Hi there,
New to Radxa Zero and wondering what the difference is between the Zero and Zero 2.
Thank you in advance.
Zero vs Zero 2, What is the difference?
Difference in SOC
Zero = S905Y2
Zero2 = A311D
If you do a quick comparison on Google of this soc then you will notice a big difference.
Good luck.
Extremely helpful, thank you!
Is the Zero 2 available to the public?
Nah not yet but think it could be soon.
The zero is Quad-core Cortex-A53 but the smaller process means it runs faster than a Pi3 and sort of ended up between Pi3 & Pi4 in terms of performance with the Mali G31 being a better Gpu.
Zero 2 is an A73 and a smaller process so likely faster than a Pi4 also a step up to a Mali G52 4 core whilst videocore changed very little on the Pis.
The CSI camera connector that was absent with the zero is on the 2 and its also got a pretty awesome 5 tops NPU.
If it comes out it that tiny zero format it should be an awesome little board.
Khadas do a bigger format board and there are some benches
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That sounds awesome!
I would definitely buy some.
With that being said, there is currently no mainline support on CSI or NPU (DSI pending). So it is most likely only available in Android with Amlogic kernel.
I don’t think the NPU is much to do with mainline support or will be as its sort of blocked due to licensing.
Khadas have a NPU toolkit for the Vim3 that runs on both Linux and Android but due to licensing it requires an individual sign up.
I have no idea what the current situation is so that just leaves CSI.
Again using Khadas as a reference they support a single camera so guess its possible but its not in the meson support list.
https://linux-meson.com/hardware.html
Android is still pretty cool for many and guess its all down to which version the biggest thing in Android 12 for me is offline voice recognition but I think Google has kept that for Pixel phones only.
I think the NPU is still in the same boat with licensing requirements.
Does the A311D run a lot hotter than the S905Y2? If so, will the upcoming Radxa Zero 2 have the CPU moved to the underside of the board such that a full board sized passive heat sink can be fitted to it, as for the nicely fitted heat sink for your Rock Pi 4 series?
I was asking that as there is so much less pcb which often helps dissipate heat. I was asking if not being able to underclock as freq is fixed is a problem and apparently not so “If a proper heatsink is used” didn’t ask what a proper heatsink was but not a fan of underside CPU’s purely to simple convection and often the oversized heatsink needs.
I often felt with the Rock4 most of us where using it upside down but if you look at https://wiki.radxa.com/Zero2/Hardware/Revisions then there is no mention and the info we have looks like its top side with a dedicated gpio for fan speed and guess its own voltage regulator or pwm output.
The Zero2 is as interesting as the Rock5 with 4x A73 running at 2.2Ghz and G52 MP4 in a zero like format and hopefully more budget based price is an intriguing device and makes this a very interesting year for radxa and some of us who purchase.
Still not sure on the licencing or you can use https://github.com/VeriSilicon/tflite-vx-delegate with the NPU but we will see I guess.
Here you can find the product picture. The taped 3-pin connector is for a small PWM fan to use along with a custom heatsink.
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Its a slightly fatter Zero by the looks of it but looking very cool.
Trying to figure where you can fit onboard antenna with all that going on 
On my sample boards they all use external antenna, so I don’t know what the onboard antenna will look like. Although I see there is some empty space on the other side of antenna connector, just to the left of microSD card slot.
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There is not much but sure you guys will find some eagerly awaiting revision 1.1 to have a play.
I think offboard prob will be great for enclosures and better reception and those who are not so case inspired will go for onboard.
Its looking really good and keep checking for announcements, suppose you don’t have a non official approx release date?
Not at the moment, although the project is progressing nicely so that should be relatively soon. On Linux side we have working debos-radxa, Armbian, and Manjaro port all running mainline or close to mainline stuff. @anon39001862 just booted Android yesterday, and he is likely going to work on CSI/DSI/NPU enablement. Then we can roll a 1.1 hardware revision to fix those minor issues, and I don’t see what else is blocking the release.
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That’s sexy! Thank you for posting.
Looks amazing!!!
Is eMMC soldered onto the board of the Zero2?
Looking forward to order a zero 2……. For my setup powering device(s) through USB is crucial.
I am currently use a Pi 4 with a OAK-d-pro camera requiring > 1A from the USB port. Would this be possible using the Zero 2?
What will/is the maximum power output rating for the USB port?
Will there be a difference in USB power output when providing power through GPIO vs USB
King regards
Korstiaan
Doubt it as likely will be at least 15 watt min with USB prob a 24 watt PD might be needed if its anything like the Vim3 which power wise I would say is likely.
If you only have a USB2.0 its 500ma @ 5v so 2.5 watt USB3.0 its 900ma so 4.5 watt max.
The Raspberry Pi 4 consumed idle 3.8 W to 4.0 W . With 1 core being busy, it consumes 4.5 W. With 2 cores being busy, it consumes 5.0 W. With 3 cores being busy, it consumes between 5.4 W and 5.5 W
That are cores alone so you are being very fortunate from your supply device but would say no the Radxa zero is about 3.3 watt and between a Pi3 & 4 so prob a better choice as dont rate VC4/6 at all but each to there own.
Radxa Zero 2 is tiny but packs a punch with GPU, NPU & CPU but that needs a minimum of power even at the lower manufacture process forgot think its 12nm vs Pi 24nm but somewhere around there.
Its an Amlogic amlogic a311d and nothing Radxa can change about that.
Comparison with the Khadas Vim3 will likely not be too far of the mark.
benchmarks prob a better link.