What's On the Horizon for SBC Development

[datsuns]

Is there a good resource for what's currently being developed by the major SBC manufacturers?  I am curious about what is being developed and when it is coming out. I'm thinking about expanding my cluster by another 10 or 20 nodes but I don't want to invest now if something great is going to be released soon.

 

I am most interested in FriendlyARM and OrangePi boards as they seem to have a good performance/value ratio around the $35 price point but I am interested in what all major manufacturers are doing.

 

Is there anywhere to read about development? Or is anyone here privy to what's next for low cost ARM based SBCs?

 

 

[TonyMac32]

Honestly I pick up stories on CNXsoft and from this forum.  Otherwise it's "who you know".

[s_frit]

Hi, I'm interested in what the future holds too. For additional sources I can add:

 

User Charbax on YouTube posts some interesting interviews from conferences and trade shows: https://www.youtube.com/user/Charbax/videos

 

MickMake weekly roundups seem to cover all the SBC-related crowdfunding announcements: https://www.mickmake.com/

 

The following might not be in your price bracket, but this is what I've deduced:

 

The ODROID N2 is on the horizon (with as-yet unknown SoC, possibly better than RK3399). 

https://www.cnx-software.com/2018/06/24/odroid-n1-canceled-due-to-ram-supply-issues-odroid-n2-coming-later-this-year/

VAMRS has an out-of-stock product listing for the RK3399-based ROCK960 Model C  ($69) with no product details. I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere, but comparing photos it seems to be a redesigned version of their Rock960 board, with no bundled eMMC (just a socket), different USB ports (no type-C connector), and the PMIC moved to the other side of the board: https://store.vamrs.com/products/rock960-model-c