Huawei and Google came out with an expensive alternative to the Raspberry Pi called the HiKey 960. Though it is expensive, the single-board computer is the board to use for people who want an Android-powered PC and is developing software for the OS.
According to a report from The Verge, Huawei's single-board computer is based on its octa-core Kirin 960 chip. The board is said to be compatible with Android and, in the future, to multiple versions of Linux.
The report said the Kirin 960 is not as powerful as the Snapdragon 835, but it's a "relevant option" for a high-end spec. The Huawei HiKey 960 is said to have 3GB of LPDDR RAM, which is a big upgrade, speed-wise, compared to what was available before.
It also has enough power for a 4K output, in terms of graphics, but the board's HDMI can only support 1080p output. It also has a PCIe M.2 slot, to allow people to add faster SSD for the 32GB of onboard storage.
The real issue with the Huawei HiKey 960 is its price, TechRepublic reports that it costs $239, which is almost seven times more than the $35 Raspberry Pi. But despite its price, the HiKey 960 is a specialized board, compared to the Raspberry Pi, which is considered a jack of all trades that's able to run as an everyday desktop PC.
The HiKey 960 is designed to be used as an Android PC for developers that are creating software for the OS. Benjamin Wang, the deputy general manager of Huawei Wireless Terminal Chipset Business Unit, is expecting that developers will be excited with the new board.
"We expect that developers will be excited to get access to the latest ARM CPU and GPU technology, as well as new features such as a PCIe M.2 card interface," he said. The Huawei HiKey960 is available now through Archermind and LeMaker, but it's expected that local distributions in the U.S., Japan, and EU can sell the board by May. Check out the review for the Huawei Mate 9, which is using the Kirin 960 as its processor.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
