The Orange Pi 3B V2.1 SBC features fast WiFi 5 and M.2 2280 NVMe/SATA SSD support

The Orange Pi 3B V2.1 is a Rockchip RK3566 SBC with WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5, MicroSD, Gigabit Ethernet, USB, and more. The board also supports  2280 NVMe or SATA SSDs which is slightly larger than what we found in Orange Pi 3B SBC. Speaking of the Orange Pi 3B it was the first SBC powered by a Rockchip SoC, making the Pi 3B V2.1 the second board from the Orange Pi Foundation that utilizes a Rockchip SoC.

In terms of network connectivity, the board features Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi, the interesting thing about Wi-Fi is that it features AP6256 WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5 wireless module but previously we have always seen that Orange Pi always uses Allwinner AW859A-based CDTech 20U5622 module.

The Rockchip RK3566 used in the SBC features a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU, and a 0.8 TOPS NPU, making it suitable for various applications including AI acceleration.

The board also has eMMC storage, SPI flash, a MicroSD card slot, and an M.2 M-key socket. It provides HDMI 2.0 for video output up to 4Kp60, MIPI DSI and eDP 1.3 connectors for displays, and a MIPI CSI connector for cameras. Additionally, for DIY projects sensors and inputs the board features multiple USB ports, a 40-pin GPIO header for expansion, and supports various operating systems like Android 11, Ubuntu, Debian, and OpenHarmony.

Orange Pi 3B V2.1 specifications:

• Processor: Rockchip RK3566 quad-core 64-bit (22nm, up to 1.8GHz)
• Graphics: ARM Mali G52 2EE graphics processor with support OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0 and Vulkan 1.1
• NPU: Integrated RKNN NPU AI accelerator with 0.8Tops@INT8
• Video:
  • Supports 4K@60fps H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding
  • 1080P@100fps H.265 video encoding
  • 1080P@60fps H.264 video encoding
• Memory: Options of 2GB/4GB/8GB (LPDDR4/4X)
• Storage: 
  • Support eMMC up to 256GB
  • 16MB or 32MB SPI flash
  • M.2 M-KEY socket for SATA3 or PCIe2.0 NVME SSDs
  •  Micro SD socket
• Connectivity:
  •  Gigabit Ethernet
  • Dual-band WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5 via Ampak AP6256 wireless module
• Display/Audio:
  • HDMI 2.0 supports up to 4K@60fps
  • 2-lane MIPI DSI connector
  • eDP1.3
  • 3.5mm headphone jack for audio in/out
• Camera: MIPI CSI 2-lane camera interface
• USB:
  • 1 x USB 2.0 support Device or HOST mode
  • 1 x USB 3.0 HOST
  • 1 x USB 2.0 HOST
• Expansion: 40-pin GPIO header with UART, SPI, I2C, PWM
• OS Support: Android 11, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 11, Debian 12, OpenHarmony 4.0 Beta1, Orange Pi OS (Arch), Orange Pi OS (OH) based on OpenHarmony and other operating systems.
• Misc:
  • 1 x MaskROM key, 1 x RESET key, 1 x POWER key
  • 2Pin fan connector of 5V
  • 2Pin RTC connector
• Power supply:
  • Input 5V/3A via type-C
  • RockChip RK809-5 power-management integrated circuit
• Dimensions: 56 x 89 mm
• Weight: 52 grams

An Orange Pi 3B V2.1 can be used in multiple ways from TV boxes to high-end tablets, edge computing, recognition of face, smart security, smart home, and many others. You’ll find more details on the Download page.

The new Orange Pi 3B V2.1 can be purchased from Amazon for $40.99 with shipping in the USA, and on Aliexpress for $30 with the final price depending on the selected configuration.

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