UP 710S – A slim, credit card-sized Intel N97 development board with M.2 E-Key WiFi socket and GPIO, I2C, SPI, and COM wafers

AAEON’s UP 710S is a credit card-sized Intel N97 SBC and development board with an M.2 E-Key socket for a WiFi and Bluetooth module, and similar interfaces such as gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and  HDMI outputs as found in Raspberry Pi boards.

It’s very similar to the UP 7000 SBC with Intel N50, N97, or N100 CPU, but it’s designed to be slimmer so the 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible header has been replaced by 1mm pitch wafers exposing GPIO, I2C, SPI, and serial (COM) interfaces.

UP 710S specifications:

• Alder Lake-N SoC
  • Default – Intel Processor N97 quad-core  processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics Gen 12 @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 12W
  • Options – Intel N50, N100, N200
• System Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR5
• Storage
  • Up to 128GB eMMC flash
  • 256Mbit flash for the BIOS/UEFI
• Video Output – HDMI 1.4b video output up to 4Kp30
• Networking
  • Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port via Realtek RTL8111H controller
  • M.2 2230 Key-E socket (PCIe x1, CNVi, USB 2.0) for optional WiFi/Bluetooth module
• USB
  • 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports
  • 10-pin wafer with 2x USB 2.0 interfaces + UART
• I/O expansion
  • 8-pin wafer with 2x I2C, 2x PWM (3.3V)
    
  • 10-pin water with 2x 3.3V SPI
    
  • 10-pin wafer with 8x GPIO pins
    
  • 10-pin wafer for RS-232/422/485 COM interface
    
• Security – Onboard TPM 2.0
• Misc
  • Power button
  • Front panel wafer
  • Fan connector
  • RTC battery connector
  • 6-pin BIOS flash connector
• Power Supply – 12V DC-in, up to 5A via 2-pin terminal; Type: AT (default) /ATX
• Power Consumption (Typical) – 30 to 36W
• Dimensions – 85 x 56mm; maximum thickness – 25.13 mm
• Weight – 150 grams
• Temperature Range – 0°C ~ 60°C with 0.5m/s airflow
• Humidity – 0% ~ 90% relative humidity, non-condensing
• MTBF – 685,218 Hours
• Certifications – CE/FCC Class A, RoHS Compliant, REACH

While the company promotes the UP 710S as a slim board, it’s not quite as thin as it could be due to the USB and Ethernet ports on the side none of which are low-profile. Yet, AAEON still claims a 10mm height reduction compared to the UP 7000 while keeping the GPIOs found in the 40-pin Raspberry Pi header in the form of wafers. This is can useful for space-constrained applications such as robotics and UAVs.

Supported operating systems include Microsoft Windows 10/11, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and Yocto 5.1 Linux. There’s no documentation specific to the UP 710S right now, but you can check out the UP 7000 wiki which should apply to both boards, except for hardware details.

We also reviewed the UP 7000 SBC with Ubuntu 22.04 last year, so you can read our review to have an idea about performance and software support. AAEON did not mention any cooling solution for the UP710S board, but it should be a fanless SBC with a thick heatsink placed on the CPU side of the board like its big brother.

It’s not quite the first Alder Lake-N development board/SBC we’ve covered, as others that come to mind include the Radxa X4 (Intel N100, Raspberry Pi-sized), Jetway JMTX-ADN8 mini-ITX motherboard, BCM ECM-ADLN-N97 3.5-inch SBC, and ADLINK SBC35-ALN 3.5-inch board among others with each having its own benefits, features, and target applications.

AAEON could not provide pricing information at this time, but the UP 710S will be sold through the UP shop in the next few days. For reference, the UP 7000 starts at $169.00 with an Intel N50, 32GB flash, and 4GB RAM, and we should expect similar pricing for the new Intel N97 developer board, so they won’t be competing against the Radxa X4 on price, but it offers some extra features and a slimmer design. Additional information may be found on the product page.

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