Banana Pi BPI-M4: M.2 Socket and PoE Hat Support for This New SBC

By on February 15, 2019
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SinoVoIP has just unveiled their latest Banana Pi BPI-M4 board powered by Realtek RTD1395 processor, following Raspberry Pi 3B+ form factor, and adding an M.2 key E socket with PCIe 2.0 and USB 2.0 signals. The new SBC by SinoVoip has a 92 x 60mm footprint and a 40-pin, Raspberry Pi compatible expansion connector.

The Banana Pi BPI-M4 generally approximates a Raspberry Pi layout, despite being a bit larger in both dimensions. Unlike the RPi SBCs, there’s an option for 2GB in addition to 1GB RAM, and it’s DDR4. You also get 8GB to 64GB eMMC and a microSD slot.

Ethernet is limited to 10/100Mbps, but there’s a Power-over-Ethernet connector that supports the official Raspberry Pi PoE HAT. The board ships with WiFi-ac and BT 4.2, and you could also add a cellular modem using the M.2 E-Key slot.

Banana Pi BPI-M4 specifications:

  • SoC – Realtek RTD1395 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor with Mali-470 MP4 GPU
  • System Memory – 1 GB DDR4 (option 2 GB)
  • Storage – 8G eMMC flash (max 64 GB), micro SD slot up to 256GB
  • Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0 port up to 1080p (TBC)
  • Audio – Via HDMI port, 3.5mm audio jack
  • Connectivity – 100 Mbps Ethernet and 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 + Bluetooth 4.2 (via RTL8821 module)
  • USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports,  1x USB 2.0 type C port
  • Expansion
    • M.2 Key E slot with PCIe 2.0 and USB 2.0
    • 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible GPIO header with UART, I2C, SPI, PWM or power supply
  • Misc – Boot selection switch; power and activity LEDs; Power, Reset, Uboot and Install push buttons
  • Debugging – 3-pin debug UART header for serial console access
  • Power Supply – 5V/2A via USB type-C port or PoE using official Raspberry Pi PoE HAT.
  • Dimensions – 92x60mm; Note: Raspberry Pi 3B+ measures 85 x 56 mm, but SinoVoIP appears to have included the connectors for their dimensions
  • Weight – 48 grams

Further information can be found on CNXSoft website.

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