Orange Pi Explained

Developer:	Shenzhen Xunlong Software Co., Ltd
Os:	Orange Pi OS

Orange Pi (simplified Chinese: 橙皮) are a Chinese series of single-board computers (SBCs) developed and produced by Chinese based company Shenzhen Xunlong Software Co. Ltd (simplified Chinese: 深圳市迅龙软件有限公司). The boards are primarily designed for usage in educational sectors and for software development.^[1]

The processors, memory capacities, and ports of Orange Pi boards vary significantly between models. The officially supported operating system for the various Orange Pi models is Orange Pi OS, a Linux distribution based on Arch Linux.^[2]

Orange Pi boards are similar to other SBCs such as the Raspberry Pi, but feature different hardware specifications and capabilities. They are designed with open-source operating systems in mind, notably Linux systems including Android.^{[3] [4]}

History

Since their first model, the Orange Pi One, released in 2014, there have been thirty Orange Pi development boards developed and manufactured by Shenxhan Xunling Software Co. Ltd.^[5]

In 2022, Shenxhan Xunling Software Co. Ltd. released Orange Pi OS, an Arch Linux-based operating system specifically developed for Orange Pi computers.^[6] The OS includes various pre-installed applications for media playback, web browsing, and productivity tasks. Despite being designed with Orange Pi OS in mind, modern Orange Pi boards are also compatible with other third-party operating systems.^[7]

Orange Pi products include:

• Development Boards: The most common models include the Orange Pi 5 Plus, Orange Pi 3 LTS, and Orange Pi Zero 2W.^[8]
  • Zero Series: Low-power boards, typically with lesser hardware specifications, designed for educational use and simple projects.^[9]
  • PC Series: Boards suitable for desktop applications and media playback.
  • Other Series: Specialized boards for specific uses, such as artificial intelligence development (RK3399 series) and Internet of things applications (2G-IoT, 3G-IoT series).
• Keyboard PCs: These integrate a keyboard with the development board, such as the Orange Pi 800, in a similar fashion to the Raspberry Pi 400.
• Accessories: Accessories include cameras, touch screens, heat sinks, and expansion boards.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Orange Pi - Orange Pi official website - Orange Pi development board, open source hardware, open source software, open source chip, computer keyboard . 2024-03-03 . www.orangepi.org.
2. Web site: Orange Pi - Orangepi . 2024-10-08 . www.orangepi.org.
3. Web site: Redillas . Maria . 2023-10-10 . Raspberry Pi 5 vs Orange Pi 5 – What's the difference? . 2024-03-03 . PC Guide . en-US.
4. Web site: updated . Gareth Halfacree last . 2020-01-22 . Orange Pi 4B Review: Raspberry Pi Competitor Has Built-in A.I. . 2024-03-03 . Tom's Hardware . en.
5. Web site: Wiki-Orange Pi . 2024-11-19 . www.orangepi.org.
6. Web site: Orange Pi - Orangepi OS . 2024-12-03 . www.orangepi.org.
7. Web site: Orange Pi - Orangepi . https://web.archive.org/web/20240303231652/http://www.orangepi.org/html/serviceAndSupport/index.html . 2024-03-03 . 2024-03-03 . www.orangepi.org.
8. Web site: Orange Pi 5 Is A Great & Very Fast Alternative To The Raspberry Pi 4 . 2024-03-03 . www.phoronix.com . en.
9. Web site: Les Pounder . 2020-11-03 . Orange Pi Zero2: Small, Powerful, Cost Effective . 2024-03-03 . Tom's Hardware . en.