Inexpensive SBCs are slowly but surely moving towards 64-bit world

SBCs (Single Board Computers) are a branch of PCs. At the moment these little computers are a kind of "new apps" like Microsoft puts it. IoT industry is hot and SBCs are the basis of that scene. No wonder SBCs sell millions.

So far, Raspberry Pi and Odroid C1 have been running in 32-bit mode. This is changing rapidly. Raspberry Pi 3 was introduced in the beginning of March 2016. It has 64-bit ARM-based processor onboard. You can still purchase Raspi 3 for 35 $. What a bargain! In addition, a rival Odroid C2 is also out! Five bucks more expensive Odroid C2 has 2 GB of RAM and 64-bit processor.

Why is 64-bit ARM so important? There is one well-known barrier; 4 GB of RAM which is maximum for 32-bit systems. But isn't there only 1 GB RAM in Raspi? True. However, things change. One day you might be running a laptop like NexDeck with Raspberry Pi 3 attached. You'll be needing all the power 64-bit ARM has to offer. With 2 GB or more RAM Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 can replace your existing PC.

But will that new hardware take us to the 64-bit world? No. Software is still 32-bit. I takes some time before we can download different ISO-images for older and the latest Raspi computers. Meanwhile the one and only Raspbian image there is takes care of all the hardware generations of Raspi computers. I like that. What comes to Odroid, I only own C1 which is 32-bit. However Odroid C2 will sooner or later run 64-bit Linux. No doubt about it.

Raspberry Pi 3