Allwinner H64 based Nobel64 Could the First Affordable 64-bit ARM Development Board

Based on the comments I read on this blog many people are early waiting for 64-bit ARM boards. There are already ARMv8 server boards by Applied Micro, AMD and others, but these cost several thousand dollars and are not sold to individuals, and ARM recently launched Juno development board, but it should be well over the budget of most hobbyists too. But the wait may soon be over, as Padnews found out Allwinner and Merrii Technology showcased Nobel64 development board powered by a yet to be announced Allwinner H64 64-bit ARM SoC at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair.

Nobel64 development board specifications:

• SoC – Allwinner H64 quad core 64-bit ARM processor, most probably based on Cortex A53 cores.
• System Memory – 2GB DDR3
• Storage – 16 GB eMMC + micro SD card slot
• Video / Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 + AV port.
• Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
• USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports (Including on OTG port)
• Camera – Camera connector (below 3814 marking on the pic) for 5MP sensor
• Expansion – 2x headers
• Power Supply – N/A
• Dimensions – 118 x 70 cm

Allwinner SoC roadmap published about a year ago mentioned an Octa-core 64-bit processor (A9X) for Q4 2015, so there must have been changes in their plan, and the company decided to speed up their 64-bit roadmap. Allwinner have A-series (Application), V-series (Automotive Video (camera)), and H-series (Home Entertainment?) processor families, so H64 could be specifically designed for TV boxes and game consoles, just like the recently announced Allwinner H8 processor. Having said that, Allwinner claims “Nobel64 board is suitable for development projects such as tablets, OTT boxes, notebooks, digital signage and AIOs, etc.” The board will support Android L.

The company has not released any pricing or availability information, but based on the features, and PCB dimensions, I would  expect the board to cost a couple hundred dollars at most.

Via Tom Cubie

Update: I’ve received an email from Allwinner with an explanation for different series:

A series processors are used for mobile applications, mainly referring to tablet application here;
H for “Homlet”, mainly used in home entertainment applications, including smart OTT boxes, HDMI mini PCs, gaming boxes, etc;
V for video-related applications, including video surveillance, automotive DVR, etc;
F series are processors based on Allwinner’s melis OS, mainly used in smart video radios, video MP5, etc;

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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