In 2023, it has been an extraordinary year for development boards. Previously renowned development boards have chosen to launch new products this year, and many lesser-known brands are emerging. So, which of these development boards are worth buying and which are not? Today, I will award these development boards.

The awards this time are as follows:

Best Entry-Level Development Board of the Year

Best Soft Router of the Year

Best Cost-Performance Development Board of the Year

Best Ecological Development Board of the Year

First up is the 2023

Best Entry-Level Development Board

Selected development boards:

As an upgraded version of the Arduino UNO R3, a staple for makers, the Arduino UNO R4 has achieved at least a double performance improvement compared to its predecessor through cooperation with one of its shareholders, Renesas. This time, it innovatively includes an on-board ESP32-S3 Wi-Fi module, further expanding its application range.

In terms of software ecology, it has official support from Arduino, inheriting most of the libraries from UNO R3. Although some libraries are still being adapted, I believe the future is promising. Currently, the original Minima in China sells for 156, while the Wi-Fi version sells for 219. The domestic compatible board Minima can be as low as 39.9, and the Wi-Fi version can go down to 89.

Everyone need not worry about the ecosystem of the Espressif ESP32, as it not only supports Arduino IDE but also MicroPython and CircuitPython. If you want to play with graphical programming, the ESP32 is one of the best-supported development boards.

To fully utilize all features, there is also Espressif’s official ESP-IDF development framework. In terms of performance, it is powerful, with a dual-core 240MHz CPU, 8MB PSRAM, and 16MB Flash configuration, and it comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, making it unmatched against most similar development boards. The price is 29.9.

The RP2040 may be unfamiliar to many, but if I say it is the same chip as the Raspberry Pi Pico, you might know it. The Hezhao RP2040 can be considered an optimized version of the Raspberry Pi Pico. It not only replaces the MicroUSB interface with Type-C but also upgrades the Pico’s 2MB Flash to 4MB, along with some small optimizations. At a price of 9.9 with free shipping, it can overlook all its shortcomings.

Thus, the Best Entry-Level Development Board of 2023 is obviously the Hezhao RP2040 with free shipping at 9.9.

Why was the Arduino UNO R3 so popular? For me, it was the combination of low price and a robust ecosystem. Now, the RP2040 chip is almost a perfect replacement for the Arduino UNO R3 in the current market positioning. At a price of 9.9, which is less than the cost of a meal, it can be said to be affordable. Many people may want to enter the world of development boards, but seeing the Raspberry Pi priced in the hundreds, they would surely feel a sense of resistance, whereas this will not be the case here, as it can be purchased casually.

Best Soft Router of the Year

Selected development boards include NanoPi R2S, NanoPi R5C, H28K.

FriendlyArm previously had various development boards, but now I feel it has almost entirely become a soft router brand. The R2S is the only soft router I have purchased, and the reason is simple: it is inexpensive and sufficient. It has been released for several years and still performs excellently. Currently, the single board is priced at 169, and the complete machine is priced at 229.

If you think the R2S is a bit outdated, then I believe the R5C is a good choice. Firstly, it has a 2.5G dual network card, which is not outdated at all since 2.5G is just starting to be popular. The RK3568B2 is also a mainstream chip, with 1GB memory and an 8GB eMMC complete machine priced at 349, while the 4+32 complete machine is priced at 399. For just a little more, you get a 2.5G network card with built-in eMMC, making it a worthwhile deal.

For products that precisely target the R2S, based on the recently released RK3528A design from Rockchip, it features two full-speed Gigabit network cards. Unlike the R2S, which has one USB interface for the network port, the speed cannot be fully utilized. The silver-white shell is also more eye-catching compared to the black R2S, and it is cheaper than the R2S. The version without eMMC and shell is priced at 159, while the 1GB+8GB eMMC version is priced at 199.

Thus, the Best Soft Router of the Year is the R5C.

Originally, I really wanted to choose the H28K, as it is a replacement for the R2S. However, after searching for information, although all three models support istoreOS, I still want to give the Best Soft Router award to the R5C because, at present, the 2.5G network port is the trend, and I believe its configuration and performance are just right.

Alright, due to time constraints, I will stop here. In the next issue, I will announce the Best Cost-Performance Development Board and the Best Ecological Development Board, as well as the most critical Best Development Board of the Year. If you find this article good, remember to like it. I will release the next article soon, and I hope everyone looks forward to it. See you in the next issue.

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