Radxa has officially introduced the Dragon Q6A, a compact single-board computer (SBC) powered by Qualcomm’s QCS6490 octa-core platform. Designed for industrial automation, IoT gateways, and edge AI applications, the Dragon Q6A integrates a high-performance CPU-GPU combo, an advanced AI engine, and flexible connectivity options — making it suitable for diverse embedded environments.
Performance and Core Architecture
The Dragon Q6A shares a similar design philosophy with the company’s RUBIK Pi 3 but offers a substantial upgrade in compute power. It features an octa-core Kryo CPU built around Qualcomm’s 6th-gen Snapdragon architecture, consisting of:
- 1 × Prime core @ 2.7 GHz
- 3 × Gold cores @ 2.4 GHz
- 4 × Silver cores @ 1.9 GHz
Graphics are handled by the Adreno 643 GPU, supporting modern APIs such as Vulkan 1.3, OpenCL 2.2, OpenGL ES 3.2, and DirectX 12. This GPU delivers sufficient graphics throughput for real-time image processing, computer vision, and 4K multimedia playback in industrial or AI-focused environments.
At the heart of the Dragon Q6A’s appeal lies Qualcomm’s 6th-generation AI Engine, which combines a Hexagon DSP, a tensor accelerator, and a 2.0 AI co-processor.
This AI engine can deliver up to 12 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI performance — even under low-power conditions — enabling efficient on-device inference for edge computing workloads such as object detection, audio recognition, or robotics navigation.
The Dragon Q6A offers extensive storage and memory flexibility.
It comes with 4 GB to 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM running at up to 5500 MT/s, ensuring high data throughput for demanding AI and multimedia tasks.
Storage expansion includes an M.2 M-Key slot (PCIe Gen3 ×2, supporting NVMe SSD 2230), MicroSD slot, UFS/eMMC connector, and onboard SPI flash for boot operations.
It also integrates a 40-pin GPIO header that supports UART, I²C, SPI, PWM, and GPIO interfaces, making it developer-friendly for sensor and peripheral integrations.
Wireless communication is handled via a Quectel FCU760K module (based on the AIC8800D80 chipset), providing WiFi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) and Bluetooth 5.4 (BLE).
For wired connections, it includes a Gigabit Ethernet port, with optional Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) support through an expansion HAT.
Display and multimedia options are robust:
- 1 × HDMI 2.0 (supports up to 4K @ 30 Hz)
- 1 × 4-lane MIPI DSI (supports FHD+ panels)
- 3 × MIPI CSI connectors, supporting up to four camera inputs for multi-vision applications.
A 3.5 mm audio jack is also present for headphone or speaker output.
Radxa provides broad software support for the Dragon Q6A, compatible with:
- Radxa OS
- Ubuntu Linux
- Qualcomm Yocto Linux
- Armbian, Arch Linux, Deepin, Fedora, and Windows 11 IoT Enterprise
Developers can leverage the Qualcomm AI Hub, which includes optimized AI models, SDKs, and low-level libraries to accelerate deployment and simplify development.
Radxa’s official Wiki also features a “Getting Started” guide with full documentation and setup instructions for new users.
Radxa Dragon Q6A Specifications
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| Processor (SoC) | Qualcomm QCS6490 octa-core Kryo CPU 1 × Prime (2.7 GHz), 3 × Gold (2.4 GHz), 4 × Silver (1.9 GHz) |
| Graphics / AI | Adreno 643 GPU supporting Vulkan 1.3, OpenCL 2.2, OpenGL ES 3.2, DirectX 12 Qualcomm 6th Gen AI Engine with Hexagon DSP + Tensor Accelerator + AI Co-Processor 2.0 Up to 12 TOPS AI Performance |
| Memory / Storage | Up to 16 GB LPDDR5 @ 5500 MT/s Onboard SPI Flash (for boot) eMMC module: 16/32/64 GB options UFS module: 128/256/512 GB options 1 × M.2 M-Key (PCIe Gen3 ×2 NVMe SSD 2230) 1 × MicroSD slot |
| Display | 1 × HDMI 2.0 (up to 4K @ 30 Hz) 1 × 4-lane MIPI DSI (FHD+ supported) |
| Audio | 3.5 mm audio jack (headphone output) |
| Camera | 1 × 4-lane MIPI CSI (split to 2 × 2-lane interfaces) 2 × 2-lane MIPI CSI interfaces (support up to 4 camera inputs) |
| Connectivity | WiFi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax), Bluetooth 5.4 (BLE) via Quectel FCU760K module with AIC8800D80 chipset 2 × external antenna connectors 1 × Gigabit Ethernet port (optional PoE via HAT) |
| I/O Interfaces | 40-pin GPIO header (UART, I²C, SPI, PWM, GPIO) 2 × 5 V pins, 2 × 3.3 V pins DC power input connector |
| USB Ports | 1 × USB 3.1 Type-A (OTG) 3 × USB 2.0 Type-A (host) 1 × USB Type-C (for power input) |
| Power Supply | 12 V input via USB Type-C or DC jack Recommended Power: ≥ 18 W (light load), ≥ 24 W (full load) |
| Physical Dimensions | 85 mm × 56 mm |
Availability and Pricing
The Radxa Dragon Q6A is currently available on AliExpress, priced as follows:
- 4 GB version — US $105.34
- 6 GB version — US $122.22
- 8 GB version — US $141.21
Higher configurations (12 GB and 16 GB) are planned for release at a later date.
As of now, listings on Arace Tech show all models as “out of stock.”
