Orange Pi Zero — Allwinner H2+, 512MB RAM, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Linux SBC
The Orange Pi Zero is a compact, ultra-affordable single board computer (SBC) from Shenzhen Xunlong Software, powered by the Allwinner H2+ quad-core Cortex-A7 processor. Despite its tiny footprint, it packs onboard Wi-Fi, 100Mbps Ethernet, and a 26-pin GPIO header — making it an excellent low-cost platform for IoT gateways, embedded Linux development, and lightweight server applications. It runs Armbian, Ubuntu, and other community-supported Linux distributions.
Key Specifications:
- SoC: Allwinner H2+ (quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 @ 1.2GHz)
- GPU: Mali-400 MP2 @ 600MHz
- RAM: 512MB DDR3 (shared with GPU)
- Storage: MicroSD card slot (up to 64GB)
- Ethernet: 10/100Mbps (onboard)
- Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n (XR819 chip, onboard PCB antenna)
- USB: 1 × USB 2.0 Type-A host + 1 × Micro USB OTG (power/data)
- GPIO: 26-pin header (compatible with Raspberry Pi GPIO layout)
- Additional expansion: 13-pin header (USB, IR, audio, UART)
- Power input: Micro USB 5V/2A
- Operating systems: Armbian (recommended), Ubuntu, Debian, Android
- Operating temperature: −20°C to +70°C
- Dimensions: 48mm × 46mm
26-Pin GPIO Header (Raspberry Pi compatible):
- Supports UART, SPI, I²C, PWM, and digital I/O
- 3.3V logic level (not 5V tolerant)
- Compatible with many Raspberry Pi HATs and accessories
Supported Operating Systems:
- Armbian (recommended — best hardware support and community)
- Ubuntu Server / Desktop (Armbian-based)
- Debian
- Android 4.4 (limited support)
- OrangePi official images
Applications:
- IoT gateway and MQTT broker
- Home automation server (Home Assistant, Node-RED)
- Lightweight web server (Nginx, Apache)
- Network-attached storage (NAS) with USB drive
- Embedded Linux learning and development
- Raspberry Pi alternative for cost-sensitive projects
Note: The Orange Pi Zero does not include eMMC storage — a MicroSD card (Class 10 or UHS-I recommended) is required to boot. A 5V/2A power supply via Micro USB is recommended for stable operation.