Recently, there have been quite a few development boards based on the RK3528A, and now Friendly has joined the fray with the
NanoPi Zero 2
I feel that many of Friendly’s ideas are quite unique, so let’s take a look at this development board.
Firstly, this development board is very compact, with dimensions of only 45x45mm.
It is basically the smallest RK3528A I have ever seen.
The interfaces are also quite interesting.
It features a Gigabit Ethernet port using the RTL8211F chip, which is not typical for Friendly, as they usually provide at least two Ethernet ports. However, considering the size of just 45x45mm, it is understandable that fitting in two ports would be quite difficult.
Friendly’s idea is, if you want various interfaces, you can connect them yourself.
Thus, they provided a 30Pin FPC interface.
This allows for 30 IO interfaces, providing direct expandability. You can tinker as you wish.
The NanoPi Zero2 also includes an M.2 E-Key 2230 interface, which is intended for a Wi-Fi module.
I think Friendly made a mistake here; it would have been better to include an M.2 M-Key interface. However, it depends on the demand, as the official statement mentions that you can install NVMe solid-state drives through an adapter board.
However, I believe it could also support adding another Ethernet port or directly converting to a SATA3.0 interface, as this is a PCIe2.0x1 interface with a speed of 5Gbps. Installing two hard drives would also be nice.
It also has an eMMC module slot, allowing for the installation of an eMMC module, which is a great feature.
There is also a MicroSD card slot.
Whether it’s a TF card, eMMC module, or even NVMe solid-state drives, compatibility is quite flexible.
There isn’t much else to say about the other interfaces, but it also includes a USB2.0 interface and a Debug UART interface.
Interestingly, it also has a RTC battery interface.
It comes with a USB Type-C 5V power interface, supporting data transfer.
You can directly connect it to a computer to burn the system.
Friendly has even made a metal case for this little device, which, aside from being compact and having only one Ethernet port, looks quite similar to the R2S.
In terms of pricing, the NanoPi Zero2 is also quite affordable.
The price for the 1GB version is 129
The price for the 2GB version is 149
eMMC Module
32GB priced at 52
64GB priced at 67
M.2 dual-band Wi-Fi module priced at 117
The Zero2 unit includes an antenna and case. Note that it does not come with a Wi-Fi module.
The price for the 1GB memory version is 176
The price for the 2GB version is 196
This means the case costs 47
Honestly, the eMMC module and Wi-Fi module are not cheap.
Personally, I recommend choosing the version without modules, as you can opt for cheaper alternatives for the Wi-Fi and eMMC modules.
I even think it is unnecessary to choose the complete version with the case, as this case has too many limitations.
It is only worth considering if you only need one Ethernet port or require a Wi-Fi module but do not need the 30Pin IO interface.
As long as you want to tinker a bit, just choose the cheapest bare board.
Because the NanoPi Zero2 is extremely compact, you can easily create your own case and use the FPC cable to expand various functions, or fully utilize the M.2 E-key 2230 interface to create interesting expansions.
And I believe that this is the correct way to use the NanoPi Zero2.
In terms of the system, Friendly is quite good, supporting the Linux 6.1 kernel, which can run Debian 12, Ubuntu 24.04, FriendlyWRT, and the Docker version of FriendlyWRT.
Interestingly, the official team has also adapted OpenMediaVault based on Debian 12. This is a unique feature of Friendly. However, I estimate that the adaptation of iStoreOS is unlikely, and we will have to wait for someone to port it.
I think this development board has interesting points due to its small size, but the unfortunate aspect is also its small size.
When the size is small, the interfaces must be carefully considered. However, Friendly’s idea is to give you the freedom to play, which deserves praise.
But I think the M.2 E-Key interface should also be made into a PCIe2.0x1 FPC pin header interface, which would be lower in cost and offer considerable flexibility.
As for Friendly’s official plan to install a Wi-Fi module on the M.2, I cannot understand how significant this application scenario is. It may be used as a small server.
Overall, if you need a small RK3528A development board, this one is worth considering. However, if you want all interfaces to be well-prepared and ideally onboard, you might want to look elsewhere.
If you also want to play with an RK3528A development board but seek sufficient flexibility, this one is also quite good.
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