We just wrote about the NanoPi R3S LTS dual gigabit Ethernet SBC and router with HDMI output and a speaker connector last week, but FriendlyELEC is back again with the similar NanoPi R76S equipped with two 2.5GbE ports, HDMI video output, an M.2 socket for a WiFi/Bluetooth SDIO module, and a more powerful Rockchip RK3576 octa-core SoC coupled with up to 16GB LPDDR5. Like its predecessors, the NanoPi R76S is offered as a bare board or with a metal enclosure. It comes with a 32GB eMMC flash, microSD card slot, a USB 3.0 port for storage or wireless expansion, a USB-C port for power, a small 8-pin GPIO FPC connector, and a few buttons and LEDs. NanoPi R76S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3576 CPU – Octa-core CPU with 4x Cortex-A72 cores at 2.2 GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores at 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MC3 GPU with support for OpenGL […]
NanoPi R3S LTS dual Gigabit Ethernet router board gains HDMI output and speaker connector
FriendlyELEC NanoPi R3S LTS is an update to the NanoPi R3S low-cost dual gigabit Ethernet router introduced last year, which gains HDMI output, a speaker connector, and a power button. The new model still features a Rockchip RK3566 SoC with up to 2GB RAM, an optional 32GB eMMC flash, a microSD card socket, a MIPI DSI display connector, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, and a USB-C port for power and programming, as well as a 3-pin UART header accessible after opening the metal enclosure. NanoPi R3S-LTS specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MP2 GPU NPU – 1 TOPS AI accelerator VPU 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoder 1080p60 H.264/H.265 video encoder System Memory – 1GB or 2 GB LPDDR4/4XX Storage Optional 32GB eMMC flash MicroSD card socket with support for UHS-1 (SDR104) Video Output HDMI 2.0 port […]
NanoPi M5 – A Rockchip RK3576 SBC with HDMI, dual GbE, M.2 NVMe and SDIO WiFi sockets, UFS 2.0 storage support
It feels like everybody is now launching hardware based on the Rockchip RK3576 SoC, the little brother of the RK3588 with Cortex-A72/A53 cores instead of Cortex-A76/A55 cores, 4K video output, and a mid-range Mali-G52 GPU, while keeping most of the same interfaces. FriendlyELEC has now joined the fray with the NanoPi M5 SBC equipped with up to 4GB LPDDR4x or 16GB LPDDR5, sockets for a UFS module and an M.2 NVMe SSD, HDMI 2.0 and MIPI DSI display interfaces, two MIPI CSI camera connectors, two gigabit Ethernet ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, two USB 3.0 ports, a 30-pin GPIO header, and more. NanoPi M5 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3576 CPU – Octa-core CPU with 4x Cortex-A72 cores at 2.2 GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores at 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MC3 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.2, OpenCL 2.0, and Vulkan 1.2 NPU – 6 TOPS […]
Armbian v25.2 and DietPi v9.11 released with updated Ubuntu and Debian-based Linux images for single board computers
Vendor-provided Linux images for single board computers are not always working optimally, so this post is a regular reminder that users may want to check out Armbian and DietPi projects mostly supported by the community but also backed by some of the vendors who offload some (repackaging) software work to them. Armbian and DietPi are separate projects, but this month, Armbian v25.2 and DietPi v9.11 were almost released simultaneously. I don’t report on each release (should I?), but they release an update every few months. The last time we had a look at both projects was in September 2024 for the releases of DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8. Let’s see what the new releases have to bring. Armbian v25.2 Main changes: New Boards – Rock 2A and 2F, NanoPi R3S, Retroid Pocket RP5, RPMini, Rock 5T, GenBook, MKS-PI, SKIPR, Armsom CM5, NextThing C.H.I.P, Magicsee C400 Plus Rockchip 3588 Improvements – […]
anyon_e DIY laptop features Rockchip RK3588 SoC, 13.3-inch 4K AMOLED display, aluminum chassis
We’ve already seen several Rockchip RK3588 laptops with the Cool Pi laptop and GenBook RK3588, as well as the open-source hardware MNT Reform Next. anyon_e is another open-source DIY laptop based on Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC but with higher-end specifications compared to competitors. The anyon_e features a 13.3-inch 4K AMOLED display, a wireless QWERTY mechanical keyboard, a custom aluminum chassis that keeps the thickness of the laptop to just 18mm, and a battery good for about 7 hours. It’s based on the FriendlyELEC CM3588 core board found in the CM3588 NAS Kit. anyon_e laptop (preliminary) specifications: SoM – FriendlyELEC CM3588 SoC – Rockchip RK3588 CPU – 4x CortexA76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x CortexA55 core @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU Video decoder – 8Kp60 H.265, VP9, AVS2, 8Kp30 H.264 AVC/MVC, 4Kp60 AV1, 1080p60 MPEG-2/-1, VC-1, VP8 Video encoder – 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 video encoder […]
NanoPi Zero2 is a tiny headless Arm Linux computer with Gigabit Ethernet, a USB port, and an M.2 Key-E socket for WiFi
FriendlyELEC NanoPi Zero2 is one of the world’s smallest Arm Linux computers with the 45x45mm board featuring a Rockchip RK3528A quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, up to 2GB RAM, microSD and eMMC flash module sockets for storage, a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 jack, an M.2 socket for WiFi, a USB Type-A port, and a 30-pin GPIO FPC connector for expansion. When I went to find more information about the earlier NanoPi Zero, I quickly realized… it did not exist, and the closest thing we have is the ZeroPi released in 2019 with an Allwinner H3 Cortex-A7 processor and an even smaller 40x40mm form factor. The NanoPi Zero2 comes with a 64-bit processor, more memory, and optional support for an M.2 WiFi module among other improvements. It’s designed for headless applications since there’s no video output/display interface. NanoPi Zero2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3528A CPU – Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz GPU – […]
NanoPi R3S – A low-cost Rockchip RK3566 SBC and dual gigabit Ethernet router
FriendlyELEC NanoPi R3S is a low-cost Rockchip RK3566 SBC and router with two gigabit Ethernet ports, a USB 3.0 host ports, a USB-C port for power and data, a microSD card slot, Reset and Mask buttons, and a few LEDs. It also features a MIPI DSI connector for people wanting to connect a display. Its design and size are similar to the NanoPi R5C dual 2.5GbE SBC and router, so it could be viewed as a low-cost alternative with dual GbE, no M.2 socket for WiFi & Bluetooth, only one USB 3.0 port, and no HDMI video output. The company promotes it as an inexpensive platform for IoT applications, basic NAS solutions, and so on. NanoPi R3S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MP2 GPU NPU – 0.8 TOPS AI accelerator VPU 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoder 1080p60 […]
NanoPi M6 – A Rockchip RK3588S SBC and fanless HMI solution with an integrated 3.5-inch touchscreen display
NanoPi M6 is a Rockchip RK3588S SBC (single board computer) that is also offered as a complete fanless HMI solution with a metal case and a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 800×480 resolution. The M6 is offered with 4GB to 32GB LPDDR5 memory, supports microSD, eMMC flash module, and M.2 NVMe SSD bootable storage, features one HDMI 2.1 port, two MIPI DSI connectors, two MIPI CSI camera connectors, gigabit Ethernet, an M.2 E-Key socket for WiFi and Bluetooth, and a 30-pin GPIO header for expansion among a few other ports and features. NanoPi M6 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU compatible with OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.2, and Vulkan 1.2 APIs VPU – 8Kp60 video decoder for H.265/AVS2/VP9/H.264/AV1 codecs, 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 video encoder AI […]