTL8723BS (WiFi/BT and comparable with Ampak’s AP6212) and same form factor as OPi Plus 2E. If it’s like always in a few months there will be ‘Prime Plus’ with 16 GB eMMC. But who knows.

Latest rumours are also about an Allwinner H6 (check linux-sunxi wiki) and a RK3399 board from Xunlong.

tkaiser
tkaiser
6 years ago
Theguyuk
Theguyuk
6 years ago

@Benjamin
Cheers

Beto
Beto
6 years ago

@tkaiser
Now, the h6 seems pretty interesting, usb 3.0 and pcie according to the product brief uploaded.

theguyuk
theguyuk
6 years ago


Seems they announced it a day or two ago, from reading Orange pi forum news post.

Korn
Korn
6 years ago

Orange Pi Zero plus a new model? another H5 chip with no support?aarach64 again?gigabit ethernet and new wifi chip from realtek which is so great but why H5?

tkaiser
tkaiser
6 years ago


Gigabit Ethernet + H5. 7 months later the Orange Pi Zero NAS Expansion Board gets the appropriate companion 😉

Khadas VIM4 SBC