PHYTEC, an embedded systems company headquartered in Germany with global offices, has updated their phyCORE systems-on-module family with 3 sub-families of modules based on NXP i.MX 8, i.MX 8X, or i.MX 8M dual or quad core processors for a total of 9 modules.
phyCORE-i.MX 8
- SoC – NXP i.MX 8Quad, i.MX 8QuadPlus or i.MX 8QuadMax Arm Cortex-A72/A53/M4F processor @ up to 1.6 GHz with Tensilica HiFi 4 DSP @ 666 MHz, 2x Vivante GC7000XSVX GPUs
- System Memory – 1 to 8GB LPDDR4 RAM
- Storage – 64MB to 256MB Octal SPI/DualSPI SPI NOR Flash, 4 GB to 128 GB eMMC flash, 4kB EEPROM
- Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet PHY
- 4x 120-pin Board-to-board connectors with:
- Display – 2x LVDS, 2x MIPI DSI, 1x HDMI
- Video Input / Camera – 1x HDMI, 2x MIPI CSI
- Audio – 2x ESAI, up to 4x SAI
- Networking – 2x 10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet
- USB – 1x USB OTG, 1x USB 3.0
- Serial – 1x UART, 2x CAN
- Up to 19x I²C, up to 4x SPI, 1x QSPI
- 2x MMC/SD/SDIO, 1x SATA
- PWM
- 8x ADC
- Expansion – 2x PCIe
- Misc – 1x RTC (internal)
- Power Supply – 3.3V
- Dimensions – 45 x 73 mm
- Temperature Range – -40°C…+85°C
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phyCORE-i.MX 8M
- SoC – NXP i.MX 8MQuad, i.MX 8MDual or i.MX 8MQuadLite Arm Cortex-A53/M4F processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Vivante GC7000Lite GPU
- System Memory – 512MB to 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM
- Storage – 128MB to 1GB NAND flash (optional with eMMC), 4 GB to 128 GB eMMC flash (optional with NAND), 4kB EEPROM
- Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet PHY
- 2x 200-pin board-to-board connector(s) with:
- Display – 1x MIPI DSI, 1x HDMI
- Camera – 2x MIPI CSI
- Audio – SAI
- Networking – 1x 10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet
- USB – 2x USB 3.0
- Serial – 4x UART
- Up to 4x I²C, up to 2x SPI, 1x QSPI
- 4x PWM
- Expansion – 1x PCIe
- Misc – 1x RTC (internal)
- Power Supply – 3.3V
- Dimensions – 55 x 40 mm
- Temperature Range – -40°C…+85°C
Click to Enlarge phyCORE-i.MX 8X
Specifications:
- SoC – NXP i.MX 8QuadXPlus/ i.MX 8DualXPlus/ i.MX 8DualX Arm Cortex-A35/M4F processor @ up to 1.2 GHz with Tensilica HiFi 4 DSP @ 666 MHz, Vivante GC7000Lite/UltraLite GPU
- System Memory – 512MB to 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM
- Storage – 64MB to 256MB Octal SPI/Dual SPI Flash , 128MB to 1GB NAND flash (optional with eMMC), 4 GB to 128 GB eMMC flash (optional with NAND), 4kB EEPROM
- Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet PHY
- 4x 70-pin board-to-board connector(s) with:
- Display – 2x LVDS or 2x MIPI DSI
- Camera – 1x MIPI CSI, 1x parallel camera I/F
- Audio – ESAI
- Networking – 2x 10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet (one on-board, 1x RGMII)
- USB – 1x USB OTG, 1x USB 3.0
- Serial – 2x UART, 3x CAN
- Up to 10x I²C
- 1x octal SPI or 2x QSPI + 3x SPI
- PWM
- 6x ADC
- 1x MMC/SD/SDIO (only with eMMC available)
- Keypad
- Expansion – 1x PCIe
- Misc – 1x RTC (internal)
- Power Supply – 3.3V
- Dimensions – 52 x 42 mm
- Temperature Range – -40°C…+85°C
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Hardware Development Kits and SDK
As you’ll have already noticed, the modules have different form factors, and board-to-board connectors, so the company will provide separate development kits / carrier boards for their i.MX 8, i.MX 8M, and i.MX 8X modules.
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The kit includes a phyCORE-i.MX 8/8M/8X SoM, a carrier board to be used as a development platform or reference design, as well as an SDK for a given operating system depending on the selected kit:
-
- Linux – Yocto environment with pre-installed and configured packages such as QT-Libs, OpenGL and Python
- Android
- QNX, freeRTOS and other software available upon request
Documentation will also be provided with hardware manuals, Quick Start guides, application guides, and software application examples.
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Further details about the modules and development kits can be found on PHYTEC i.MX 8 products page.

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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