Psst…need a RISC-V laptop for developers? Meet Lichee Console 4A and other models
The RISC-V architecture is becoming increasingly popular. Not the same, of course, as ARM, but over time it is becoming more and more relevant and in demand. Manufacturers are gradually releasing devices based on RISC-V chips, and one of them is the Lichee Console 4A laptop, which was created by developers for developers. Interesting details are under the cut.
What kind of device is this?
At first glance, the laptop looks like a smaller model of one of the Lenovo devices. But in fact, this is the development of an independent company that decided to release a device for developers. This laptop has a screen with a diagonal of only 7 inches, in addition, it has 16 GB of RAM and an LM4A TH1520 processor. It’s probably better to immediately announce the price – it’s $300, which is not that much. True, this is only the pre-order cost; how much the device will cost after going on sale is still unclear. But it’s unlikely to be much more.
Despite its small size, the capabilities of the device are quite good. In particular, it is compatible with LPDDR4X RAM, a 128 GB SSD is installed, and it is also possible to connect an external NGFF SSD. The display is 7-inch with a resolution of 1,280 × 800. There is an HDMI port that allows you to connect an external monitor. By the way, the laptop’s own screen is touch-sensitive and capacitive. For conferences, you can use a 2 megapixel camera.
Here is the full list of Lichee Console 4A specifications:
SOM: LM4A (TH1520, 4 × C910)
RAM: 16GB LPDDR4X
Internal memory: 128GB eMMC + external NGFF SSD
display: 7 inches, 1 280 × 800, miniHDMI included
input: Capacitive Touch, RedPoint 72-keyboard
Camera: 2MP front camera
Audio: 3.5mm
network: Wi-Fi 6 + BT5.4, optional – 1 × GbE
ports and connectors: 1 × USB3.0 Type-A, 1 × USB3.0 Type-C, 1 × USB2.0 Type-A, 1 × MicroSD
Battery: 3,000 mAh@7.6V
dimensions and weight: 18 × 14 × 2 cm, 650 g
The wireless communication module is very modern, it supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4. If necessary, you can choose a model with Ethernet, plus there are USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. There is also a USB-C connector.
As mentioned above, the laptop is intended for developers, although not for everyone, but for RISC-V developers who can immediately test their project. It’s a pity, of course, that the device is so small, but perhaps some will find it convenient, especially when traveling.
Not Lichee Console 4A alone
Yes, there are more than one laptops based on RISC-V chips. Nowadays new models appear every couple of months. Here is a small list of devices that appeared earlier.
ROMA
This is the world’s first laptop based on RISC-V architecture, which was released exactly a year ago. True, very few copies were produced – only about 1,000. Moreover, to purchase it was necessary to contact the manufacturer, clarifying the price and specifications of the device.
As for the characteristics, the device is based on the Alibaba T-Head TH1520 processor with four 64-bit Xuantie C910 cores, which operate at a frequency of 2.5 GHz. It also has a neural processor with up to 4 TOPS performance and an Imagination graphics chip.
Its screen is twice as large as the previous model – 14.1 inches with a resolution of 1,920 × 1,080 pixels. The developers also provided 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of permanent memory. The equipment also includes a backlit keyboard, an SD card reader, HDMI, USB-C, USB-A and Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth adapters, and a webcam with 1080p resolution.
If anyone was able to purchase this device, please tell us what your impressions were of working with it?
BPCD
And this is a laptop with an open architecture, which is called Balthazar Personal Computing Device (BPCD). The main goal expressed by the developers is to provide users with complete control when working with a PC, which is created based on open and secure standards.
The concept of the device is similar to the Framework Laptop, which we already wrote about. In addition to openness, this also supports the idea of the “right to repair”, so that the laptop, according to the manufacturer’s plan, should be able to be repaired even by a user with no repair experience at all, and with a minimum of tools.
The case is made from polycarbonate, aluminum composite or recyclable plastic, with hot-swappable battery and storage, a waterproof, low-profile keyboard with Cherry MX switches and a passive cooling system.
Screen size – 13.3 inches, FullHD resolution. The battery is capacious, over 10,000 mAh. The camera is also removable, plus there is an ergonomic keyboard. The developer has provided USB ports, one OTG connector, HDMI, GPIO and a 3.5 mm audio jack. As for graphics, at the time of the start of work on the project, the authors of the idea planned to use ARM Cortex A7x as a graphics processor. At the beginning of the year, they expected to publish open source documentation that would allow drivers and open source software to be written for the GPU.
The device is compatible with 64-bit versions of NixOS, Trisquel GNU, Guix, Debian and Ubuntu variants for RISC-V. Unfortunately, it is not yet clear when this device will appear on sale or if it will appear at all. But work on it continues. This is not a particularly fast process, since the device is being developed by a relatively small team.
