- Maybe you missed it? Orange Pi 6 Plus Review.
- Orange Pi 6 Overview: An introduction, complete specifications, and key features.
[December 4, 2025 – Shanghai] At the CIXTech 2025 ecosystem conference in Shanghai, the Orange Pi 6 Plus made its official debut alongside the soon-to-launch Orange Pi 6. Still in development, this new board is positioned as a more affordable alternative to its predecessor, packing the same CIX CD8160/CD8180 SoC with a 12-core 64-bit ARM processor but offering fewer interfaces. Set to launch in 2026, it’s expected to come with the following specs based on current information:
Specifications (may be subjected to changes)
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| SoC | CIX CD8160/CD8180 |
| CPU Architecture | 12 core Armv9 processor: 4x Cortex®-A720 (Big cores) up to 2.8GHz 4x Cortex®‑A720 (Medium cores) up to 2.4GHz 4x Cortex®‑A520 (LITTLE cores) 1.8GHz |
| AI Computing Power | The total processing capability is 45 TOPS, combining the CPU, NPU, and GPU. |
| NPU | Integrated NPU with 30 TOPS computing power |
| GPU | Arm Immortalis G720 MC10 GPU • Hardware ray tracing • OpenGL® ES3.2 • OpenCL® 3.0 • Vulkan® 1.3® |
| RAM | LPDDR5: 8GB / 16GB / 32GB options. |
| 💾 Storage | 2x NVMe SSD (M.2 2280) |
| 📶 Wi-Fi Module | 1x Mini PCIe slot (for Wi-Fi/BT expansion). |
| 🌐 Ethernet | 2× 5GbE |
| 🔌 USB Ports | 2x USB 2.0 2x USB Type-C 3.0 HOST |
| 🖥️ Display Interface | 1× DP1.4 (4K@60Hz) 1× HDMI1.4 (4K@60Hz) 1× eDP (4K) |
| 🔊 Audio | 3.5 mm headphone jack audio input/output. 2-pin + 2 pin interfaces for L/R Speakers). 2-pin microphone. |
| 🔧 Expansion Interface | 40-pin function expansion interface, supporting the following interface types: GPIO, UART, I2C, SPI, PWM |
| Indicator Light | Power-on indicator light, system entry indicator light; supports breathing (ventilation) mode |
| Buttons | 1x Reset button 1x power button (power on or button-activated startup). |
| Fan Interface | 1x fan interface PWM connected to EC |
| RTC Interface | 2-pin RTC interface for batteries. |
| Power Supply | Type-C PD 20V IN |
| 💻 OS Support | Debian, Ubuntu, Android, Windows, ROS2 |
| Dimensions | 90×90 mm |
Exclusive first-look photos (engineering sample).
PCB Layout schema
What else is in the pipeline?
The Orange Pi team is working on a new Orange Pi CM6 Pro powered by the CIX CD8180 SoC, designed to be compatible with NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin Nano Super.
First look at an exclusive photo of the engineering sample.
A true Raspberry Pi 5 killer in terms of both price and hardware specifications
1. Orange Pi 6 vs. Raspberry Pi 5 with AI HAT+ 2
The Orange Pi 6 Plus wins because it is an integrated system, whereas the AI HAT+ is an add-on that faces bottlenecks.
1.1 Performance: 12-Core vs. 4-Core
The performance gap in 2026 is no longer small; it’s a generational leap.
- Orange Pi 6: Uses the CIX CD8180 SoC with a massive 12-core architecture (4x Cortex-A720 High-Perf, 4x A720 Main, 4x A520 Efficiency). This allows for “snappy” desktop performance that rivals x86 laptops.
- Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+: Still relies on a 4-core Cortex-A76. Even with the HAT, the CPU often hits 100% utilization when managing the data flow between the Pi and the external accelerator.
- Memory Bandwidth: The Orange Pi 6 Plus uses 128-bit LPDDR5, providing up to 96 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pi 5 uses older LPDDR4X, which creates a bottleneck when moving large AI models (like Llama 3.2) to the NPU.
1.2 Price: The “Hidden Costs” of Raspberry Pi
While the Raspberry Pi 5 starts cheaper, the total “AI-ready” cost is higher.
- Raspberry Pi AI Build:
- Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB): $80
- AI HAT+ 2 (40 TOPS): $130
- Active Cooler + Power Supply: $25
- Total: ~$235
- Orange Pi 6 Plus Build:
- Orange Pi 6 Plus (16GB RAM / 45 TOPS): ~$199 – $220 (often includes heatsink).
- Total: ~$210
Summary: Why the Orange Pi 6 Wins
- Latency: Because the NPU is on the chip, there is zero delay in processing camera or sensor data.
- Storage: It features Dual M.2 NVMe slots, allowing for 7GB/s read speeds. The Pi 5 requires even more HATs to support high-speed NVMe.
- Future-proof: 16GB–32GB of RAM allows you to run modern 2026 LLMs (like DeepSeek or Llama 3) locally, which is nearly impossible on a standard Raspberry Pi.
- For roughly the same price (or less), the Orange Pi 6 gives you double the RAM (16GB vs 8GB), triple the CPU cores, and integrated 5G Ethernet which the Pi 5 lacks entirely.
Final Thoughts
It’s likely that even a pared-down Orange Pi 6 Plus could likely outpace the Raspberry Pi 5, thanks to beefier hardware like dual 5GbE ports, a 12-core processor, and up to 32GB of RAM—especially now that Raspberry Pi 5 prices have started climbing up to $145 due to the global RAM chip shortage.
Price and Availability
More powerful and a lot cheaper? [Last Update: 2026-02-17]
Production has already begun, and the first samples will likely become available after Chinese New Year holiday. We can confidently say that the upcoming board will be significantly more affordable and accessible for everyone. While the final price hasn’t been determined yet, we’ll update this article as soon as we have more details to share.
