The creators of the Flipper Zero are creating a highly customizable Linux computer

Flipper Zero is easily one of the most viral protection tools you will see on the Internet. Although it was originally intended for vulnerability assessment or ethical hacking, Flipper Zero gained more attention for its ability to circumvent security access systems such as RFID and crash supposedly “secure” systems without unlocking the system or physical contact. Now, the company intends to create a more capable device that will work with a wider range of long distance communication technologies.

Flipper, the company behind the infamous “Zero” painttesting tool, is now moving into the next generation with a more capable and advanced gadget. Flipper has it announced Its upcoming tool, called Flipper One, but insists it is not a successor to Flipper Zero.

It is not intended to emulate Zero-like access, which was limited to short-range communication media such as infrared, NFC, RFID, etc. Instead, the Flipper One is designed to connect to any IP-based network. This includes a wide range of protocols like 5G, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and even NTN satellite connectivity. Furthermore, the device also runs an open-source Linux-based platform, bringing it on par with a standard computer, which can be more aptly described as a cyberdeck.

In fact, the Flipper One, according to the company, is “the world’s most open and best-documented ARM computer.” The device is proposed to ship with full mainline kernel support and will not require vendor-specific patches or binaries. This means, every time a new Linux kernel update is added to the kernel archive, which is maintained by none other than Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, you should be able to apply it to the Flipper One.

If implemented, Flipper One’s hardware would always support the latest software, at least in theory, and would be limited only by the computation constraint. However, this is more difficult to implement in practice, which is why Flipper is asking developers to collaborate and help create a truly open and free platform. It has made an announcement developer portal It will serve as a kind of Wikipedia for everything related to the device, including its software, hardware, design, and other aspects.

For its hardware, Flipper is taking a co-processor approach, relying on two chips instead of one. These include the Rockchip RK3576 SoC with an 8-core CPU, Mali-G52 GPU, and an NPU that is capable of running small AI models on the device. It also comes with 8GB of RAM onboard.

Complementing this is a dual-core Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller with 16MB of flash memory, which is used to control aspects such as the display, buttons, touchpad, LEDs, and power subsystem. Flipper says the microcontroller is powerful enough to run the device on its own. Flipper also encourages the use of modular attachments using standard GPIO connectors. Flipper also intends to share 3D models, so users can customize the build to their needs.

In terms of design, the Flipper One is considered similar to the Zero, but only in size. In fact, Flipper One will be much larger and heavier.

Flipper has not commented anything on the availability of the device, as it is not ready yet. Flipper is going public with the intention of funding development and fulfilling founder Pavel Zhovner’s vision of creating an open Debian-based OS. We will make sure we provide more details on the timeline once the company comments on it.