Azulle is a company that makes small computers, usually featuring Windows software and low-power Intel processors. But the new Azulle Ally is something a little different: an Android-powered mini PC with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor, a chip that’s usually found in budget smartphones.
The Azulle Ally is up for pre-order for $150, and it could be an interesting option for folks looking to build their own Android-based media center, storage device, or digital signage or kiosk system. With budget specs though, don’t expect too much from the little PC.
The Snapdragon is a 1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 octa-core processor with Adreno 506 graphics, and the Azulle Ally has just 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
It supports WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity and has a Gigabit Ethernet port, micro HDMI 1.4 port, micro USB port, and two USB 3.0 Type-A ports. Azulle ships the Ally with Android 10 software.
While the Azulle Ally is a relatively inexpensive device by mini PC standards, and one of the only models I’m aware of with a Snapdragon 450 processors, as CNX-Software points out, you could probably save a fair amount of money by building your own mini PC using a Raspberry Pi or a similar single-board computer, since many have starting prices under $50 and have horsepower comparable to the Snapdragon 450.
via FanlessTech
Raspberry Pi 4 is definitely a better buy. It has 2x HDMI 2.0 ports, compared to one HDMI 1.4.
Also the Raspberry Pi has much better support for much higher levels of h265 decoding. It claims 4k60hz, while the Azulle claims 1080p60hz. So presumably several times higher bitrate support.
Actually, checking qualcomm´s product page, it’s an octa-core A53 chip, not a quad-core. Bluetooth is 4.1, not 4.2.
While the CPU is stronger than the Rockchip you mention due to more cores (I’ve no idea how the GPU compares, though it does have hardware tesselation support), the Rockchip would most likely be better for a tv media device since the 450 only handles FullHD, not 4k.
Whoops, I meant to write octa-core. Not sure how quad came out of my fingers. But you’re right, a better comparison might be the RK 3368, but that seems to be less common. https://www.rock-chips.com/a/en/products/RK33_Series/2015/0717/671.html