SinoVoip’s Linux-friendly, 60 x 30mm Banana Pi M2 Zero (BPI-M2 Zero) SBC closely mimics the Raspberry Pi Zero W, but has a faster Allwinner H2+.



Just as we were trumpeting the $23 BPI-M2 Magic as being the “smallest, cheapest Banana Pi yet,” SinoVoip has launched an even tinier and more affordable Linux/Android hacker board on AliExpress. The WiFi-enabled Banana Pi M2 Zero (BPI-M2 Zero), which was revealed back in July, is now selling for only $15 with the standard 512MB RAM, or $21.53 including shipping to the U.S.







BPI-M2 Zero, front and back

(click images to enlarge)



The BPI-M2 Zero SBC openly mimics the $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W in both dimensions and features, but offers a 1.2GHz, quad-core, Cortex-A7 Allwinner H2+ compared to the RPi Zero W’s single-core, 1GHz ARM11-based Broadcom BCM2836. Like other Banana Pi boards, it is an open source hardware and software design with community support.

The Allwinner H2+ is much like the widely adopted Allwinner H3 SoC except that it tops out at HD resolution instead of 4K. This is the same SoC found on two other RPi Zero W clones: FriendlyElec’s $8 (256MB) to $12 (512MB) NanoPi Duo and Shenzhen Xunlong’s $7 to $12.30 (512MB) Orange Pi Zero.







BPI-M2 Zero (bottom) with Raspberry Pi Zero W (top)

(click image to enlarge)





Key specs of BPI-M2 Zero and RPi Zero W compared BPI-M2 Zero Raspberry Pi Zero W SoC Allwinner H2+ Broadcom BCM2836 CPU 4x ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.2GHz 1x ARM11 @ 1GHz GPU ARM Mali-400 MP2 @ 600MHz VideoCore IV @ 250MHz RAM 512MB 512MB Storage MicroSD slot MicroSD slot WiFi 802.11b/g/n 802.11b/g/n BlueTooth BT 4.0 dual-mode BT 4.1 BLE Display I/F mini-HDMI mini-HDMI USB micro-USB 2.0 OTG micro-USB 2.0 OTG Camera I/F MIPI-CSI MIPI-CSI Other I/O 3-pin debug UART — Expansion 40-pin Rpi 3-compatible 40-pin Rpi 3-compatible Power 5V via micro-USB (power only) 5V via micro-USB (power only) Dimensions 60 x 30 mm 65 x 30 mm OS support Android, Debian, Ubuntu, Raspbian Raspbian





BPI-M2 Zero detail view

(click image to enlarge)



— ADVERTISEMENT —



The BPI-M2 Zero measures 60 x 30m (1,800 square mm) compared to 65 x 30mm (1,950 sq. millimeters) for the RPi Zero W. Since the layout is almost identical, you can use a Zero W case.By comparison, the NanoPi Duo measures 50 x 25.4mm (1,270 sq. mm) and the Orange Pi Zero is 48 x 46mm (2,208 sq. mm). The recently released BPI-M2 Magic has a footprint of 51 x 51mm (2,500 sq. mm). The BPI-M2 Zero’s 35-gram weight, however, is considerably greater than its rivals.The BPI-M2 Zero is a much closer clone of the Raspbery Pi Zero W than the other imitators. It has a standard allotment of 512MB RAM rather than a 256MB entry point like the NanoPi Duo and Orange Pi Zero, and unlike those two boards, it offers Bluetooth in addition to WiFi.The SBC is further equipped with a mini-HDMI port, microSD slot, micro-USB OTG port, and 5V power-only micro-USB port. The BPI-Zero lacks the composite video header of the Zero W, but similarly provides a CSI camera connector. Also like the Zero W, it has a 40-pin GPIO header compared to the 32- and 24-pin headers for the NanoPi Duo and Orange Pi Zero, respectively.

Specifications are listed for the BPI-M2 Zero include:

Processor — Allwinner H2+ (4x Cortex-A7 @ 1.2GHz); ARM Mali-400 MP2 GPU @600MHz

Memory — 512MB DDR3 SDRAM

Storage — MicroSD slot for up to 64GB

Wireless: 802.11b/g/n plus Bluetooth 4.0 dual mode (Ampak AP6212) Optional dual mode Broadcom AP6335 with 802.11ac and BT 4.0 or Gigafu Tech AP6181 (2.4GHz WiFi and no BT, but low power consumption) RF connector

Display — Mini-HDMI port with audio for up to 1080p60

Other I/O: Micro-USB 2.0 OTG port (with power support) MIPI-CSI for 5MP cam or 1080p @30 video input Debug UART/ground header with 3x GPIO 40-pin RPi 3-compatible expansion connector

Other features — 2x LEDs; power and reset buttons

Power — 5V/2A via micro-USB

Dimensions — 60 x 30mm

Weight — 35 g

Operating system — Android, Debian, Ubuntu, Raspbian image



Further information

The Banana Pi M2 Zero (BPI-M2 Zero) is available for $15, or $21.53 including shipping to the U.S. More information may be found on the BPI-M2 Zero AliExpress shopping page and Banana Pi wiki.

