Orange Pi R1 Plus Router SBC with Dual Gigabit Ethernet

We have covered some interesting Orange Pi boards in the past. An example of it is the Orange Pi Zero 2. The main take away is that the name is one of the only things they have in common. With the Orange Pi R1 plus, the conversation goes to another path, as you really cannot compare some of its features with any other Raspberry Pi. Today, we will dig into it and see what unique there is about it.

So, the new Orange Pi R1 Plus SBC is the new addition to the Orange Pi family, and can be compared with its partner Orange Pi R1. At first glance, they look quite different, and they actually are, as pretty much everything gets a considerable upgrade, starting with the SoC, the memory and the Ethernet. But not everything is great, as you are leaving some useful functionalities such as Wi-Fi behind with this new version.

Now, looking at both of them side by side (Orange Pi R1 in parentheses for some of the most important specs):

• Rockchip RK3328 64-bit SoC – Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 clocked at 1.5 GHz (Allwinner H2+ 32-bit SoC with ARM Cortex-A7, clocked at 1.2GHz)
• ARM Mali 450 MP2 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.0 / 2.0 (ARM Mali 400 MP2 GPU)
• Memories: 1 GB DDR4 RAM (256 MB DDR3) + 16 MB SPI Flash and MicroSD card expansion slot
• Connectivity: 10M / 100M / 1000M ethernet (10M / 100M ethernet and Wi-Fi) and USB ethernet
• TV CVBS video output, 3.5 mm audio port (via 13 pin interface board) and 1x USB 2.0 HOST port
• Low level peripherals: 13 pin header with IR pin, TV output, audio (no microphone), 2x USB 2.0 and 1 GPIO port
• 1x Reset button, 1x cooling fan interface, power and status LED’s
• Power: USB Type-C – 5 V / 2 A input (Micro USB)
• Support for Android 9, Ubuntu, Debian and OpenWRT OS’s (Android 4.4, Lubuntu, Debian and Armbian Image)
• Dimensions of 56 mm x 57 mm (45 mm × 60 mm) and weight of 30.5 grams (35 grams)

As you can see, the “Plus” added to the name sort of undermines the very considerable upgrade the Orange Pi R1 Plus is when side-by-sided with its predecessor. Now, the absence Wi-Fi is a blow, and I think they acted wrong in ditching it, because we highly depend on it nowadays. But, aside from that step in the wrong direction, there is really not much to point my finger into. They provided a much needed upgrade here.

Now, the board is cool and all, but where do I use it? Easy, from an infotainment system to a wireless server, taking advantage of the ethernet, you can do pretty much anything. Lastly, let us discuss the pricing: coming at $24.99, it should be something to consider.

Orange Pi R1 Plus Aliexpress link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001845364289.html

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