Single-board computers seem to be getting smaller and smaller, but a new board being teased by Mango Pi must surely win some sort of award for compactness - the as-yet-unnamed module packs a Linux-capable SoC - and precisely zero ports - into a space slightly smaller than an SD card. Much smaller than the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, and the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. [1]

Figure 1. The MangoPi Releases a Tiny New Board with Linux Capability

Figure 1 shows in a post on Twitter, MangoPi announced its new SD card-sized device that’s smaller than the smallest Raspberry Pi. The device which is still unnamed features a Linux-capable SoC, and has no ports. Hence, an external carrier board will be required for programming and interfacing. This carrier board can be seen in the images released by MangoPi. The Twitter post also specifies that the board can run 1080p video at 60Hz over HDMI. [2]

In keeping with the photographs MangoPi launched, here are some options of the machine:

• Processing models: Allwinner H616, Vulkan 1.1-capable GPU
• 4 Arm Cortex-A53 cores
• Can run Tina Linux
• Most Reminiscence: 4GB (DDR3 and 4)
• 8-bit NAND Flash interface with ECC
• SD 3.0 interface
• Helps full disk encryption with AES, XTS
• 160-bit {hardware} pseudo-random quantity generator
• Built-in EFUSE chip for ID and safety
• Tamper-proofing utilizing MD5 and different strategies
• Its video engine can decode H.264, H.265, VP9
• HDR with 10-bit processing
• Two digital audio channels
• The provider board consists of the next:
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • USB 2/OTG
  • One other 100MBs Ethernet interface
  • UART
  • PWM controller
  • SDIO
  • An influence supply system [3]

While the $39 price tag includes free shipping, the MangoPi-Nezha isn’t the only game in town, and it’s not necessarily the cheapest either: Sipeed’s Lichee RV that launched a couple of months ago features the same Allwinner D1 chip but packs 512MB of RAM and a design that allows the computer-on-a-module to be connected to a carrier board for expanded functionality. The Lichee RV is available from AliExpress for $17 and up (with shipping to the United States running about $5). [4]

References:

1. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/mango-pi-teases-tiny-raspberry-pi-alternative
2. https://www.electronicsforu.com/news/new-products/mangopi-releases-a-tiny-new-board-with-linux-capability
3. https://wpcom.info/mangopi-releases-a-tiny-new-board-with-linux-functionality/
4. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/mango-pi-teases-tiny-raspberry-pi-alternative

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), MangoPi Releases a Tiny New Board with Linux Capability, Anatechmaz, pp. 237