Pinebook Pro

The Pinebook Pro is a Linux and *BSD ARM laptop from PINE64. It is built with the intention to be a compelling alternative to mid-ranged Chromebooks that people convert into Linux laptops. It features an IPS 1080p 14″ LCD panel, a premium magnesium alloy shell, high capacity eMMC storage, a 10,000 mAh capacity battery and the modularity that only an open source project can deliver.

Key features include the RK3399 SOC; USB-C for data, video-out and power-in (3A 5V); privacy switches for the microphone, BT/WiFi module and camera; as well as the possibility to expand storage via NVMe (PCIe 4x).

The Pinebook Pro is equipped with 4GB LPDDR4 system memory, high capacity eMMC flash storage and 128Mb SPI boot Flash. The I/O includes: 1x micro SD card reader (bootable), 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB type C Host with DP 1.2 and power-in; PCIe 4x for NVMe SSD drives (requires an optional adapter) as well as UART.

The mouse and keyboard both use the USB 2.0 protocol, while the LCD panel uses eDP MiPi display protocol.

Many different Operating Systems (OS) are freely available from the open source community and partner projects - these include various flavours of Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Manjaro, etc.,) and *BSD.

Pinebook Pro Internal Layout

Pinebook Pro running stock Debian with MATE

Main chips

• RK3399 system-on-chip (1)
• LPDDR4 SDRAM (21)
• SPI NOR flash memory (29)
• eMMC flash memory (26)
• WiFi/BT module (27)

Mainboard Switches and Buttons

There are two switches on the main board: for disabling eMMC (24) and enabling UART (9) via headphone jack.

The Reset and Recovery buttons (28): the reset button performs an immediate reset of the laptop. The Recovery button is used to place the device in maskrom mode; this mode allows flashing eMMC using Rockchip tools (e.g. rkflashtools).

Key Internal Parts

Numbered parts classification and description

Number	Type	Descriptor
1	Component	RK3399 System-On-Chip
2	Socket	PCIe 4X socket for optional NVMe adapter
3	Socket	Speakers socket
4	Socket	Trackpad socket
5	Component	Left speaker
6	Connector	Male power bridge connector
7	Socket	Keyboard Socket
8	Component	Optional NVMe SSD adapter
9	Switch	UART/Audio switch - outputs UART via headphone jack
10	Socket	Female power bridge socket
11	Socket	Battery socket
12	Component	Trackpad
13	Component	Battery
14	Component	Right speaker
15	Socket	Micro SD socket
16	Socket	Headphone / UART jack
17	Socket	USB 2.0
18	Socket	Daughterboard-to-mainboard ribbon cable socket
19	Cable	Daughterboard-to-mainboard ribbon cable
20	Component	microphone
21	Component	LPDDR4 RAM
22	Socket	Mainboard-to-daughterboard ribbon cable socket
22	Socket	Mainboard-to-daughterboard ribbon cable socket
23	Socket	Microphone socket
24	Switch	Switch to hardware disable eMMC
25	Antenna	BT/WiFI antenna
26	Component	eMMC flash memory module
27	Component	BT/WiFi module chip
28	Buttons	Reset and recovery buttons
29	Component	SPI flash storage
30	Socket	eDP LCD socket
31	Socket	Power in barrel socket
32	Socket	USB 3.0
33	Socket	USB type C

Bypass Cables

The mainboard features two (disconnected by default) bypass cables that are only to be used with the battery disconnected. The female (10) male (6) ends of the bypass cables can be connected to provide power to the mainboard in the event of battery failure OR if the laptop needs to run with the battery disconnected. Please refer to this engineering notice.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The Pinebook Pro is available in two keyboard configurations: ISO and ANSI. Both the keyboard and trackpad in the Pinebook Pro use the USB 2.0 protocol and show up as such in xinput. The keyboard features function (Fn) keys in the F-key row, which include display brightness controls, sound volume, trackpad lock and other functionality. There is also a custom PINE64 logo key that functions as menu/SUPER key, but has a secondary functionality for triggering privacy switches (see following sub-section).

The trackpad is large, smooth (metallic to-the-touch) and two actuating buttons. It is the only component of the Pinebook Pro held in place with strong adhesive tape. It supports multi-touch functionality.

The keyboard and trackpad firmware is open sourced can be flashed from userspace using the provided utility.

Documentation for the keyboard and trackpad can be found in Datasheets for Components and Peripherals section.

Privacy Switches

There are three privacy switches mapped to the F10, F11 and F12 keys on the Pinebook Pro keyboard. They de/activate the following:

Key	Function
F10	WiFi/Bluetooth
F11	WebCam
F12	Microphones

(Press the Pine key plus Fn (10/11/12) for 10 seconds)

The keyboard has a special firmware that lives on, and operates separately of, the operating system. In a nutshell, it detects if F10, F11 and F12 keys are pressed for 10s. Once one of the keys get pressed for the set duration, the keyboard firmware cuts power to the chosen aforementioned peripheral. The implementation is no different to cutting a peripheral power mechanically via a physical switch, and the power state settings for each is stored across reboots.

This is privacy switch implementation is highly secure since the firmware that dictates if peripherals get powered is not a part of the Pinebook Pro’s operating system. The power state value for each peripheral also cannot be overridden from the operating system. In fact, the keyboard firmware itself cannot be accessed from the operating system.

LEDs

In total there are 4 LEDs on the Pinebook Pro, three of which are placed in the top left side of the keyboard and one near the barrel-port.

The amber LED next to the barrel-port indicates charging. It will illuminate when mains power is supplied to the Pinebook Pro from either the standard power supply unit or a USB-C smartphone charger.

The power indicator LED on the Pinebook Pro supports three different colours: green, amber and red. It is also capable of flashing/blinking to indicate activity. In the default Debian with MATE build, green LED means power and red means suspend (amber is unused).

The remaining two LED indicators are used for Num and Caps locks. They only use green LEDs. These two LEDs have a secondary function; when privacy switches get activated they blink to confirm that the switch has been activated.

Webcam

WIP

Microphones

WIP

Bluetooth and WiFi

WIP

LCD Panel

WIP

Software and OS Image Downloads

Pinebook Pro

Under 'Pinebook Pro Software and OS Image Download Section' you will find a complete list of currently supported Operating System images that work with the Pinebook as well as other related software.

The list includes OS images and descriptions of:

• Debian Desktop (microSD and eMMC Boot)
• Bionic LXDE (microSD and eMMC Boot)
• Bionic Mate (microSD and eMMC Boot)
• Chromium (microSD and eMMC Boot)
• Android 7.1 (microSD Boot)           Android 7.1 (eMMC)

---

Quick Links to OS Images Build Sources

Some of the provided OS images are still in beta or nightly build and only fit for testing purposes. These images ought to be avoided for normal usage - use them at your own risk

• ayufan's Linux build repo
• ayufan's Chromium OS build repo
• mrfixit2001's Linux debian desktop build repo

Pinebook Service Step-by-Step Guides

Placeholder for Pinebook Pro specific guides

Under 'Service Guides for Pinebook' you can instructions guides concerning disassembly of:

Note: The installation process on Pinebook Pro similar to 14" Pinebook

Note: The installation process is the reverse order of removal guide

• 14″ Pinebook Lithium Battery Pack Removal Guide
• 14″ Pinebook LCD Panel Screen Removal Guide
• 14″ Pinebook eMMC Module Removal Guide

Pinebook Pro Information

• Dimensions: 329mm x 220mm x 12mm (WxDxH)
• Weight: 1.26Kg
• Input Power: DC 5V @ 3A 3.5mm OD/ 1.35mm ID Barrel jack or USB-C 15W PD quickcharge

SoC and Memory Specification

• Based on Rockchip RK3399

CPU Architecture

• big.LITTLE architecture: Dual Cortex-A72 + Quad Cortex-A53, 64-bit CPU
  • Full implementation of the ARM architecture v8-A instruction set (both AArch64 and AArch32)
  • ARM Neon Advanced SIMD (single instruction, multiple data) support for accelerated media and signal processing computation
  • ARMv8 Cryptography Extensions
  • VFPv4 floating point unit supporting single and double-precision operations
  • Hardware virtualization support
  • TrustZone technology support
  • Full CoreSight debug solution
  • One isolated voltage domain to support DVFS
• Cortex-A72 (big cluster):
  • Dual-core Cortex-A72 up to 2.0GHz CPU
  • Superscalar, variable-length, out-of-order pipeline
  • L1 cache 48KB Icache and 32KB Dcache for each A72
  • L2 cache 1024KB for big cluster
• Cortex-A53 (little cluster):
  • Quad-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.5GHz CPU
  • In-order pipeline with symmetric dual-issue of most instructions
  • L1 cache 32KB Icache and 32KB Dcache for each A53
  • L2 cache 512KB for little cluster

GPU Architecture

• ARM Mali-T860MP4 Quad-core GPU
• The highest performance GPUs built on Arm Mali’s famous Midgard architecture, the Mali-T860 GPU is designed for complex graphics use cases and provide stunning visuals for UHD content.
• Frequency 650MHz
• Throughput 1300Mtri/s, 10.4Gpix/s
• OpenGL® ES 1.1, 1.2, 2.0, 3.1, 3.2., Vulkan 1.0*., OpenCL™ 1.1, 1.2., DirectX® 11 FL11_1., RenderScript™.

System Memory

• LPDDR4 RAM Memory Variants: Dual Channels 4GB.
• Storage Memory:
  • 64GB eMMC module, can be upgrade to 128GB eMMC module. The initial PINE64 community build version comes with 128GB eMMC configuration
  • 128Mb (16MB) built-in SPI Flash memory

Battery

• Lithium Polymer Battery (10,000mAH)

Display

• 14.1" 1920x1080 IPS LCD panel

Video

• USB-C Alt model DP up to 3840x2160p60

Audio

• 3.5mm stereo earphone/microphone plug
• Build in stereo speaker

Network

• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac with Bluetooth 5.0

Expansion Ports

• microSD - bootable, support SDHC and SDXC, storage up to 256GB
• USB - 1x USB2.0 Type-A Host Port, 1x USB3.0 Type-A Host Port, 1x USB3.0 Type-C OTG Port
• optional NVMe adapter
• earphone plug with UART console mux circuit

Pinebook Pro Schematics and Certifications

• Pinebook Pro Main Board Schematic:
  • Pinebook Pro Main Board ver 2.1 Schematic
• Pinebook Daughter Board Schematic:
  • Pinebook Pro Daughter Board ver 2.1 Schematic
• Pinebook Pro NVMe Adapter Schematic:
  • Pinebook Pro NVMe Adapter Board ver 2.1 Schematic
• Serial Console Earphone Jack Pinout:
  • Pinkbook Serial Console Earphone Jack Pinout

• Pinebook Pro Certifications:
  • Not Yet Available

Datasheets for Components and Peripherals

• Rockchip RK3399 SoC information:
  • Rockchip RK3399 SoC Brief
  • Rockchip RK3399 Datasheet V1.8
  • Rockchip RK3399 Technical Reference Manual part 1
  • Rockchip RK808 Datasheet V0.8
• LPDDR4 (366 Balls) SDRAM:
  • Micron 366 balls Mobile LPDDR4 Datasheet
• eMMC information:
  • PINE64 eMMC module schematic
  • PINE64 USB adapter for eMMC module V2 schematic
  • PINE64 USB adapter for eMMC module PCB in JPEG
  • SanDisk eMMC Datasheet
• SPI NOR Flash information:
  • WinBond 128Mb SPI Flash Datasheet
  • GigaDevice 128Mb SPI Flash Datasheet
• Wireless related info:
  • AMPAK AP6256 11AC Wi-Fi + Bluetooth5 Datasheet
• Audio Codec (ES8316)
  • Everest ES8316 Audio Codec
• LCD Panel:
  • 14" 1920x1080 IPS LCD Panel datasheet
• Touchpad information:
  • Touchpad Specification for Pinebook Pro model
• Full HD Camera sensor:
  • Full HD Camera module specification in Chinese
  • GalaxyCore GC2145 Full HD Camera Sensor Data Sheet
• Lithium Battery information:
  • 10000mAH Lithium Battery Specification for 14" model

Other Resources

• ROCKPro64 Forum
• RockPro64 Guides
• ROCK64/ROCKPro64 IRC Channel
• Rockchip Linux GitHub Repo
• Rockchip Open Source Wiki