Flipper One: an open ARM Linux platform built in public, and a call for help

Flipper Devices is unveiling Flipper One, a project distinct from Flipper Zero rather than a successor. Where the Zero handles offline point-to-point protocols on a low-power MCU, the One targets IP-layer work: Wi-Fi 6E, dual Gigabit Ethernet, 5 Gbps USB Ethernet, optional 5G via M.2, and high-speed expansion through PCIe, USB 3.0, and SATA. The hardware pairs a Rockchip RK3576 SoC running Linux with an RP2350 microcontroller handling display, power, and boot, enabling use cases from SDR analysis with local AI inference to VPN gateways and network analyzers.

The core ambition is a genuinely open ARM computer: full mainline kernel support, no binary blobs, no vendor BSP lock-in. Flipper is funding Collabora to upstream RK3576 support directly to kernel.org, with remaining gaps in the DDR trainer blob, power management, USB DP Alt-mode, NPU, and hardware video decode. The company is also publishing its task trackers, internal debates, and unfinished docs through a public, editable Developer Portal covering hardware, mechanics, Linux, MCU firmware, UI, docs, and testing sub-projects.

The framing is unusually candid — the team admits the project is technically and financially difficult and that radical transparency feels uncomfortable. The pitch to the community is participation: contribute drivers, documentation, or design work, or join as a Developer Portal manager. If it ships as described, it would be a rare consumer-facing ARM device where you can pull a stock upstream kernel and have everything just work.