Huawei Launches Raspberry Pi Competitor Based on a High-End Smartphone Chip

While the beloved Raspberry Pi is perfect for lightweight (and cheap!) computing tasks, it is far from ideal for heavier jobs typically done on more robust ARM-based laptops. But what if you could have the same operating power of a laptop in the same versatile package as a Raspberry Pi?

The answer would likely be the new $239 HiKey 960 board from Huawei.

Based on the octa-core Kirin 960 chip—the same chip used in the Huawei Mate 9 smartphone—the HiKey 960 technically operates as efficiently as a modern high-end smartphone (it is also used in Porsche Design models). In other words, while the HiKey 960 has 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM, the low-cost Raspberry Pi 3 clocks in with just 1GB LPDDR2. While it’s not technically ideal for creating a high-speed multimedia/rendering powerhouse, the chip is perfectly capable of going above and beyond the capabilities of your standard Pi—assuming you’re willing to cough up the $200+ price difference.

As a tiny Linux computer ideal for Android developers, or those looking for a 4K output option, the HiKey 960 could be a godsend. If you’re just looking to tinker around with the average garage projects on the weekend, however, it’s a tad bit overkill. In any case, who doesn’t love more options?

The HiKey 960 is available now for $239 over at Amazon.