After Raspberry Pi, Waxberry Pi, and Banana Pi boards, here come another fruit-named board with Orange Pi. There are actually three models, with Orange Pi and Orange Pi mini based on Allwinner A20, and Orange Pi Plus powered by a quad core Allwinner A31s processor.
I’ve drawn a comparison table with the specifications for the three models. Please note that Orange Pi Plus full specifications have not been released yet, so I don’t have all details.
| Orange Pi Mini | Orange Pi | Orange Pi Plus | |
| SoC | Allwinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 processor up to 1GHz with Mali-400 MP2 GPU | Allwinner A31s quad core Cortex A7 processor with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU | |
| System Memory | 1 GB DDR3 | ||
| Storage | 2x micro SD slot + SATA | NAND Flash + micro SD slot + SATA | TBD |
| Video Output | HDMI, AV, and DSI I/F | HDMI, AV, VGA, and DSI I/F | HDMI, AV, and DSI I/F |
| Audio I/O | HDMI, AV, and MIC | HDMI, AV, and MIC | HDMI and AV |
| Connectivity | Gigabit Ethernet (RTL8211E/D) + Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n + optional Bluetooth | Ethernet + 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi | |
| Camera | Parallel 8-bit I/F | CSI connector CSI connector | |
| USB | 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG | 4x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB OTG | |
| Expansion | 40-pin header | 26-pin “R-Pi” header 18-pin extended interface |
|
| Misc | Rest, power, and u-boot buttons Power, Ethernet, and user LEDS IR receiver |
Rest, power, and u-boot buttons Power, Ethernet, and user LEDS IR receiver, RTC battery interface |
Rest, power, and u-boot buttons Power, Ethernet, and user LEDS IR receiver |
| Power | * 5V/2A via DC jack* 5V via micro USB OTG port | * 5V/2A via DC jack * 5V via micro USB OTG port * Li-Po Battery |
* 5V/2A via DC jack * 5V via micro USB OTG port |
| Dimensions | 94 x 86 mm | 112 x 60 mm | N/A |
| Weight | 45 grams | 60 grams | N/A |
| Price + Shipping | $42.11 | $51.31 | $76.37 |
Orange Pi boards appear to be software compatible with Banana Pi, and Banana Pi M2 boards, with support for Android 4.4, Debian, Ubuntu, Raspbian, and Scratch, and Orange Pi website is a close copy of lemaker.org, one of the companies promoting the Banana brand. They even have the same “Apply for Orange Pi“, where you can apply for a free board if you have a project, or want to help with Orange Pi “community”.
Orange Pi boards can be purchased for $42 to $76 including shipping on Shenzhen Xunlong Software Aliexpress store, which also includes cheap accessories such as a $5.90 camera.
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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