element14 Year in Review 2016: SBC Comparison Chart

Top Single Board Computers & µController Boards of 2016


Board	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	BeagleBone Black	Beaglebone Black Wireless	Beaglebone Black Industrial
Feature
CPU / MCU	Arm Cortex-A53	AM335x 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8	AM335x 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8	AM335x 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8
	Quad Core 1.2GHz	Single Core 1GHz	Single Core 1GHz	Single Core 1GHz
RAM	1024MB	512MB	512MB	512MB
GPU	Broadcom VideoCore IV @ 250 MHz	SGX530 Graphics Engine	SGX530 Graphics Engine	SGX530 Graphics Engine
GPIO Ports	40-Pin Populated	2x 46-Pin Populated 72 GPIO in total	2x 46-Pin Populated 72 GPIO in total	2x 46-Pin Populated 72 GPIO in total
USB Ports	4x Type A	1X USB Client, 1X USB Host	1X USB Client, 1X USB Host	1X USB Client, 1X USB Host
Ethernet	Yes 10/100	Yes 10/100	None	Yes 10/100
WiFi	WiFi 802.11b/g/n	None	WiLink 8 WL1835MOD 802.11b/g/n	None
Bluetooth	Yes	None	Yes	None
Internal Storage	None	4GB Embedded eMMC Flash	4GB Embedded eMMC Flash	4GB Embedded eMMC Flash
Expandable Storage	Micro SDHC	Micro SDHC	Micro SDHC	Micro SDHC
CVBS Video	4-Pole 3.5mm Jack	Via Cape Add-on Board	Via Cape Add-on Board	Via Cape Add-on Board
Video Input	MIPI Camera Interface	Via Cape Add-on Board	Via Cape Add-on Board	Via Cape Add-on Board
HDMI	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Audio Output	Via HDMI and 3.5mm Audio Jack	Via HDMI and Cape Add-on Board	Via HDMI and Cape Add-on Board	Via HDMI and Cape Add-on Board
Audio Input	Audio Input Through I2C interface	Via Cape Add-on Board	Via Cape Add-on Board	Via Cape Add-on Board
Serial Port	Yes	UART0 access via 6-pin 3.3V TTL Header	UART0 access via 6-pin 3.3V TTL Header	UART0 access via 6-pin 3.3V TTL Header
Power Source	5V 3A Via Micro-USB Cable	5V 2A Via Onboard 5.5mm Barrel Jack	5V 2A Via Onboard 5.5mm Barrel Jack	5V 2A Via Onboard 5.5mm Barrel Jack
Temperature Range	0°C to 70°C	0°C to 70°C	0°C to 70°C	0°C to 70°C
OS Compatibility	Raspbian, Android	Debian, Android, Ubuntu, Cloude9 IDE, Labview	Debian, Android, Ubuntu, Cloude9 IDE, Labview	Debian, Android, Ubuntu, Cloude9 IDE, Labview
Buy Now	Raspberry Pi 3 Model BRaspberry Pi 3 Model B	Beaglebone Black Rev. CBeaglebone Black Rev. C	Beaglebone Black WirelessBeaglebone Black Wireless	Beaglebone Black IndustrialBeaglebone Black Industrial


Board	BBC micro:bit	CodeBug	WaRP 7	RIoTboard
Feature
CPU / MCU	Nordic nRF51822 – 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0	Microchip PIC18F25k50	i.MX 7Solo applications processor	Freescale i.MX 6Solo
	NXP/Freescale KL26Z 48 MHz ARM Cortex-M0+		(Arm Cortex-A7/Cortex –M4)	(ARM Cortex-A9 1GHz)
RAM	16k	2048 bytes	512MB LPDDR3	1GB
GPU	None	None	Mali V500	NEON MPE / OpenGL ES 2.0
GPIO Ports	3 + 23-Pin Edge Connector	4	Requires Expansion board	40-Pin Populated
USB Ports	1	1	1	5
Ethernet	None	None	None	Yes 10/100
WiFi	None	None	Murata LBEE5KL1DX-TEMP-DS-SD 802.11b/g/n	None
Bluetooth	Yes	None	Yes	None
Internal Storage	256k	256k HEF	8GB eMMC 5.0	4GB eMMC
Expandable Storage	None	None	None	Micro SDHC
CVBS Video	None	None	MIPI Display Interface
Video Input	None	None	MIPI Camera Interface	MIPI Camera Interface
HDMI	None	None	None	Yes
Audio Output	None	None	3.5mm Audio Jack	3.5mm Audio Jack
Audio Input	None	None	Via 3.5mm Audio Jack	3.5mm Audio Jack
Serial Port	Via 23-Pin Edge Connector	None	Via unpopulated headers	Via GPIO
Power Source	5V 1A Via Micro-USB Cable	3.3V / 5V Via USB	5V 1A Via USB	5V 2A Via 5.5mm Power Jack
Temperature Range	0°C to 70°C	0°C to 70°C	0°C to 70°C	0°C to 70°C
OS Compatibility	MicroPython, Blockly, JavaScript	Blockly, Python, JavaScript	BSP: Linux 4.1	Linux, Android
Buy Now	BBC micro:bitBBC micro:bit	CodebugCodebug	WaRP 7WaRP 7	RIoT BoardRIoT Board


Board	Intel Edison IoT Module	Intel Edison Kit for Arduino	Intel Genuino / Arduino 101	Intel Joule 570x Developer Kit
Feature
CPU / MCU	Intel Atom 32-Bit	Intel Atom 32-Bit	Intel Curie	Intel Atom T5700 64-bit
	Dual Core 500 MHz	Dual Core 500 MHz		Quad Core 1.7GHz
RAM	1GB	1GB	24k	4GB LPDDR4
GPU	None	None	None	Intel HD Graphics
GPIO Ports	26 Unpopulated	26 Populated, Arduino Compatible	14	80-pin populated
USB Ports	None	3	1	1
Ethernet	None	None	None	None
WiFi	802.11 b,g,n	802.11 b,g,n	None	802.11 b,g,n
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Internal Storage	4GB eMMC	4GB eMMC	196k	16GB eMMC
Expandable Storage	None	Micro SD	None	None
CVBS Video	None	None	None	MIPI DSI
Video Input	None	None	None	MIPI CSI
HDMI	None	None	None	Yes
Audio Output	None	None	None	Via HDMI
Audio Input	None	None	None	None
Serial Port	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Power Source	3.3V 1A	7-15V 2A Via 5.5mm Power Jack	5V 500mAh Via 5.5mm Power Jack / USB	3.3V 2A
Temperature Range	0°C to 40°C	0°C to 40°C	0°C to 40°C	0°C to 70°C
OS Compatibility	Yocto Linux v1.6 / Arduino IDE	Yocto Linux v1.6 / Arduino IDE	Arduino IDE	Custom Linux Kernel / Windows 10 IoT Core
Buy Now	Intel Edison IoT ModuleIntel Edison IoT Module	Intel Edison Kit for ArduinoIntel Edison Kit for Arduino	Intel Genuino / Arduino 101Intel Genuino / Arduino 101	Intel Joule 570X Developer KitIntel Joule 570X Developer Kit

Top Comments

mcb1 over 7 years ago +4

The voltage of the I/O would be very useful. The Edison has a 1.8v I/O so it means it requires an interface for most operations. Codebug also has provision for an on-board battery. Thanks mark
balearicdynamics over 7 years ago +3

Great chart! Useful for now and in future. I see that the Arduino UNO has not been mentioned... Finally! A first small step ahead Enrico
Former Member over 7 years ago +2

This is a great comparison table, I wonder if it would benefit from having a rating for expected user skill or experience level, giving people an indication what device would be suitable for them.

koudelad over 7 years ago in reply to Former Member

Agree... I also vote for adding some approximate CPU and video performance. I don't mean a specific benchmark score, but a quick relative comparison among the boards, to have an idea what a typical application could or couldn't be.
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Former Member over 7 years ago

This is a great comparison table, I wonder if it would benefit from having a rating for expected user skill or experience level, giving people an indication what device would be suitable for them.
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jc2048 over 7 years ago

BBC micro:bit accepts 3V on the battery connector.
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starrider over 7 years ago

There are a lot of "2016 devboards" missing, supposably the ones that you do not sell, that's understandable.
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balearicdynamics over 7 years ago

Great chart! Useful for now and in future.
I see that the Arduino UNO has not been mentioned... Finally! A first small step ahead

Enrico
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mcb1 over 7 years ago

The voltage of the I/O would be very useful.
The Edison has a 1.8v I/O so it means it requires an interface for most operations.

Codebug also has provision for an on-board battery.

Thanks
mark
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michelmerlin over 7 years ago

Thanks for this table rich with information. However it would be more useful if completed with explanations and comments.
Meanwhile I thank you all again for your work, and I wish you a happy New Year
Versailles, Tue 27 Dec 2016 23:57:55 +0100
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