RK3288
The quad Cortex-A17 SoC behind early Chromebooks, Tinker Board and countless industrial panels. It is 32-bit only, but very mature in mainline and still shipping in long-life products.
- 4× Cortex-A17
- Mali-T764
- Mature mainline
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Long-life products
Specifications
| Architecture | ARMv7-A |
|---|---|
| CPU | 4× Cortex-A17 up to 1.8 GHz |
| GPU | Arm Mali-T764 MP4 |
| NPU | None |
| Memory | DDR3 / DDR3L / LPDDR2 / LPDDR3, up to 4 GB |
| Storage | eMMC, SD, NAND, SPI flash |
| Video decode | 4K H.265, 1080p H.264 |
| Video encode | 1080p H.264 |
| Display | HDMI 2.0, eDP, LVDS, MIPI DSI ×2; dual display |
| Camera / ISP | ISP, MIPI CSI-2 |
Interfaces
| USB | USB 2.0 OTG + 2× host (HSIC) |
|---|---|
| Ethernet | 1× Gigabit MAC (RGMII) |
| MIPI | MIPI CSI-2, MIPI DSI ×2 |
| I2C / SPI / UART | I2C ×6, SPI ×3, UART ×5 |
| Other | I2S, SPDIF, PWM, SDIO |
Interface counts depend on pin-muxing and combo-PHY configuration. Verify against the official RK3288 datasheet / TRM.
Development
Very mature in mainline (Chromebooks, Tinker Board).
Vendor Android up to 9; community newer.
Mainline U-Boot.
rk3288.dtsi.
Upstream Buildroot.
meta-rockchip.
Operating systems
Typical use cases
- Industrial panels
- Legacy Chromebooks
- Digital signage
- Long-life maintenance
RK3288 Tutorials
Flash Any Rockchip Board with rkdeveloptool (Linux & macOS)
Build rkdeveloptool from source, set up udev permissions, and flash raw images, partitions and SPI flash on Rockchip boards.
How to Identify a Rockchip SoC (from Linux, U-Boot, USB or the Chip Marking)
Five quick ways to find out exactly which Rockchip SoC and board you are dealing with, even on an unknown device.
Rockchip Boot Process Explained: BootROM, TPL, SPL, BL31, U-Boot and Linux
A stage-by-stage walkthrough of how a Rockchip SoC boots, where each piece lives on flash, and how to tell from the serial log which stage failed.
What Is MaskROM Mode? Rockchip Recovery and Loader Mode Explained
MaskROM is the Rockchip BootROM's USB recovery mode, the reason Rockchip boards are nearly unbrickable. Learn how to enter it, how it differs from Loader mode, and how to flash from it.
Boards using RK3288
RK3288 FAQ
What CPU does the RK3288 have?
The RK3288 uses 4× Cortex-A17 up to 1.8 GHz (ARMv7-A), built on a 28 nm process.
Does the RK3288 have an NPU, and how many TOPS?
No, the RK3288 has no NPU (None). AI workloads run on the CPU or GPU, or on an external accelerator.
What memory does the RK3288 support?
DDR3 / DDR3L / LPDDR2 / LPDDR3, up to 4 GB.
Does the RK3288 support PCIe and NVMe SSDs?
The RK3288 has no PCIe interface. Use eMMC, SD or SPI flash for storage.
Which operating systems run on the RK3288?
Mainline Linux (mature), Android 5–9, Debian, Ubuntu, Buildroot, Yocto, ChromeOS. Very mature in mainline (Chromebooks, Tinker Board).
What video can the RK3288 decode and encode?
Decode: 4K H.265, 1080p H.264. Encode: 1080p H.264.
Which boards use the RK3288?
Boards in our database include ASUS Tinker Board S. See the hardware database for full specs.
What is the RK3288 used for?
Typical applications: Industrial panels, Legacy Chromebooks, Digital signage, Long-life maintenance.
Documentation & official resources
- Rockchip official website
- linux-rockchip kernel tree (mainline SoC support)
- Mainline U-Boot: Rockchip board docs
Have a RK3288 question not covered here? Ask the community or browse RK3288 questions.
Spotted an error or have something to add? Suggest an improvement.
Designing with RK3288?
Schematic and carrier-board design, BSP bring-up, device tree, drivers and AI integration for RK3288-based products.