BeagleBoard.org has quietly upgrade its PocketBeagle 2, just three months post-launch — switching to a higher-end Texas Instruments Sitara system-on-chip with double the cores, a faster clock speed, and a new 3D-capable graphics processing unit.
“PocketBeagle 2 is an upgraded version of the popular PocketBeagle, designed as an ultra-compact, low-cost, and powerful single-board computer (SBC),” the company says of the device. “Targeted at developers, students, and hobbyists, PocketBeagle 2 retains the simplicity and flexibility of its predecessor while delivering enhanced performance and expanded features to support modern development needs. PocketBeagle 2 is ideal for creating IoT [Internet of Things] devices, robotics projects, and educational applications. Its small form factor and low power consumption make it a versatile platform for embedded development, whether prototyping or deploying at scale.”
The PocketBeagle 2 (top) has had a quiet upgrade, moving to TI’s AM6254 — doubling the core count, increasing their speed, and adding a 3D-capable GPU. (📷: Texas Instruments)
The PocketBeagle 2 hasn’t been out all that long: BeagleBoard.org launched the low-cost single-board computer just three months ago with a Texas Instruments Sitara AM6232 system-on-chip at its heart — offering two Arm Cortex-A53 cores running at up to 1GHz. The new model drops this part in favor of a Sitara AM6254, which doubles the core count to four while boosting the maximum clock speed to 1.4GHz. Surprisingly, it also adds a 3D-capable graphics processor — a feature missing at launch.
“Rev[ision] A0 shipped with [the Texas Instruments] AM6232 (dual-core A53, no GPU),” BeagleBoard.org says in a brief and surprisingly little-publicized update, brought to our attention by Electronics Weekly, “but Rev A1 has shipped with [the] AM6254 (quad-core A53 plus GPU) at no additional cost!” This, the company has clarified, is the version stocked at all resellers now — meaning anyone ordering a PocketBeagle 2 from now on will receive the higher-performance quad-core variant as standard.
More information is available on the BeagleBoard.org website.