Storage Space
Users have limited storage space, so I would like to clarify a few points. According to the official Orange Pi website, this board supports a TF card with a maximum capacity of 128GB. If you’re asking why this capacity is mentioned in the product specifications sheet, it is because it is a commonly used capacity.
The Allwinner A733 processor on your board features a modern storage controller that supports SDXC (SD eXtended Capacity) technology, while the Raspberry Pi Zero W2 can accommodate TF cards of up to 1TB. However, realistically speaking, based on past experience, the actual maximum capacity supported may reach up to 2TB, depending on the quality and brand of the TF card in use. Having said that, if you want to test high-capacity cards, we recommend purchasing a genuine, high-quality SanDisk or Samsung card.
The Orange Pi Zero W3 board does not provide an eMMC option, likely due to the global chip shortage. However, the PCB is designed to support flash memory and includes connectors for adding eMMC and UFS chips. While this limitation may concern some users, the current SD card capacity is generally sufficient for most use cases.
Back view of the Orange Pi Zero W3 (eMMC & UFS Ready)
According to its user manual (PDF created 2026-05-15 11:18:04) GPU and video encoding/decoding units are only supported by “Debian bullseye” – which was released 2021, is in LTS with EOL August 2026 (this month, as of writing). In other words, OrangePI have released a device that had two months (2!) OS support left.
If its that critical, you can always use the Armbian image, or buy a pi board for 140-200$. its not that the software
is useless and cannot be updated.