Every month, Pine64, a community-driven manufacturer of low-cost ARM and Linux devices like single-board computers (SBCs), Linux phones, and such, releases an update on its latest developments. The update for the month of April is out today and for those looking forward to Pine64"s new Quartz64 model-A SBC, there is some bad news as its production appears to have hit a snag.
The development team has learned that the Gigabit Ethernet PHY which was intended to be used originally is currently out of stock and potentially as a consequence of that, the price per unit of these chips has apparently increased by 850%. As a result, to prevent further delays to the model-A SBC, the team will be replacing the unavailable PHY with something else. It is now expected that the model-A will launch alongside the Quartz64 model-B.
The Quartz64 model-A is the first from Pine64"s newest lineup of "Quartz64" SBCs that was introduced in the company"s January update and later detailed in February. The board has a similar footprint to the ROCKPRo64. However, it is not a successor to it and instead intends to replace the Pine A64 and the ROCK64 SBCs.
Coming to the Quartz64 model-B, this one has a similar layout and appearance to that of the ROCK64 non-Pro edition, unlike in model-A. The Model-B will pack either a Realtek Bluetooth/WiFI chipset or a Bouffalo BL602. Most of the other feature set appears similar to that in model-A.
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It has also been announced that PinePhone BETA Edition and the Pinebook Pro orders prior to April 12th will be shipping out this month and if you ordered one or is just plain curious then you should keep an eye on this official shipping update thread. There are also several other announcements and developments in this April update which you can view by visiting the official blog here.