Time for the last post of 2025, as the year is almost over. I’ll look back at key developments and notable products launched in 2025, share some CNX Software website traffic statistics, and look ahead to 2026. Year 2025 in Review After 22 product releases in 2024, Raspberry Pi calmed down a little bit in 2025, and the highlights of the year included the Raspberry Pi 500+ mechanical keyboard, the 5-inch variant of the Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2, and a Raspberry Pi 5 1GB RAM. What didn’t quite stop were the accessories from third parties for Raspberry Pi SBC and Raspberry Pi Pico boards. The most exciting Arm SoC release of 2025 was probably the 12-core CIX P1 Armv9 SoC found in Radxa Orion O6 SBC, MINISFORUM MS-R1 Arm mini PC, and Orange Pi 6 Plus board, but while performance was fine, it was overhyped in 2024, and software […]
Quectel QSM560DR industrial Qualcomm QCM6490/QCS6490 SBC supports Ubuntu, Android, and Windows
The Quectel QSM560DR is a Qualcomm QCM6490/QCS6490-based industrial Edge AI SBC with an octa-core processor, a 12 TOPS NPU, up to 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, and UFS storage. It offers 5G, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and GNSS, plus dual Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports, and HDMI and eDP display outputs. The board also includes three MIPI CSI camera connectors, a microSD card slot, GPIOs, RS232/RS485, CAN bus, audio output, and an M.2 connector for expansion. These features make it suitable for robotics, smart retail systems, industrial control panels, and other high-performance edge AI systems. Quectel QSM560DR specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCS6490(WF variant) / QCM6490 (CN variant) CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670 with 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold cores (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Silver cores (Cortex-A55) @ up to 1.9 GHz GPU – Adreno 643L GPU @ 812 MHz with support for Open GL ES […]
Particle Tachyon Review – A Qualcomm QCM6490 Edge AI and 5G cellular SBC tested with Ubuntu
Hello, today I’m going to review the Particle Tachyon SBC designed for high-performance edge AI, IoT, and connectivity applications. Powered by the Qualcomm QCM6490 platform with an octa-core Kryo CPU, an Adreno GPU, and a Hexagon DSP. The board also integrates robust wireless options, including 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2. The Particle Tachyon adopts the Raspberry Pi form factor and provides various I/O interfaces, such as a 40-pin GPIO header compatible with Raspberry Pi HATs, along with expansion options for sensors and peripherals. It also includes a Qwiic connector for SparkFun and Adafruit integrations, as well as MIPI-CSI/DSI connectors for cameras and displays. Particle Tachyon Unboxing The parcel was shipped from Hong Kong and arrived with all the expected components. Inside the package, I found a single-cell 3.7 V LiPo battery with a 3-pin JST-PH connector, the main Tachyon board, a small welcome card, and an additional microphone audio […]
Linux 6.16 Release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures
Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 6.16 on LKML: It’s Sunday afternoon, and the release cycle has come to an end. Last week was nice and calm, and there were no big show-stopper surprises to keep us from the regular schedule, so I’ve tagged and pushed out 6.16 as planned. It’s worth noting that the upcoming merge window for 6.17 is going to be slightly chaotic for me: I have multiple family events this August (a wedding and a big birthday), and with said family being spread not only across the US, but in Finland too, I’m spending about half the month traveling. That means that I will try very hard to get most of the merge window done the first week before my travels start, and I already ended upgiving a heads-up on that to the people who tend to send me the most pull requests. […]
Thundercomm TurboX C6690 SoM runs Android 15 on Qualcomm DragonWing QCS6690 SoC for terminal equipment
Unveiled at Embedded World 2025, Thundercomm’s TurboX C6690 is a SoM (System-on-Module) powered by a 4nm Qualcomm Dragonwing QCS6690 octa-core SoC, and designed for Android 15-based terminal equipment such as industrial handheld devices, industrial tablets, edge computing, and smart retail applications. The LGA system-on-module features a multi-chip package that combines 8GB LPDDR4x memory with 256GB UFS storage, and offers MIPI and DP (USB) display interfaces, four MIPI CSI camera interfaces, a USB 3.1 interface, a PCIe Gen2 interface, and various low-speed I/Os such GPIO, I2C, UART, and SPI. Thundercomm TurboX C6690 SoM specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Dragonwing QCS6690 CPU – Octa-core Qualcomm Kryo CPU 7-series (1x Kryo Prime core @ 2.9GHz, 3x Kryo Gold @ 2.7GHz, 4x Kryo Silver @ 2.0GHz) GPU – Qualcomm Adreno GPU 7-series DSP – Qualcomm Hexagon DSP with HVX and HMX ISP – Qualcomm Spectra ISP 665 image processing VPU Video Encode – Up to […]
WL-AC1000 AP controller can manage large fleets of wireless routers and access points
Wallys Tech WL-AC1000 is an access point (AP) controller designed to manage and optimize the operation of multiple access points (APs) within large-scale wireless networks that you may find in factories, airports, hotels, train stations, etc… The WL-AC1000 is powered by a quad-core Arm processor coupled with 1GB RAM, 8MB NOR flash, and 256MB NAND flash. It is equipped with four GbE ports and one 2.5GbE port to connect the access points through switches. It’s available as a desktop version and a 1U enclosure to mount in a rack. Wallys Tech WL-AC1000 specifications: SoC – Quad-core ARM 64-bit A53 @ 1 .8 GHz processor (likely some Qualcomm QCS part) System Memory – 1GB (2x 512MB) DDR3L Storage 8MB NOR flash 256MB NAND Flash Networking Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with PoE 3x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports 2.5Gbps Ethernet RJ45 port Power Supply – 24V DC Dimensions WL-AC1000-E – 192 x 122 […]
SECO’s SMARC-QCS5430 SMARC SoM and devkit feature Qualcomm QCS5430 SoC for Edge AI and 5G applications
SECO has announced early engineering samples for its SOM-SMARC-QCS5430 system-on-module (SoM) and devkit designed to support IoT and edge computing applications. Built around the Qualcomm QCS5430 processor this SMARC-compliant SoM targets industrial automation, robotics, smart cities, and surveillance.
The module also offers dual MIPI-CSI interfaces for camera and connectivity options including USB 3.1, PCIe Gen3, dual GbE, and optional Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. SECO’s DEV-KIT-SMARC industrial devkit includes all the necessary components for rapid prototyping and integration.
Qualcomm QCS6490-based Rubik Pi 3 AI SBC supports Android, Linux, and LU operating systems
Thundercomm has officially launched the Rubik Pi 3 SBC built around the Qualcomm QCS6490 SoC with a 12.5 TOPS AI accelerator. The SBC comes in a “PI-CO ITX” form factor that combines the Pico-ITX standard and the 40-pin GPIO header found on Raspberry Pi SBCs. The SBC comes with a standard set of interfaces, including USB, HDMI out, MIPI-CSI camera support, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, and much more. Additionally, the SBC features a 40-pin header for GPIO, UART for debugging, audio output, and RTC battery support. The company mentions that it is the first Pi-based system using Qualcomm’s AI platforms, hence it supports Raspberry Pi HAT/HAT+ expansion boards, making it suitable for various AI, IoT, and edge computing projects. Rubik Pi 3 SBC specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCS6490 CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670 with 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold cores (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x […]


