Flipper Devices, the makers of the Flipper Zero hacking device, today announced a new gadget called the Flipper One, which has multiple network connectivity chops and can function as a Linux PC (is this the year?). The company has sold more than 1 million Flipper Zeros and has generated more than $150 million in sales. However, the company said the new device is not a successor to Flipper Zero as it operates on a different layer.
Flipper Zero devices are popular in the hacker community and can connect to radios such as Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, sub-1GHz transceivers, and infrared. The device could function like a keychain or entrance pass, but could also be used to spam nearby iPhones.
The new Flipper One device, on the other hand, relies on network connectivity via 2x Gigabit Ethernet, USB Ethernet (5 Gbps), and Wi-Fi 6E (2.4/5/6 GHz). Additionally, the device has an M.2 port that can be used to connect a modem for 5G connectivity or other devices such as an SDR module, AI accelerator, SSD (NVMe or SATA), or Wi-Fi card via an adapter. The device is still in development, and the company is only announcing the project at this point.
This device runs two processors and 8GB RAM. The first is an 8-core RK3576 chip running open Linux, along with a Mali-G52 GPU and an NPU running a local AI model.
The company said it worked with open-source software consulting firm Collabora to push support for the chip into the mainline Linux kernel, making it available for anyone to download and play with at Kernel.org.
The second chip is a two-core Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller. This provides power to the display, buttons, touchpad, LEDs, and power subsystem, allowing users to operate the device even when the Linux portion of the device is turned off.
Flipper Devices CEO Pavel Zhovner said the company is also developing its own Linux-based flavors. He said on his blog that the Raspberry Pi OS is fluid and he enjoys using it, but it’s difficult to factory reset it after installing packages unless you reflash the SD card for a new project. Currently in the conceptual stage, Flipper OS will give users access to profiles containing a variety of pre-configured packages and settings. This allows users to try out the software and revert to a clean copy without having to replace or flash the SD card.
As part of its development, the company is also creating a FlipCTL interface for controlling small-screen LCDs on devices such as the Flipper One, which have D-pad and touch controls.
The company says the network connectivity driver allows users to use Flipper One as a router, VPN gateway, or a bridge between them. Additionally, you can connect a monitor, keyboard, and mouse via a USB hub to create a Linux desktop, or use it as an on-the-go media box via an HDMI 2.1 port that supports 4K streaming at 120Hz. Users can also run local AI models to interact with their devices, generate configurations, and get helpful tips, even without an internet connection.
Flipper Devices has announced an overall roadmap for its devices and how to use them. There is still a lot of missing software to enable all the features mentioned above. For example, NPUs for AI and hardware video decoding lack mainline kernel support. Both FlipperOS and FlipperCTL are concepts at this time. The team has not yet trained an offline LLM to help users configure it.
The company is inviting developers to join the community and develop pieces of software that can be used to ship final devices. Final consumer release details will be announced in the future, but the device will likely cost less than $350 for the basic configuration without the cellular module.
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