Geniatech XPI-iMX8MM SBC offers NXP i.MX 8M Mini processor in Raspberry Pi form factor

Geniatech XPI-iMX8MM is a new member of the company’s XPI SBC family following Raspberry Pi 3 form factor and equipped with the 14nm NXP i.MX 8M Mini quad-core Cortex-A53 processor.

The new board follows XPI-S905X (Amlogic S905X), XPI-3128 (Rockchip RK3128), and XPI-3288 (Rockchip RK3288) single board computer introduced over the last three years with many of the same features including HDMI output, four USB ports, Ethernet, and so on.

Geniatech XPI-IMX8MM specifications:

SoC –NXP i.MX 8M Mini quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz with Cortex-M4 real-time core, 2D and 3D Vivante GPUs, 1080p60 H.265/H.264 video decoder, 1080p60 H.264 video encoder
System Memory – 1GB (default) to 4GB LPDDR4
Storage – 8GB (default) to 128GB eMMC 5.x flash, MicroSD card slot
Video & Audio Output
- HDMI 1.4 up to 4Kp30
- 3.5mm AV jack with composite video and stereo audio
- 2-lane MIPI DSI connector
Camera – 2-lane MIPI CSI connector
Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- 4-pin header for optional 2.4 GHz or dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 module with IPEX antenna connectors
USB – 4x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB-C port
Expansion – 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header with 28 GPIOs, I2C, UART, SPI, PWM
Debugging – 4-pin 2.54mm pitch header for serial console
Misc – Power and reset buttons,
Power Supply – 5V/3A via USB-C port
Dimensions – 85 x 56 mm
Temperature Range – Commercial: 0°C to 95°C; industrial: -40 to + 105°C

Being limited to 1080p video, it does not quite have the same multimedia capability as the 4K capable XPI-RK3288 or XPI-S905X, but XPI-iMX8MM SBC is the only XPI board that offers a real-time Cortex-M4 core designed to be programmed, and with an optional industrial temperature range.

Geniatech provides a Linux BSP based on the Yocto Project for the Cortex-A53 cores and FreeRTOS for the Cortex-M4 core. Note that it is not the first i.MX 8M Mini board with Raspberry Pi form factor we’ve covered, as MaaxBoard Mini SBC was launched nearly a year ago, but appears to be out of stock right now. I’ve been told there’s a renewed interest in Raspberry Pi alternatives in recent months, due to supply issues with boards and modules from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, especially from commercial customers who cannot wait forever for stock to become available. Depending on the application, switching to an NXP i.MX 8M Mini board might not be a bad idea, as software support is good either from the official NXP SDK or mainline Linux. You can read more about it in our interview of Timesys and NXP about the NXP Linux BSP and maintenance & security updates, as well as the comments section.

Price may be a non-starter for cost-sensitive applications, as Geniatech XPI-iMX8MM single board computer is sold for $90 with the WiFi module, 1GB RAM, and 8GB storage. For reference, the sample price for the similar MaaxBoard Mini board was $72.50 last year. Volume pricing will be lower, but the company does not provide volume pricing guidelines, so you’d have to ask. More details may be found on the product page.

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.