Qualcomm to Acquire Arduino (comparison of SBC computers)

I love raspberry pi 4,5 and I love arduino uno 3,4 too.

Yesterday I read that Qualcomm to Acquire Arduino and the first result from this merge is the launching of Arduino Q:

Here’s a technical comparison of Raspberry Pi 5 (2 GB) vs Arduino UNO Q vs Orange Pi (e.g. Orange Pi 5).

Summary

• Raspberry Pi 5 is a general-purpose SBC (single-board computer). Good balance: OS, GPIO, community, software support.

• Arduino UNO Q is a hybrid: microcontroller + Linux capable board (targeted at embedded / real-time + lightweight Linux / AI).

• Orange Pi offers stronger specs (CPU, memory, expandability) at cost of weaker ecosystem support.

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Spec / capability comparison

Below are key axes and how each device behaves.

Feature	Raspberry Pi 5 (2 GB)	Arduino UNO Q	Orange Pi (5, or similar)
CPU / cores / architecture	Quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 (~2.4 GHz) (same chip as other Pi 5 variants) The Verge	Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 SoC (Linux side) + microcontroller side support.arduino.cc+2The Verge+2	E.g. Orange Pi 5 uses Rockchip RK3588S (4×A76 + 4×A55) mechatronicslab.net+2All3DP+2
RAM	2 GB for this variant (lower than 4/8 GB models) The Verge	Likely limited (Linux side) — UNO Q is not designed for heavy memory loads	Multiple options (4, 8, 16, 32 GB) with LPDDR4/LPDDR4X mechatronicslab.net+2Guía Hardware+2
Storage / expandability	microSD + PCIe 2.0 interface The Verge+2UMA Technology+2	Not designed for heavy storage; for embedded tasks	microSD, eMMC, M.2 via PCIe slot, etc. Geeky Gadgets+3mechatronicslab.net+3Guía Hardware+3
GPU / graphical / media capabilities	VideoCore VII GPU, dual 4K output mechatronicslab.net+2UMA Technology+2	Likely weak for heavy graphics; target is embedded tasks	Mali-G610 GPU (stronger for graphics / AI) mechatronicslab.net+2UMA Technology+2
Real-time / microcontroller tasks	Can do them, but not as strong or deterministic as dedicated MCUs	Stronger: hybrid architecture with real-time microcontroller side + Linux side support.arduino.cc+2The Verge+2	Not ideal: general-purpose, not real-time focused
Ecosystem / software / community	Very strong: Raspberry Pi OS, huge community, many libraries & tutorials	Medium: new board, growing support; but for real-time + Linux applications	Weaker: smaller community, fewer accessories, but support via Armbian etc.
Power / thermal behavior	Moderate, well known behavior	Likely efficient for embedded use	Higher power under load; may need better cooling
Cost / value	Good value for supported features	Niche: you pay for hybrid features	Often more raw hardware per dollar but with tradeoffs in support

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Use-case guidance

• For general-purpose computing, media, education, teaching, prototyping full Linux projects → Raspberry Pi 5 is safer choice.

• For embedded systems, robotics, real-time control + occasional Linux / AI inference → Arduino UNO Q is compelling.

• When you need high computational performance (e.g. AI inference, multi-threaded workloads, heavier GPU/graphics) and can accept weaker community / extra debugging → Orange Pi is attractive.

Benchmark Data

Raspberry Pi 5

• The Raspberry Pi team benchmarked Pi 5 vs Pi 4: ~1.49× on sysbench single & multithread, ~2× in many real-world tasks (compression, image ops, etc.) Raspberry Pi

• Phoronix reports Pi 5 has a quad Cortex-A76 at 2.4 GHz, improved GPU (VideoCore VII) and better I/O (PCIe, SD) phoronix.com

• In Geekbench 5 tests, Pi 5 scored ~566 single-core, ~1520 multi-core (on 4 GB variant) browser.geekbench.com

Conclusion: Pi 5 is solid for general compute, but 2 GB variant will limit memory-heavy workloads.

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Orange Pi 5 / variants

• In “169 benchmark tests”, Orange Pi 5 (8GB) averaged ~2.85× performance relative to Raspberry Pi 400 (which itself is similar to Pi 4) phoronix.com

• In a comparative test between Orange Pi 5 and Pi 5 in LinuxLinks, Orange Pi variants (Ultra, Max) often outperform Pi 5 in CPU/memory tests in Phoronix suite. LinuxLinks+1

• In Geekbench comparisons, Orange Pi 5 outscored Raspberry Pi 4 by large margins (single-core ~588 vs ~185, multi ~2478 vs ~571) browser.geekbench.com

Conclusion: Orange Pi 5 (esp higher RAM models) is significantly more powerful in raw CPU / memory tasks but with caveats (thermals, stability, software support).

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Arduino UNO Q

• I couldn’t find reliable independent benchmarks of “Arduino UNO Q” yet (it is new / not widely tested).

• Traditional Arduino UNO based on ATmega328P runs at 16 MHz with very limited RAM (2 KB SRAM, 32 KB flash) components101.com+1

• The UNO Q is marketed as a hybrid: a microcontroller + Linux side (via Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210) for lightweight AI / vision + realtime tasks. But no public benchmarks of its Linux / AI side yet. The Verge

Conclusion: For tasks that genuinely require microcontroller determinism or direct IO control, UNO Q might be best. For heavy compute, it will lag behind Pi 5 / Orange Pi.

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Comparative Summary & Decision Criteria

Scenario / workload	Best pick	Reasoning
Lightweight Linux / general purpose + good support	Raspberry Pi 5	Balanced in performance, ecosystem, support
Computation / CPU / memory heavy workloads (e.g. AI inference, server tasks)	Orange Pi 5 (higher RAM version)	Stronger raw performance, more headroom
Mixed control / real-time + lightweight AI / vision	Arduino UNO Q	Microcontroller side + Linux hybrid may win on control tasks
Memory-intensive tasks (databases, large models)	Orange Pi (≥ 8 GB)	More RAM margin; Pi 5 2 GB is limiting

Key caveats / tradeoffs to test for your project

• Memory bottleneck: 2 GB on Pi 5 may force swapping / crash on larger tasks.

• Thermals / power: Orange Pi may run hot under load; active cooling may be required.

• Software stack / drivers: Raspberry Pi has mature drivers and community; Orange Pi (especially on special peripherals) may have driver issues.

• Real-time I/O latency / determinism: Arduino / hybrid boards likely superior.

• Long-term maintenance / updates: Raspberry Pi has stable long-term support.