The Banana Pi BPI-M4 Berry is a new Single Board Computer (SBC) based on the Allwinner H618. This article provides comprehensive information about this SBC.
What is BPI-M4 Berry?
The BPI-M4 Berry is the successor to the BPI-M3 within BananaPi’s lineup of single-board computers. Similar to the popular Raspberry Pi, the BPI-M4 is another development board utilized for research, development, and hobby projects.
Powered by the Allwinner H618 System-on-Chip (SoC), it delivers impressive performance and a rich array of features for developers. It shares similarities with the Raspberry Pi 4B, offering comparable CPU capabilities, 2GB LPDDR4 RAM, 8GB eMMC storage, integrated WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, and a familiar 40-pin GPIO layout. Additionally, it includes 4 USB interfaces and a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Technical Specifications of BPI-M4 Berry.
Key Features:
- Allwinner H618, Quad-core ARM Cortex™-A53 processor
- ARM Mali G31 GPU
- WIFI & Bluetooth
- 2G LPDDR4 RAM
- 8G eMMC flash memory
- 1x USB2.0 Type-C OTG, 5V power supply
- 4x USB2.0 Type-A
- 1x HDMI 2.0a
- 1x 3.5mm Audio & TVE jack socket
- 1x GbE Ethernet port
Hardware Interface:
| CPU | Allwinner H618, Quad-core ARM Cortex™-A53 processor, 64-bit, up to 1.5GHz |
| GPU | ARM Mali G31 GPU |
| Memory | 2 GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 8G eMMC flash & Micro SD Slot |
| Connectivity | .4G/5G WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2 & Gigabit Ethernet |
| USB | 4x USB2.0 Type-A HOST, 1x USB2.0 Type-C OTG |
| Display | 1x full-size HDMI 2.0a (up to 4K@60Hz with HDR10, CEC, DDC, SCDC), HDMI digital Audio output |
| 40-Pin Headers | 28 pins GPIO and Power (+5V, +3.3V and GND) | UART, SPI, TWI/I²C, PWM, PCM/I²S |
| Buttons | Reset, FEL and User |
| Power | 5V@3A via USB Type-C |
| Size | 85mm x 56mm |
| Weight | 60g |
Software Information:
The BPI M4 Berry supports several operating systems, including Android 12, Ubuntu, and Debian. Find more information and download links of the supported OS here.
Difference between RPI 4B and BPI-M4.
While the BPI-M4 Berry shares similarities with the Raspberry Pi 4B, there are some key differences between the two. Let’s examine these differences in more detail in the table below:
| module | Raspberry Pi 4B | Banana Pi BPI-M4 Berry |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1.5GHz Quad-Core BroadcomBCM2711(Cortex A72) | H618,64 Bit Cortex™-A53 Quad-Core |
| GPU | 500 MHz VideoCore Vl | ARM Mali G31 GPU |
| Memory | 1-4GB DDR4 | 2GB LPDDR4(up to 4G) |
| Onboard Storage | MicroSD (TF) card | MicroSD (TF) card / MMC card slot ,eMMC 8GB |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet | 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
| Onboard WIFI &BT | IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac & BT5.0 | IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac & BT4.2 |
| Display | HDMI | HDMI |
| Camera | CSI | N/A |
| Video Outputs | 2*Micro-HDMI | HDMI 2.0a 4K@60fps |
| Audio Output | 3.5 mm Jack and HDM | 3.5 mm Jack and HDMI |
| Audio In | N/A | N/A |
| GPIO | 40-PIN: PWM,GPIO,UART,I²C bus,I²S bus,SPI bus,+3.3v,+5v,ground. CAN bus | 40-PIN: PWM,GPIO,UART,I²C bus,I²S bus,SPI bus,+3.3v,+5v,ground. CAN bus |
| Remote | N/A | IR reciever |
| USB Ports | 2*USB3.0+2USB2.0 | 2 * USB 2.0 1* USB Otg |
| Buttons | N/A | Reset button, User button, Uboot button |
| LED | Power LED, Status LED | IR receiver |
| Power | DC 5V/3A | DC 5V/2A |
| Board Size | 88mmx58mm | 88mmx58mm |
The Allwinner H618 is primarily designed for use in Smart TV Boxs, while the Broadcom BCM2711 is specifically tailored for Single Board Computers. This difference is evident in the video output capabilities, with the H618 supporting a maximum resolution of 6K@30FPS, whereas the BCM2711 supports 4K@60FPS.
Here are some Geekbench 5 scores:
| Core | H618 | BCM2711 |
|---|---|---|
| Single Core | 106 | 233 |
| Multi-Core | 376 | 674 |
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