Banana Pi has published documentation and a shop listing for the BPI-M8, a single board computer built around the Allwinner A733. CNX Software describes it as inspired by the Raspberry Pi 5. The board measures 85 x 56 mm and has a 40-pin header. Like recent Pi boards, it brings PCIe out on a flat flex connector instead of an M.2 slot. Banana Pi has gone further than the Pi form factor in a few places: there is a UFS module socket, a second MIPI CSI camera interface, and optional PoE support alongside an AXP318 PMIC.
The specs are solid. The software is the problem. CNX reports that Banana Pi's documentation does not yet include source code or OS images. It also calls progress on A733 software support disappointing compared with earlier claims, especially for mainline Linux. If you know Allwinner's history, you can probably guess what that means for the first few months.
The silicon: Allwinner A733
According to the official BananaPi Docs page, the A733 has two Arm Cortex-A76 cores and six Cortex-A55 cores, running at up to 2.0GHz. The GPU is an Imagination PowerVR BXM-4-64 MC1, and the NPU is rated at 3 TOPS. CNX adds several details that are not on the Banana Pi page:
- Clocks: CNX lists the Cortex-A76 cores at up to 2.00 GHz and the Cortex-A55 cores at up to 1.80 GHz
- Process: 12 nm
- Real-time core: a RISC-V E902 next to the Arm cluster
- VPU: 4Kp60 / 8Kp24 decode for H.265, VP9 and AVS2, 4Kp30 decode for H.264; 4Kp30 H.265 / H.264 encode
- GPU APIs: OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.3, OpenCL 3.0
Embedded engineers will care most about the RISC-V E902. A small core inside the SoC could, in principle, handle housekeeping or timing-sensitive jobs while Linux runs on the application cores. Neither source says whether Banana Pi will ship firmware or an SDK for it. For now, treat it as a feature of the silicon, not of the board.
Memory and storage: two variants
Banana Pi's docs list 4GB of LPDDR5 for the board and describe two storage variants:
- BPI-M8A: eMMC. The spec table gives 64GB as the default and lists 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128GB options.
- BPI-M8B: 16MB of SPI NOR flash in place of eMMC.
The docs say the board supports SD card booting and UFS modules, and CNX lists a microSD slot. Note an inconsistency in the docs: the introduction says 32GB eMMC, while the spec table says the default is 64GB. Check the eMMC capacity on the listing you actually buy from before ordering.
The two variants are aimed at different buyers. The M8B, with SPI NOR and no eMMC, is a boot-flash-only design. It makes sense if you plan to boot from microSD, a UFS module, or a PCIe-attached drive and don't want to pay for onboard eMMC. The M8A is the self-contained option.
I/O
The interface list below is taken from Banana Pi's documentation, with the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth versions and the PoE detail added from CNX:
- Display: 1x HDMI 2.0b TX; 4-lane MIPI DSI
- Camera: 2x 4-lane MIPI CSI
- Expansion: PCIe FPC socket, shared with DisplayPort
- Networking: Gigabit Ethernet with PoE (via a PoE HAT, per the docs); Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on a KEIIOT K038 module, which CNX lists as Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0
- USB: 1x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0
- Audio: 3.5mm jack
- GPIO: 40-pin header with GPIO, UART, I2C, SPI and PWM
- Power management: AXP318 PMIC
- Power input: 5V@4A via USB Type-C, or PoE
- Size and weight: 85 x 56 mm, 60 g
Banana Pi calls the PCIe connector an FPC socket. CNX's headline calls it an FFC connector and its text describes a 16-pin FFC PCIe connector. Because the socket is shared with DisplayPort, it can carry either a PCIe peripheral or a DP output, so you cannot treat it as a dedicated PCIe port. The docs we reviewed do not give the PCIe generation, the lane count, or a pinout for this connector. Until Banana Pi publishes a schematic or connector pinout, don't assume an adapter made for another board will work with it.
The docs also do not give a GPIO pin-by-pin mapping or say whether the 40-pin header is electrically compatible with Raspberry Pi HATs. They only list the functions available on it. Wait for the pinout before plugging in existing add-on boards.
Software: the open question
The docs list Linux, Android and Armbian as supported operating systems. CNX says that, at the time it wrote its article, the documentation had no source code or OS images. That is the most important fact here for anyone who wants to build on the board instead of just collecting it. The hardware specs describe what the board could do. Whether you can use the NPU, the VPU, the PowerVR GPU's Vulkan driver, or the E902 core will depend on BSP releases that are not available yet.
CNX also says A733 software progress has been disappointing compared with earlier claims, especially if you need mainline Linux support. For anyone who needs a current upstream kernel, that likely means relying on a vendor kernel for some time.
What It Means for Makers
Who it is for. The BPI-M8 suits developers who want a compact Arm board with an NPU, two camera inputs, and more storage options than usual (eMMC or SPI NOR, plus microSD and UFS), and who are comfortable working with vendor BSPs. Projects with two cameras, PoE-powered fixed installations, and media playback that uses the A733's VPU are the obvious fits on paper. Educators and beginners should wait until there are tested OS images to download.
What it competes with. CNX names the ArmSoM Sige6, Orange Pi 4 Pro and Radxa Cubie A7A as other A733 boards. With several vendors using the same SoC, the choice will probably come down to software support and documentation quality rather than the spec sheet.
Price and availability. CNX Software reports these prices as of November 2, 2026:
- BPI-M8A (64GB eMMC): US$109 on AliExpress, US$103 on the Banana Pi shop
- BPI-M8B (16MB SPI NOR): US$73 on AliExpress, US$69 on the Banana Pi shop
The board appears on the official Banana Pi shop under Single Board Computer > Allwinner Series, where the listing shows a price range of US$69 to US$103. Neither source gives a ship date, so check the shop page for current stock before ordering.
Bottom line. The hardware is well thought out. The two variants, the UFS socket and the optional PoE support make it more flexible than many boards in this size. What it lacks today is software. Wait for Banana Pi to publish images and source before deciding whether it can replace an existing board in your project.
