By Released in 2013, the BeagleBone Black was another successful board from BeagleBoard based on another TI SoC chipset.
Hardware
The BeagleBone Black is an upgraded design and is based around the AM3358 from TI
- Processor: ARM Cortex-A8 @1GHz
- Memory: 512MB DDR3
- Storage: microSD card slot, 4GB eMMC
- Graphics: HDMI D Type
- Connectivity: 10/100 Ethernet, LCD Interface, ADC, I2C, SPI, PWM
- USB Ports: USB Device, USB Host
- Power Input: Mini USB B
- GPIO: Extension pins for BeagleBone Capes
Software
BeagleBone Black supports a wide array of software, but some of it is slightly outdated, with many of the images dating to late 2023. It’s a testament to Beagle Board foundation’s commitment that they’re still providing updates 10 years after the product release.
We’ve been able to build a Yocto Image for the Beagle Bone Black without much issue. Yocto is a fantastic way to create a custom
The latest available Debian image is 11.7 based on Debian11 Bullseye. That’s the current oldstable version.
Price
Our Take
The BeagleBone Black is a classic, and was a fantastic board when it was released. However, the dated processor and low RAM compared to cheaper modern SBCs, as well as dated means we can’t recommend it anymore, unless you have some specific need that can’t be met with another board.
The Open Source nature of the board does mean it’s a good option for