FriendlyElec has introduced NanoPi R3S-LTS, a mini router board ranked among the small, cost-effective and easy-to-use boards allowing hobbyists, makers, and professionals alike to take up the board and develop embedded systems and networking applications. It belongs to the NanoPi line of mini computers produced by FriendlyElec, which is renowned for its advanced hardware functionality and customizable software.
The NanoPi R3S-LTS is essentially based on a Rockchip RK3566 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55-based 64-bit SoC, which provides a useful balance between performance and efficiency to be applied in home networking, edge computing, or IoT gateway, among other tasks. You have options of RAM/Storage; most of the time, they have 2 GB RAM and an optional 32 GB eMMC, or they are simply the bare board, and add storage afterwards.
Network connectivity is one of the best attributes of the R3S-LTS. In contrast to most small SBCs (single-board computers), it has two Gigabit Ethernet ports, so that it can be used in networking applications in the role of a DIY router, firewall, IoT gateway, or small NAS server. These Ethernet interfaces operate at high speed and provide ample data traffic for local server activities.
The board has a number of convenient hardware interfaces:
- USB-C Fast data transfer or power delivery Pty.
- A MicroSD slot for expandable storage
- A MIPI-DSI display connector and an HDMI 2.0 port for display output
- UART debug and user buttons for development and system control
- LEDs for basic status indicators
All these make it very practical as a development platform. You can compare it with other Rockchip-based SBCs like the Forlinx OK3506-S12, the Luckfox Aura, the ArmSoM CM1, and others.
Software-wise, NanoPi R3S-LTS can have a variety of operating systems being built on, including embedded and open-source projects. These can consist of Linux-based systems such as Debian and Ubuntu, systems with increasingly container-capable features, such as Buildroot and Alpine Linux, and router-oriented systems such as FriendlyWRT and OpenMediaVault. This allows you to use the board both as a simple IoT board and in more advanced server and network tasks.
The NanoPi R3S-LTS mini router board is priced at around $25–$42, depending on the configuration (RAM size, eMMC storage, and optional case). The standard version is typically listed at about USD 33 on FriendlyElec’s official store. At the time of writing, the board is in stock on the official website, while prices from third-party sellers may be higher due to shipping, import duties, or reseller margins.
