Pine64 has announced the launch of its new PineTab2 and PineTab-V tablets. Basically identical in design and format, they are radically different in their hardware architecture. Both are available for booking at a very attractive price 159 dollars.

Pine64 is a Chinese manufacturer specializing in free laptops, smartphones and single-board computers compatible with the system. In the tablet market polarized by iOS and Android, there aren’t too many Linux tablets available that we can consider “pure”, hence the interest these models can generate.

PineTab2 and PineTab-V: the same and different

Like most of the hardware that this manufacturer puts out, they are designed as budget products. They share a 9mm thick metal chassis and promise easy hardware upgrades. Its screen is also the same, and 10.1-inch LCD display and native HD resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Comes with a removable keyboard cover.

Its big difference is inside because one uses ARM and the other RISC-V. The PineTab2 features a Rockchip SoC model RK3566 with four ARM Cortex-A55 cores and Mali-G52 graphics, widely used in low-cost ARM products. The PineTab-V relies on the StarFive JH7110 processor, which includes four integrated SiFive FU740 1.5 GHz 64-bit RISC-V processor cores, Imagination BXE-4-32 graphics and a 32-bit RISC-V E24 core.

PineTab2 and PineTab-V motherboard

Pine64 says they should offer similar performance, although it has to be said that they are not comparable due to the different architecture. If the ARM version installs a Arch Linux with KDE Plasma desktop environment The RISC-V model, ready to run and with thousands of applications, has no known operating system. Obviously, it is not intended for the end user, but for developers who want to get started with RISC-V.

The rest of the specs include a 5MP (rear) and 2MP (front) camera, USB 3.0 Type-C and USB 2.0 ports for charging its 6000mAh battery. Furthermore, a micro HDMI port, a 3.5 mm audio jack and a microSD card reader. On the outside, the only aesthetic change is the blackcurrant color, the PineTab-V is a dark matte black, while the PineTab2 is silver gray.

PineTab2 and PineTab-V are sold with same memory and storage configurations and prices:

• 4GB LPDDR4 RAM + 64GB eMMC 5.1 flash storage for $149.
• 8GB LPDDR4 RAM + 128GB 128GB eMMC 5.1 flash storage for $209.