Radxa Dragon Q6A is an upcoming credit card-sized SBC powered by a Qualcomm QCS6490 octa-core SoC with a 12 TOPS AI accelerator, up to 16GB LPDDR5 memory, and the usual ports found on Raspberry Pi-like single board computers such as gigabit Ethernet, four USB ports, HDMI video output, and a 40-pin GPIO header.
The board will also feature an M.2 Key-M socket for SSD storage, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless module, a MIPI DSI display interface, three MIPI CSI connectors, a connector for an eMMC or UFS flash module, a microphone input connector, and an RTC battery connector.
Radxa Dragon Q6A specifications:
- SoC – Qualcomm QCS6490
- CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670 with 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold cores (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Silver cores (Cortex-A55) @ up to 1.9 GHz
- GPU – Adreno 643L GPU @ 812 MHz with support for Open GL ES 3.2, Open CL 2.0, Vulkan 1.x, DX FL 12
- DSP – Hexagon DSP with dual HVX and 4K HMX
- VPU – Adreno 633 VPU up to 4K60 decode for H.264/H.265/VP9, Up to 4K30 encode for H.264/H.265; Support for HDR10 and HDR10+ playback
- Spectra ISP – 64 MP / 36 + 22 MP / 3×22 MP at 30fps ZSL; 192 MP non-ZSL
- AI – 6th gen Qualcomm AI Engine that combines Compute Hexagon DSP with dual Hexagon Vector, eXtensions (HVX), Hexagon Co-processor (Hexagon CP) 2.0, and Hexagon Tensor accelerator for up to 12 TOPS of AI performance
- System Memory – Up to 16GB LPDDR5
- Storage
- MicroSD card slot
- M.2 M-Key socket for SSD
- SPI NOR flash for bootloader
- eMMC and UFS module connector
- Video Output
- HDMI port
- 4-lane MIPI DSI connector
- Camera Inputs
- 2x 2-lane MIPI CSI connectors
- 1x 4-lane MIPI CSI connector
- Audio
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Microphone input connector
- HDMI audio out
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with optional PoE support
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 with two u.FL antenna connectors
- USB
- 1x USB 3.1 Type-A OTG port
- 3x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
- Expansion
- M.2 M-Key socket for SSD
- 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header
- Misc – RTC battery connector
- Power supply
- USB Type-C PD input
- Power input header
- Dimensions – 85 x 65 x 20mm
Yocto Linux, Ubuntu, and Android operating systems will be supported (I can also see Windows in the first illustration), and the board targets robotics, industrial automation, AI boxes, smart cities, etc.. We have limited information right now, since the board is not listed on the Radxa website. Of note, it’s like a smaller version of the RUBIK Pi 3 SBC, also based on QCS6490, but in a Pico-ITX form factor. The QCS6490 SoC found in the Dragon Q6A is also basically the same as the QCM6490 powering the Fairphone 5, just without a 5G modem.
I got all my information for the new Radxa board on Weixin in Chinese, as Qualcomm has launched a developer contest with prizes of up to 30,000 CNY for the best projects leveraging Qualcomm DragonWing processor. Another good news is that Radxa is not the only company making Qualcomm SBC, and there’s a list of QCS6490 or QCS8550 boards that are recommended for the contest.
| Company | Board | SoC | AI performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radxa | Dragon Q6A | QCS6490 | 12 TOPS |
| Guangyi Zhilian | FV04 | QCS8550 | 48 TOPS |
| Meige Smart | MeiG Pi | QCS8550/6490 | 48/12 TOPS |
| Fibocomm | FiboPi | QCS6490 | 12 TOPS |
| Thundercomm | RUBIK Pi 3 | QCS6490 | 12 TOPS |
| Quectel Wireless | QuecPi Alpha | QCS6490 | 12 TOPS |
| Xunlong Software | Orange Pi AI Ultra | QCS8550 | 48 TOPS |
Thanks to Paul for the tip.
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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Nice, you got this news earlier than radxa shared anything about it 😀
Radxa shared it, but only in Chinese. I got the news through the contact form on the website.
It all comes down to pricing I would say.
How is the linux opensource support of adreno gpus VS the arm valhall’s?
If the adreno support is good this can be a nice upgrade over the rk3588.
On paper QCS6490 has fully mainline Linux support from Qualcomm (unlike Rockchip) so it’s great news that there’s SBC other than RPi that provides mainline support.
Rpi doesn’t provide mainline linux support on day 1. They use a fork much closer to mainline. I doubt rpi5 would be able to fully operate on true mainline right now, but I do not follow the current rp1 mainline support.
It’s Qualcomm, the price would not be low comparing to other SBC.
Thundercomm seems to list RUBIK Pi 3 on their site with price of 179 USD.
Yes, pre-orders started in January 2025, and shipping was supposed to start in March 2025. So I assume some may already have their board.
RUBIK Pi 3 has only one PWM output. Is this a CPU limitation or just the design?
Never mind, i found this Tip that explains why there is only one PWM.
“Configure any GPIO with
GP_CLKas an alternalte functionality to get clock or pulse width modulation (PWM)”The following procedure is applicable to QCS6490 SoCs.
These Chinese SBCs are a major liability. They put backdoors in even the esp32, which is only a microcontroller. There is far more incentive to sell compromised SBCs.
There’s no backdoor in the ESP32: https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/03/10/hidden-proprietary-bluetooth-hci-commands-in-esp32-microcontroller-could-pose-a-security-risk/
Then write code to create awesome mailnile support for all available 64bit risc-v boards out there. There are far too low available distros out there that have great support for risc-v boards.
That’s not true. If this sbc has blobs is bc of qualcomm, not the sbc vendor. Do you understand that this sbc has an american design SoC, don’t you? It seems thar people like you only fear chinese blobs, not american ones.