Banana Pi BPI-R4: New 5G and WiFi 7 compatible router board launches for just over US$100

Banana Pi has quietly released the BPI-R4, a single-board computer (SBC) that it presented during the summer. For reference, the BPI-R4 is one of several new SBCs that Banana Pi has introduced lately. This month alone, the company has showcased the BPI-M7 and BPI-M4 Zero, which we have covered separately. While Banana Pi intends those two machines to be used as general computers, it has targeted the BPI-R4 as a router board, for which it has included a host of connectivity options.

In summary, the BPI-R4 has three Gigabit LAN connections, a Gigabit WAN connection, plus 10 Gigabit cages for LAN and WAN. Additionally, Banana Pi has left space for a WiFi 7 network interface card (NIC) that connects to the BPI-R4 through its rear-mounted mPCIe slots. Moreover, the 148 x 100.5 mm board also has space for two M.2 slots, a MicroSD card slot and three Nano SIM card slots, which are all underpinned by a MediaTek Filogic 880 (MT7988A) chipset.

Currently, the BPI-R4 is orderable on AliExpress from Banana Pi for US$103.15 before shipping and taxes. Previously, Banana Pi had hoped to start offering the BPI-R4 in Q1 2024. Although the board is available now, it does not come with a WiFi 7 NIC. CNX Software cannot find a compatible NIC yet, either. Unfortunately, it remains to be seen when Banana Pi will offer a WiFi 7 NIC for the BPI-R4 yet, either. Please see Banana Pi's wiki and AliExpress product listing for more details.

Purchase the Banana Pi BPI-M2 Zero on Amazon