Huawei and Google have created a Raspberry Pi killer, which supercharges Android. HiKey 960 is a computer board that has some of the latest CPU and GPU technologies, but with the high price tag of $239. Unexpectedly more popular than it was first released four years ago, the Raspberry Pi is a series of small single-board computers used in robotics, and even in DIY smart devices.
With Hikey 960, prepare to run Android at blazing fast speeds designed to work similarly like the popular Raspberry Pi computer board. The device was a collaborative effort involving several other firms like ARM, Archermind, and LeMaker which all played roles in developing the board. Aimed at Android developers, rather than DIY makers, the Hikey 960 is way pricier than the Raspberry Pi which starts from $10 to $35 depending on the model.
Huawei and Google HiKey 960 is light years away from Raspberry Pi in terms of price, also in terms of hardware. For $239, a single board computer is treated to a Huawei Kirin 960 octa-core ARM processor. According to New Atlas, this already has four high-performance Cortex-A73 cores (2.4 GHz) and four low power Cortex-A53 cores (1.8 GHz). The hardware can also be found in Huawei's Mate 9 smartphone.
By comparison, the Pi 3 Model B is equipped with a 1.2 GHz quad-core A53 processor, while Asus' Tinker Board has a 1.8 GHz RK3288 quad-core SoC. The HiKey 960 also has 32GB of storage and 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM, with its Mali-G71 GPU capable of delivering 4K graphics based on ARM’s latest Bitfrost architecture. The HiKey 960 is meant to be a go-to PC for Android if you want it to run at super fast speeds, or a tool to develop software and drivers for the OS.
Huawei's answer to Raspberry Pi is also backed by Linaro, an organization that develops software packages for the Android OS and ARM architecture. According to PC World, the HiKey 960 is suitable in creating robots, drones, and other smart devices. However, it’s primary use is intended for an Android PC or a tool for developers who want to write and test applications.
