Latest Rockchip Processor: The RK3588

Everything is a computer these days.

Just take a look around you, chances are: If it’s a smart electronic device, it probably has a processor in it, be it your smartphone, smart TV, smart watch or even your fridge, washing machine and air conditioner. All these electronic gadgets and appliances need a processing unit so that they can be programmed to perform complex functions to complete the task in an effective and efficient manner. And kiosks are no exception to this rule.

We all know that digital kiosks are highly capable and incredibly useful machines, but have you wondered how they work? Hard at work, behind the scenes is the CPU, which, like in any other computer is the brains of the operation. It does everything from processing input information to deciding what information to output to the user and everything in between. In kiosks, the CPU is the source of all intelligence and the most important component. It is the beating heart of the machine, without which it would be just a pile of junk. It is able to help people with its knowledge. There are many suitable desktop and mobile CPUs available in the market for use in kiosks. Let’s take a look at on eof the more interesting options in the form of Rockchip’s RK3588 and what it means to the future of kiosks.

The ARM revolution (industry trends, the market scene):

The ARM revolution was kick started by Apple in 2020, when it introduced its ground-breaking M1 chip. It was revolutionary, given what it offered: High end performance with incredible efficiency and without any compromises (sort of), the likes of which was not seen in a laptop form factor. It showed us the capability and the potential of the ARM chip in comparison to the traditional X86 chip architecture typically used in computers. Till then, X86 was the norm for computers, and ARM chips were used only for smaller, low powered mobile devices like smartphones. But now, it seems that ARM can be scaled up to offer even more performance along with unparalleled efficiency, which leads us to believe that ARM is the future. Can be used in mini pcs and ITX builds.Ever since then, the market has responded phenomenally well as CPU manufacturers have upped their game, trying to compete.

This includes the likes of Qualcomm among others who are established manufacturers of ARM based mobile CPUs. Even Intel and AMD, who are traditional manufacturers of x86 CPUs have responded to the threat by increasing the performance and efficiency of their recent releases, so that they don’t lose their valuable market share to Apple’s M1 powered macbooks.

This is the backdrop and the inspiration for the emergence of the RK3588. Rockchip released it to ride the wave of the ARM revolution, wherein ARM chips are set to take over all computing hardware, from mobile devices to mini-PCs to even full-sized high-end workstations.

The RK: About the processor:

It features an octa-core CPU with four ARM Cortex-A76 cores and four ARM Cortex-A55 cores, as well as a Mali-G52 GPU for graphics processing. The RK3588 is a huge leap over its predecessor, given that in the single-core benchmark, the Rockchip RK3588 Cortex-A76/A55 processor is 2.28 times faster than RK3399, and 2.8 times faster in the multi-core benchmark. The integrated GPU performance is also vastly improved and is many times better than its predecessor. In terms of connectivity, the RK3588 supports a wide range of interfaces, including USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 1.4. It also supports up to 8GB of LPDDR4 or LPDDR5 RAM and can handle 4K video playback at up to 120fps.

Even though its performance is at least 5 years behind the latest and greatest smartphone chip, it is still a great improvement when it comes to kiosks, digital signages or TV box SoCs. However, they cannot be compared directly as the demands of a smartphone are higher than for advertising and media devices.

Overall, the RK3588 is a powerful and versatile SoC that offers a high level of performance and flexibility for multimedia applications.

The RK3588 is the latest flagship ARM processor from Rockchip, a Chinese semiconductor company. Being a high-performance system-on-a-chip (SoC), it is the long-awaited successor to the old RK3399 SoC. It is part of the RK35xx series of SoCs and is based on an 8nm FinFET process.

The RK3588 is designed for use in a variety of applications, including high-end Android tablets, smart TVs, set-top boxes, and other multimedia devices. It is an amazing processor especially for emulation, Android gaming, and ARM Linux usage. TV boxes and handheld gaming consoles use these.

What this means for kiosks:

The newer kiosks can run much better, support more features and run more apps. The user experience will be smooth and fluid, so that the users wont get bored and they can complete their tasks quicker so that the next person in the queue wont have to wait too long. This is largely thanks to the 8 CPU cores with 2.4 GHz frequency turbo clock speed, along with support for up to 32GB of ram, which allows the users to multitask and run demanding applications on the kiosk.

The better GPU means that 3D renders and 3D interactive applications like Dotviz can run on a smooth 60 frames-per-second or more without stuttering or lagging.

The greater multi media codec support means that your kiosk can playback videos and other multimedia ads seamlessly from the local storage or even directly from the cloud. The support for video decoding and encoding in H.264/H.265 formats for up to 8K 30fps ensures that even high resolution HEVC compressed file formats can be played or recorded without any lags and stutters. This makes it ideal for powering digital signages, interactive signages and TV boxes.

Multiple Display Support: The RK3588 supports a range of display interfaces, including HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, as well as MIPI-DSI and eDP. This allows kiosks to connect to a variety of displays, including high-resolution displays and multiple displays, making it easier to present information to users in a clear and concise manner.

Connectivity Options: The RK3588 includes support for USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. This makes it easy to connect kiosks to a range of peripherals, such as barcode scanners, printers, and payment terminals, as well as to network and cloud services.

Power Efficiency: The RK3588 is designed to be power efficient, which is important for kiosks that need to run 24/7. The use of an 8nm process and the integration of components like the memory controller and the Neural Engine help to reduce power consumption and increase battery life.

Managing thermals: With a TDP of just 12W, heat dissipation is greatly reduced as this processor consumes lesser power compared to the older generations. The efficient 8nm architecture ensures that the chip is ideal for mobile use such as in rugged tablet kiosks, POS machines and tabletop kiosks with a small form factor and for slim designs such as our slim standee signages, which has limited space for cooling components such as fans and heat pipes.

One possible drawback may be that it is more suited to running mobile operating systems like Android, as they’re developed to run on ARM devices. Likewise, the apps have to be developed specifically to run on ARM hardware, otherwise they can only be run through an emulation layer, which will reduce the performance of the app. Hence, it can be used in kiosks running Android OS, while X86 chips can be used for kiosks running Windows OS.

Conclusion:

With chips like the RK3588 offering great performance at competitive prices, the future of kiosks and smart self-service devices in general looks bright and promising. As chips are only going to get more powerful and more efficient in the future, this opens up the door to unlimited possibilities in terms of the functionalities of kiosks. This will ultimately be a huge win for the customer, who can get more tasks done with self-service kiosks as they grow smarter and more advanced. Not only that, this future trend will also be advantageous to business owners who invest in them and of course for the kiosks manufacturers like Cizeron as well.

You can be sure to see this processor on the latest upcoming Cizeron kiosks as we are always looking for ways to offer you the best performance through our kiosks, for the lowest price you can get. Not only this, but you can select from a range of CPUs and customize other components and aspects of your Cizeron kiosk as well, before you buy it.