Disclosure: Some links on this page are monetized by the Skimlinks, Amazon, Rakuten Advertising, and eBay, affiliate programs, and Liliputing may earn a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on those links. All prices are subject to change, and this article only reflects the prices available at time of publication.

The Orange Pi Zero 3 is a single-board computer that measures 55 x 50mm (2.2″ x 2″), but which is a versatile little device capable of running a range of operating systems including Android 12, Debian 12, and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

At first glance, the little computer board looks a lot like the three-year-old Orange Pi Zero 2, but the new model has an updated design, a slightly smaller body, and a newer processor (with nearly identical performance). It also supports up to four times more memory. The Orange Pi Zero 3 is available now from AliExpress and Amazon, with prices ranging from $15 to $29.

The starting price will get you a model with 1GB of LPDDR4 memory from AliExpress, but you can also pick up a 4GB model from AliExpress for $25. Amazon charges a few dollars more, but offers better customer service and also offers more configuration options, including models with 1.5GB or 2GB of RAM.

All versions of the little computer feature use a microSD card for storage and feature a Gigabit Ethernet port, support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, a USB 2.0 Type-A port and a USB Type-C port for power (the system supports 5V/3A power supplies).

There’s also a micro HDMI 2.0 port for audio and video output, and 26-pin and 13-pin GPIO headers that can be used for up to two more USB 2.0 connections, I2C, SPI, UART, and GPIO as well as for video out or an IR receiver.

At the heart of the system is an Allwinner H618 processor, which is a 1.5 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with Mali-G31 MP2 graphics. It’s nearly identical to the Allwinner H616 chip used in the previous-gen Orange Pi Zero, but CNX Software notes that the new chip supports Android 12 software, while the H616 tops out at Android 10.

It also looks like the H618 has 1MB of L2 cache, which is twice as much as the H616, but it’s unclear how much difference this makes in real-world performance.

via CNX Software

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,543 other subscribers

Join the Conversation

10 Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  2. no more blobs
    this device is not open source
    probably if war will begin it convert to zombie computer and attact host and china goverment subside this ;( I not have a proof but blobs is real problem

    Reply

    2. Recommendation on a blob free SBC? I generally use OpenBSD’s armv7 / arm64 device list as a starting point.

      Reply

      1. Benefits? It is a cheap knock-off for the Raspberry Pi Zero that may be more readily available for whomever needs to include a mini computer in a particular hardware project. But be aware this uses a different ARM CPU than the Pi and is from a third party that does not provide much software support. There is a larger community for the original Raspberry and much much higher amount of information and examples for Pi hardware. So no, this is not for the average person who would be on their own trying to make their Orange Pi work, with frequent occurrences of head banging to be expected.

        Reply

        1. Actually, this is for the average electronics enthusiasts..
          Unlike Rpi which aren’t available and when they are, price is ridiculous compared to Orange pi… a LOT OF SOFTWARE works on orange pis . .
          Definitely not for cookie cutter people.. if u can’t figure out electric or a little programming tweaks .. it may not be for u

          Reply

          1. So….exactly what Lyle said, yet you had to disagree, then effectively cite the same short-comings. Got it.

          2. not quite the same, but. if you’re interpreting it that way. Good for you !! Orange Pi. is the same stuff as Rpi.. just different locations etc. for pins, chipse and stuff. NOT rocket science, and anyone with half a brain, who likes to figure out how to make things work etc.. can do this..
            MY GUESS most PEOPLE who can set up and use a Rpi. can figure out how to use an OPi .. they have the mentality level to do this.