AAEON Goes Slimline with Its New Intel Processor N-Powered UP 710S Single-Board Computer Range
Boasting support for Microsoft's Windows 11 as well as Canonical's Ubuntu, this x86 SBC loses height through wafer connectors.
Embedded computing specialist AAEON has announced a new entry in its UP line of single-board computers, delivering a device roughly the size of a Raspberry Pi 5 but powered by the buyer's choice of Intel Process N-series chip and up to 8GB of LPDDR5 memory.
"We bid goodbye to [an] iconic UP Board but continue its legacy through the new UP 710S, an Intel Processor N-series powered developer board that retains everything developers love about the classic UP Board," the company says of its latest launch, seemingly in reference to the older and similar-form-factor UP 7000. "The UP 710S represents the evolution of the credit card-sized form factor, adding new, sought-after features and performance reflecting the technological breakthroughs that have come from our many years servicing the developer community."
Borrowing heavily from the Raspberry Pi footprint, the credit card-sized UP 710S, brought to our attention by CNX Software, is built around the buyer's choice of Intel Processor N50, N97, N100, or N200, giving it in its highest-specification four cores running at up to 3.7GHz turbo and a 32 execution unit Intel UHD Graphics processor running at up to 750MHz linked to a full-size HDMI 1.4b port, slung under one of three USB 3.2 Gen. 2 Type-A ports.
Unusually, these join an RJ45 socket for gigabit Ethernet as the only full-size ports on the system. An additional two USB 2.0 ports, eight general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins, two SPI, two I2C, and two pulse-width modulation (PWM) outputs are brought out on wafer connectors rather than the UP 7000's 40-pin GPIO header — which helps deliver a claimed 10mm (around 0.39") reduction in overall height. The compact wafer connectors also provide a surprise addition in the feature list, and one that will be of interest to those working on industrial automation projects: the line's first RS232/422/485 serial port.
The compact board also includes an on-board Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, giving it compatibility with Microsoft's Windows 11 as well as the earlier Windows 10, while AAEON promises official support for Canonical's Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Linux distributions built with Yocto 5.1. Power is handled via a 12V 5A screw-terminal input, with a surprisingly high typical consumption claimed at 30-36W. Although there's no on-board Wi-Fi connectivity, there's an M.2 E-key slot good for 2230-footprint add-on modules. There's no microSD Card slot, but on-board eMMC — up to 128GB, AAEON says.
More information on the new board range is available on the AAEON website; the company has not yet announced pricing or availability, but has indicated that a model using the Intel Processor N97 will be the first to launch.