The NanoPi NEO3 Plus is a compact single-board computer from FriendlyElec based on the Rockchip RK3528A processor. Compared to the earlier NanoPi NEO3, the Plus variant adds eMMC support, RTC and speaker connectors, while retaining the compact 48 × 48 mm footprint.

The board is powered by the Rockchip RK3528A SoC integrating four Arm Cortex-A53 CPU cores operating at up to 1.8 GHz together with a Mali-450 GPU and hardware video decoding support for 4K H.265 and H.264 content at up to 60 fps.

Memory options include 1GB or 2GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X RAM configurations. Storage is handled through a microSD slot supporting cards up to 128GB, while optional eMMC modules up to 256GB are also supported.

RK3528A6 block diagram

For connectivity, the board provides a native Gigabit Ethernet interface based on the RTL8211F PHY together with a USB 3.0 Type-A host port and a USB-C port that combines USB 2.0 device functionality and power input.

NEO3 vs NEO3 Plus comparison

Additional hardware includes a 26-pin FPC GPIO connector, debug UART header, RTC battery connector, stereo speaker connector, fan header, GPIO button, and a MASK button used during eMMC upgrades.

NEO3 Plus top view

Software support includes Alpine Linux 3.23, Debian 13 Core, Ubuntu 24.04 Core, FriendlyWrt 25.12, OpenMediaVault 8.0.6, Proxmox VE 8.2.7, and Buildroot with Weston. The available images are based on Linux 6.1 LTS and support booting from removable media or optional eMMC storage.

NEO3 Plus bottom view

According to a DietPi discussion, users have also reported successfully running the NanoPi Zero2 DietPi image on the NanoPi NEO3 Plus due to the hardware similarities between the two RK3528A-based platforms, although some users observed USB throughput limitations when using that image.

Specifications listed for the NanoPi NEO3 Plus include:

• Processor:
  • Rockchip RK3528A SoC
  • Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.8 GHz
  • ARM Mali-450 GPU
  • 4K H.265 / H.264 decoding at up to 60 fps
• Memory:
  • 1GB / 2GB LPDDR4 / LPDDR4X RAM
• Storage:
  • eMMC module support
  • 1× microSD slot (up to 128 GB)
• Audio:
  • 4-pin stereo speaker connector
• Networking:
  • 1× Gigabit Ethernet (RTL8211F PHY)
• I/O Interfaces:
  • 1× 26-pin FPC GPIO connector
  • 1× Debug UART header (3-pin, 3.3 V, 1500000 bps)
• USB:
  • 1× USB 3.0 Type-A host port
  • 1× USB-C (USB 2.0 device + power input)
• Other Features:
  • RTC battery connector (2-pin, low-power RTC support)
  • 2× LEDs (SYS red LED, LED1 green LED)
  • GPIO button
  • MASK button for eMMC upgrades
• Power:
  • 5 V / 2 A input via USB-C or 2.54 mm header
• Operating Temperature:
  • 0 °C to 70 °C
• Mechanical:
  • 48 × 48 × 1.2 mm PCB
  • 54 × 52.5 × 25 mm (w/ case)
  • 8-layer PCB
  • 21.5 g (board only)
  • 87.2 g (w/ case)

Further Information