There are certain applications for which you just need a little bitty PC with no moving parts. For such scenarios, we might point you to something like Shuttle's XPC Slim series. The current-generation XPC Slim machines come with Apollo Lake SoCs and a pair of serial ports, but that series of chips is getting a bit long in the tooth. Fortunately, our friends at FanlessTech caught up with Shuttle at the Integrated Systems Europe 2018 expo and shot some pictures of the next-generation XPC Slim DL10J with a Gemini Lake SoC.
Gemini Lake is supposed to be a significant step up from its predecessor, and Shuttle put a Celeron J4005 and a pair of DDR4 SO-DIMM slots in the new machines. Thanks to the new SoC, the HDMI port is now version 2.0, and the company has apparently added a VGA connector to the machine. Together with the existing DisplayPort, that means the new machine is capable of driving three displays simultaneously.
As before, one of the dual DB9 serial ports supports RS-422 and RS-485 connections as well as the more common RS-232. Storage accomodations aren't bad for a 1.3-L chassis: an M.2 socket, a 2.5" drive bay, and an SD card reader. External connections on the XPC Slim DL10J comprise a pair of USB 3.0 ports up front, four USB 2.0 ports in the back, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, two 3.5mm audio jacks, and an external header for a separate power button. Shuttle will include a bracket to mount the mini-PC to VESA mounts, and a stand to use it vertically on a desk.
Unfortunately, FanlessTech didn't find out when or for how much the new machines would be launching. Thanks to the site for the news.