Selecting between the RK3576 vs RK3566 is less about which is newer and more about aligning the SoC with your product’s actual workload: UI complexity, video pipeline requirements, AI inference goals, memory bandwidth, and I/O limitations. While both chips target cost- and power-conscious embedded devices, they occupy distinct performance tiers and system capabilities.
In short, Rockchip RK3566 is a proven, efficient platform for mainstream HMIs, e-paper devices, and entry-level edge boxes. Rockchip RK3576 pushes the limits – especially for multi-display setups, higher-end video, and stronger on-device AI – without the complexity (and BOM cost) of flagship-class SoCs.
This article objectively examines the RK3576 and RK3566 chipsets, highlighting key considerations for product development.
Table of Contents
- Positioning and Typical Use Cases
- Comparison Table: RK3576 vs RK3566 (Key Specs)
- CPU and System Performance
- GPU: UI Composition and Rendering
- NPU and Edge AI: 6 TOPS vs light AI
- Multimedia: Decode/Encode and Codec Expectations
- Display and Camera Pipelines: Multi-Display and Real HMI Requirements
- I/O and System Architecture: Ethernet, Storage, and Expandability
- Software Ecosystem and Product Risk
- How to Choose: A Practical Checklist
- Conclusion
- FAQ
- Datasheets
Positioning and Typical Use Cases
Where RK3566 fits best
RK3566 has become popular in:
- Industrial HMIs with moderate UI complexity
- E-paper/e-ink products (readers, signage)
- Smart home hubs and gateways
- Entry media boxes, NVR-lite designs, low-power edge clients
- Cost-sensitive SBCs where stability and long lifecycle matter more than peak performance
Architecturally, the RK3566 features a quad-core midrange CPU, a modest GPU, and a compact NPU. This configuration typically suffices for 1080p or 1440p UI performance, 4K-class decoding without ultra-high frame rates, and light AI tasks such as classification, simple detection, and on-device heuristics.
Where RK3576 makes sense
RK3576 aims higher in:
- More complex UI with heavier composition and higher refresh targets
- Multi-display systems (large panels + auxiliary displays)
- Edge AI that benefits from more TOPS and more memory bandwidth
- Video-rich devices (high-frame-rate decode, broader codec expectations)
- More I/O-demanding designs (e.g., multiple high-speed links, dual Ethernet MAC paths)
The RK3576 chip offers more than just a faster CPU. Its true advantage lies in elevating the entire system: delivering sharper displays, more powerful codec capabilities, enhanced AI performance, and updated storage and memory options.
Comparison Table: RK3576 vs RK3566 (Key Specs)
Notes: Some values depend on board design and firmware configuration. This table focuses on what’s explicitly described in vendor briefs and widely published technical summaries.
Learn more:
Rockchip RK3566 SoC Overview: Specifications & Applications
RK3576: Recent News and Updates
CPU and System Performance
The most visible difference in RK3576 vs RK3566 is the CPU architecture class.
RK3566: efficient, predictable, good enough for mainstream UI and control
A quad Cortex-A55 design is typically strong for:
- Responsive control loops and I/O-heavy embedded apps
- Moderate Chromium/Kiosk workloads
- 1080p/1440p UI with reasonable composition
- Light multitasking
In actual products, the RK3566 frequently performs well because it maintains manageable thermals and provides stable performance during prolonged use without the need for aggressive cooling.
RK3576: step-up responsiveness, better burst behavior, better heavy UI headroom
By mixing Cortex-A72 big cores with Cortex-A53 efficiency cores, RK3576 is better suited to:
- heavier UI composition (more layers, transparency, effects)
- modern web apps that are CPU-spiky
- multi-service edge stacks (containerized apps, multiple pipelines)
- AI + UI + video in parallel
If your product must remain fluid during video decoding, inference, and managing multiple displays, the choice of CPU class becomes crucial – not only for peak benchmarks but also for real-world performance under concurrent load.
GPU: UI Composition and Rendering
Both chips use the Mali-G52 family, but in different configurations.
- RK3566 (Mali-G52 2EE) is typically enough for traditional HMI UIs and many embedded 3D/light acceleration tasks.
- RK3576 (Mali-G52 MC3) gives more GPU throughput and tends to better support heavier composition, higher resolution targets, and more demanding UI frameworks.
If you’re building a product that must maintain a consistently smooth UI at higher resolution or refresh, the GPU difference contributes – especially when paired with RK3576’s stronger display subsystem.
NPU and Edge AI: 6 TOPS vs light AI
This is where RK3576 separates itself the most clearly.
RK3576: meaningfully capable on-device inference
RK3576 lists a 6 TOPS NPU at INT8 and broad datatype support (including int4 and FP16-class modes). In practice, that makes it far more viable for:
- multi-stream detection (e.g., multiple cameras at modest resolution)
- heavier detector families where you want better FPS or higher input resolution
- running AI alongside UI and video without stalling the system
You still need to validate your model’s operator support and pre/post pipeline cost, but the raw headroom is in a different league than entry NPUs.
RK3566: good for assistive AI, not heavy vision stacks
RK3566 is commonly described in the sub-1 TOPS tier and is usually used for:
- simple classification
- lightweight detection at low resolution/FPS
- feature extraction for heuristics
- AI-assisted functions rather than primary computing
If your roadmap includes progressively adding more AI features (or customers are already asking for them), RK3576 reduces the risk of hitting a ceiling too early.
Multimedia: Decode/Encode and Codec Expectations
Multimedia blocks are often the make-or-break factor in embedded designs.
Decode: modern codecs and high frame rate
RK3576’s brief explicitly calls out support for modern codecs (including AV1/AVS2) and high-frame-rate 4K-class decode entries. That matters if you’re shipping products that:
- consume newer streaming formats
- need high-refresh signage
- must handle wider customer media without corner-case failures
RK3566 is typically fine for mainstream H.264/H.265 class decoding and many 4K use cases, but it’s not positioned for the same high-FPS + broader codec expectations.
Encode: product category differences
RK3576’s brief lists 4K-class H.264/H.265 encode, which pushes it toward:
- NVR-like devices that encode higher resolution streams
- conferencing/meeting bars
- capture + transcode endpoints
RK3566’s brief-level positioning (1080p encode) aligns with:
- simpler capture devices
- basic video communication
- recording pipelines where 1080p is the cap
If encode is required (not optional), validate early – encode limits are among the most painful late-stage surprises.
Display and Camera Pipelines: Multi-Display and Real HMI Requirements
Displays
RK3576 explicitly targets multi-display with high-resolution/refresh-rate combinations and modern display outputs such as HDMI 2.1, DP 1.4, and eDP combo modes. That’s valuable for:
- large-panel HMIs where 4K@120-class signaling matters
- dual-screen control panels (main + auxiliary)
- products that must offer both internal panel and external display options
RK3566 still offers a very HMI-friendly display feature set, including HDMI/eDP/MIPI-DSI and even E-ink interface mentions in the brief. For many industrial panels, RK3566 remains an excellent just works platform – especially if your refresh/resolution needs are modest.
Camera / ISP
RK3576 lists a 16MP ISP with HDR and 3DNR and multiple CSI interfaces, which is useful for:
- camera-based HMIs
- vision-enabled appliances
- multi-sensor products (e.g., wide + narrow, or RGB + depth module designs)
RK3566’s brief indicates an 8MP ISP class, which often pairs well with simpler camera needs.
I/O and System Architecture: Ethernet, Storage, and Expandability
This is where BOM and board topology decisions happen.
Ethernet and industrial interfaces
RK3576 lists two RGMII interfaces and CAN FD – attractive for:
- dual-network devices (e.g., LAN + isolated subnet)
- gateways that need segmentation
- industrial control appliances
RK3566 commonly shows a single GMAC in brief diagrams, and is still widely used in industrial contexts because it has a deep, mature peripheral set (UART/SPI/I²C/PWM/GPIO).
Storage: UFS matters when you care about system’s feel
RK3576 includes UFS 2.0 support in the brief. That can be a major real-world benefit:
- faster boot and app launch
- better logging/DB performance
- better behavior under heavy I/O (telemetry + containers + updates)
RK3566 is usually built around eMMC and SD-class storage in many implementations; perfectly workable, but you’ll feel the ceiling sooner in heavier software stacks.
Software Ecosystem and Product Risk
Both platforms generally support Linux and Android stacks, but risk profiles differ:
- RK3566: very mature in the field, abundant community knowledge, many shipping boards, stable kernels/boot flows across vendors.
- RK3576: newer platform class; you typically get more features, but you should budget more validation time – especially for display combos, camera pipelines, and AI runtime integration.
If you’re building a product with tight schedules and a conservative software plan, RK3566 can be the safer baseline. If your product must compete on features (AI, multi-display, media), RK3576 can be worth the integration investment.
How to Choose: A Practical Checklist
Pick RK3566 if you want:
- Lowest integration risk and a widely shipped platform class
- Strong HMI capability without extreme display demands
- Light AI only (or none)
- eMMC-based storage is acceptable
- Thermal simplicity and predictable sustained performance
Pick RK3576 if you need:
- Significantly better all-at-once performance (UI + media + AI)
- 6 TOPS-class on-device AI headroom
- Modern codec supports expectations and higher decode/encode capability
- Multi-display with higher resolution/refresh targets
- UFS support and a more premium system experience
- More advanced connectivity options (e.g., richer high-speed + dual Ethernet MAC paths)
Conclusion
In the RK3576 vs RK3566 decision, the honest split is this:
- RK3566 is a mature, efficient SoC that still makes a lot of sense for mainstream HMIs, e-paper devices, gateways, and cost-optimized embedded products. It keeps software and thermal risk low and delivers reliable day-to-day performance for typical workloads.
- RK3576 is the more capable platform when you need stronger CPU responsiveness, meaningfully higher AI headroom, more modern multimedia features, and richer display/storage options. It’s particularly compelling when your product must run multiple demanding pipelines at once – for example: high-quality UI + video + inference + connectivity.
If your product roadmap includes more AI, heavier UI, newer codecs, or multi-display requirements, RK3576 is often the more future-proof choice. If you’re shipping a stable, cost-sensitive appliance where proven and predictable matter more than maximum features, the RK3566 remains a strong engineering choice.
FAQ
Is RK3576 always faster than RK3566?
For most real workloads – especially multi-threaded UI + services, video pipelines, and AI – the answer is typically yes, because RK3576 has a higher-class CPU architecture and a far stronger NPU. But faster depends on your bottleneck (I/O, memory, thermals, storage). A poorly designed board or slow storage can erase theoretical advantages.
Does RK3576 consume more power than RK3566?
It can, especially under sustained CPU/GPU/NPU load, because it targets higher performance. In idle or light load, modern power management can narrow the gap. Actual power depends heavily on board PMIC choices, clocks, and workload behavior.
Can RK3566 run AI models?
Yes – RK3566 can run lighter models well (classification, small detectors, modest resolutions). For heavier vision models, multi-stream, or higher FPS targets, you’re more likely to hit limits, and RK3576’s 6 TOPS class becomes important.
For an HMI with a single 1080p/2K panel, is RK3566 enough?
Often yes. If your UI is conventional (Qt, LVGL, a basic Chromium kiosk) and you don’t need heavy video/AI, the RK3566 offers the best cost/risk balance.
When does UFS support on RK3576 matter?
When you run heavier OS stacks (containers, databases, offline maps, large asset pipelines) or need consistent performance under I/O load. It also improves perceived responsiveness in many real products.
Which one is better for multi-display signage?
RK3576 is generally the better fit when you need multiple outputs at high resolution/refresh and broader codec capability. RK3566 can work for simpler dual-display setups, but tends to target a lower ceiling.
Datasheets
- S1 – Rockchip RK3576 Brief Datasheet (features: CPU clusters, Mali-G52 MC3, 6 TOPS NPU, memory/storage, multimedia and display limits).
- S2 – Rockchip RK3566 Brief Datasheet (block diagram + interface overview: memory types, GPU Mali-G52-2EE, display interfaces, decoder/encoder class, peripheral set).
