Rockchip remains a key player in the worldwide embedded systems and ARM SoC sectors. Its processors are popular in single-board computers (SBCs), AI edge devices, tablets, multimedia boxes, and industrial equipment, valued for their performance, multimedia features, and durability. Recent updates highlight a concerted focus on AI acceleration, enhanced multimedia support, better power efficiency, and broader software ecosystems.
This article summarizes the latest Rockchip update news, including SoC developments, software support progress, and ecosystem trends relevant to developers, OEMs, and system integrators.
RK3588 and RK3588S Remain Flagship Platforms
The Rockchip RK3588 and RK3588S continue to be the company’s flagship SoCs for high-performance embedded applications. Based on an octa-core CPU architecture (Arm Cortex-A76 + Cortex-A55), these chips are widely adopted in:
Recent Rockchip updates focus on maturing software support, improving stability under Linux distributions, and enhancing AI inference performance through optimized NPU drivers. The RK3588 platform remains one of the most versatile ARM SoCs available for developers who need GPU, NPU, ISP, and multi-display capabilities in a single chip.
Continued Adoption of RK3568 and RK3566
Rockchip’s mid-range SoCs, including RK3568 and RK3566, remain popular choices for cost-sensitive and industrial designs.
Recent platform updates emphasize long-term kernel support, improved power management, and compatibility with newer Linux kernels. Rockchip continues to position these SoCs as stable, long-life solutions rather than short-term consumer chips.
Software and Linux Ecosystem Updates
One of the most important Rockchip update trends is the steady progress toward mainline Linux kernel support. Over the past releases, Rockchip platforms have seen:
1) Improved upstream support for display, PCIe, and USB
2) Better device tree coverage
3) More stable DRM and VPU drivers
This progress benefits developers who rely on Yocto, Debian, Ubuntu, and Buildroot, reducing dependency on heavily modified vendor kernels.
Android and AOSP Updates
Rockchip continues to maintain strong Android support across its product lineup.
These updates are particularly relevant for manufacturers producing Android TV boxes, tablets, AI terminals, and smart displays.
Rockchip’s Neural Processing Units (NPUs) remain a core differentiator, especially on the RK3588 series. Recent updates focus on:
Improved SDK stability
1) Expanded model compatibility (ONNX, TensorFlow Lite, etc.)
2) Performance tuning for vision-based AI workloads
These improvements make Rockchip platforms increasingly attractive for edge AI inference, including facial recognition, object detection, and smart veillance
New RK3688
Also, still waiting for new SOC RK3688
Rockchip RK3688 boasts a robust 12-core CPU setup with ARM’s latest Cortex-A730 and Cortex-A530 cores arranged in a big.LITTLE architecture.
- 8 performance cores (Cortex-A730) handle intensive computing tasks
- 4 efficiency cores (Cortex-A530) manage background activities
- Supports dynamic frequency scaling across all cores
- Features advanced branch prediction and out-of-order execution In contrast, the RK3668 has a slightly different processor with 10 cores: 4 Cortex-A730 and 6 Cortex-A530. This configuration consumes less power and is suitable for tasks that don’t require high CPU performance. Both chips are manufactured using a modern process, likely 4nm or similar.
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