DFRobot Launches the LattePanda IOTA, Offering a Big Drop-In Boost for LattePanda V1 Projects

DFRobot has announced the launch of a new entry in the LattePanda family of x86 single-board computers, powered by an Intel Processor N150 and up to 16GB of ECC LPDDR5 RAM: the LattePanda IOTA, designed as a more powerful successor to the original LattePanda.

"LattePanda IOTA is a palm-sized, high-performance x86 single-board computer (SBC), engineered as a bridge between rapid prototyping and commercial deployment," DFRobot explains of the device. "As the next generation of the classic LattePanda V1, It integrates a powerful Intel Processor N150 with a versatile [Raspberry Pi] RP2040 co-processor, delivering a significant leap in computing power within a compact footprint.

"Key differentiators include its high speed LPDDR5 memory with IBECC [In-Band Error Correction Code] for enhanced reliability, broad compatibility with desktop operating systems like [Microsoft] Windows and [Canonical] Ubuntu, and a range of hardware configurations to meet diverse performance and budget needs."

The LattePanda IOTA, brought to our attention by CNX Software, is designed as a replacement for the ageing original LattePanda — maintaining the same "palm-sized" footprint and interface layout, with DFRobot claiming it should be a drop-in upgrade for most projects "nearly without mechanical redesign or enclosure modification." Those upgrading will find themselves with a big performance boost, thanks to a move to the Intel Processor N150 — a Twin Lake-architecture quad-core chip running at up to 3.6GHz "Turbo" speed an delivering an order-of-magnitude gain over the original LattePanda V1's Intel Atom x5-Z8350 for common workloads.

The processor is paired with the buyer's choice of 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR5 memory running at 4,800MT/s and with in-band ECC; those two models in turn include either 64GB or 128GB of on-board eMMC 5.1 storage, expandable via microSD Card or by using an on-board PCI Express lane with optional M.2 M-key expansion board to add a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage module — or, if you'd prefer, a high-speed accelerator for on-device machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML and AI) workloads.

Other ports include HDMI 2.1 4k60 and embedded DisplayPort (eDP) 1.4b 1080p60 video outputs, three USB 3.2 Gen. 2 Tye-A ports running at up to 10Gb/s, one USB 2.0 pin header, a gigabit Ethernet port, and a general-purpose input/output (GPIO) header linked to the Raspberry Pi RP2040 coprocessor. Power is provided over a USB Type-C connection, with the board configurable in two thermal profiles: 6W, for battery-powered applications, and 15W for performance-hungry projects.

"We know that for many of you, your LattePanda V1 is at the heart of a finely-tuned project," DFRobot says, by way of explanation as to why the new board is only "nearly" a modification-free drop-in upgrade for existing users. "To make your transition to the powerful new IOTA as seamless as possible, we've created a comprehensive migration guide. While the identical form factor allows for a simple 'drop-in' hardware replacement, the leap in performance comes with important updates to power requirements, cooling solutions, and I/O specifics (like the new eDP display interface and 3.3V GPIO)."

The new LattePanda IOTA is now available on the DFRobot store at $129 for the 8GB/64GB variant and $175 for the 16GB/128GB version; both models are also available with a Microsoft Windows 11 IoT Enterprise license, at additional cost. The migration guide, meanwhile, is available on the company blog.