NanoPi R6S – Rockchip RK3588S Router and Mini PC with Dual 2.5GbE, GbE and… HDMI 2.1

FriendlyELEC launched its sixth generation router with NanoPi R6S equipped with a Rockchip RK3588S processor, two 2.5GbE ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port and two USB interfaces.

But the device won’t be limited to router functions as it comes with 8GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash and an HDMI 2.1 port that supports up to 8Kp60 video output, not to mention the ability to decode 8K video and the integrated 6 TOPS NPU for AI workloads.

NanoPi R6S Specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with:
  • CPU – 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, four Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8 GHz
  • GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 quad-core GPU with OpenGL ES3.2 / OpenCL 2.2 / Vulkan1.1 support
  • VPU – 8Kp60 H.265/VP9/AVS2 Video Decoder, 8Kp30 H.264 Decoder, 4Kp60 AV1 Decoder, 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 Video Encoder
  • AI Accelerator – 6 TOPS NPU
• System memory – 8GB LPDDR4X @ 2133 MHz
• Storage
  • 32 GB eMMC flash
  • Optional SPI flash memory for network boot
  • MicroSD card slot
• Video output – 1x HDMI 2.1 port up to 8Kp60 or 4Kp120
• Networking
  • 2x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports (via 2x Realtek RTL8125BG PCIe controllers) tested up to 2.35 Gbps (Rx) and 2.35 Gbps (Tx)
  • 1x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port (via Realtek RTL8211F) tested up to 941 Mbps (Tx and Rx)
• USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x USB 2.0 port
• Expansion – 12-pin FPC connector with 0.5mm pitch with up to 1x SPI, 3x UART, 1x I2C, 8x GPIO
• Debugging – 3-pin UART connector
• Various
  • eMMC flash update mask key
  • RTC connector for HYM8563TS real time clock
  • 5V fan
  • 1x custom button
  • 4 custom LEDs for system and Ethernet ports
  • IR receiver
• Power – 5V/9V/12V USB Type-C port (USB PD support)
• Dimensions – PCB: 90 x 62 mm; Case: 96.5 x 68 x 30 mm
• Weight – TBD
• Temperature range – 0℃ to 70℃

The NanoPi R6S will be much more powerful than the Rockchip RK3568-based NanoPi R5S mini router introduced last year, but some features have been removed, such as the M.2 slot for the NVMe SSD, the SBC’s 16-pin GPIO connector is gone, and the company also had to to replace one of the USB 3.0 ports with a USB 2.0 port. This is only because the RK3588S has fewer interfaces than the RK3568 SoC.

2.5 Gbps Ethernet seems to have improved, while the R5S can receive data at up to 2.35 Gbps, it will only transmit up to 1.8 Gbps, and the R6S delivers 2.35 Gbps in both directions. As usual, there’s no WiFi because the company expects customers to add a USB dongle if needed. FriendlyELEC offers three OS images for the board/router, with FriendlyWrt based on the latest OpenWrt 22.03, FriendlyWrt with Docker and FriendlyCore Lite based on Ubuntu 20.04, all images relying on the Linux 5.10 LTS kernel. More details can be found at The wiki.

FriendlyELEC contacted me last week about sending samples of the NanoPi R6S, so expect a review soon. The NanoPi R6S comes as both a clean SBC for $119 or a metal case router for $139.

Through Lilliputing

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time job before leaving his job as a software engineering manager and starting writing daily news and reviews full-time later in 2011.