Introducing the Asus Tinker Board 3: A Powerful IoT Development Board with Extensive I/O

 Asus is back with another powerful dev board, the Tinker Board 3, designed to cater to the needs of IoT developers. The new board boasts a Rockchip RK3568 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor and can support up to 8GB of RAM, along with a microSD card reader and optional support for up to 64GB of eMMC storage.

What sets the Tinker Board 3 apart from its predecessors is its size, as it is slightly larger at 100 x 100mm (about 3.9″ x 3.9″). This added space allows the board to feature two PCIe connectors, a SIM card slot, and a wide range of input and output interfaces, making it ideal for various IoT applications.

• 64-bit, quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor, built on the Arm v8 architecture
• Dual LAN built in, and PoE PD supported via an expansion module
• 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi 6 supported via the expansion module
• LVDS, eDP, COM, and CANbus embedded and industrial interfaces supported
• Wide -40 to 85°C operating-temperature range
• Linux Debian, Yocto and Android operating systems supported

The Tinker Board 3 comes with 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of dual-channel LPDDR4X memory, and features a PCIe 2.0 x1 connector for an M.2 E-Key WiFi & Bluetooth card, as well as a PCIe 3.0 x1 connector for an M.2 B-Key 4G or 5G cellular module. The board also supports HDMI, LVDS, and eDP display connections, and other ports include USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio combo, and RJ45.

Additional features include a stereo pin header for up to two 3W speakers, 40-pin and 12-pin GPIO headers, an IR receiver header, CAN and COM headers, and support for a fan, RTC battery, and other accessories. The board also supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) and can be used without a fan.

Asus has not yet announced the pricing or availability of the Tinker Board 3, but the company is showcasing it at the Embedded World show in Germany this week. Asus also plans to offer "open frame panel PCs" powered by an embedded Tinker Board 3, including models with 10.1-inch and 15.6-inch displays that could be used for kiosks, digital signage, or other applications.

With the Tinker Board 3, Asus continues to deliver innovative dev boards that are powerful, versatile and designed for a range of IoT applications. Stay tuned for more updates on pricing and availability.