nRF7120E Wi-Fi 6E wireless SoC with integrated NPU

Ultra-low-power, tri-band, wireless 6E Wireless SoCs with Bluetooth LE, Matter and Thread, with integrated Axon NPU

The nRF7120E is a Wi-Fi 6E wireless SoC in Nordic's nRF71 Series. It combines tri-band Wi-Fi® 6E (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz), a multiprotocol radio for Bluetooth® LE and Thread, an NFC tag, and a 256 MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 application processor on a single chip, with high-speed USB and up to 65 GPIOs. Its 4 MB NVM and 1 MB RAM leave room for the customer application, ML models and a DFU slot for firmware updates.

The nRF7120E adds Nordic's Axon neural processing unit (NPU), which accelerates machine-learning inference on the device. Developers can run sensor fusion, audio and anomaly detection models locally and send only results over Wi-Fi, saving power and bandwidth

The nRF7120E supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, Matter, Thread, Zigbee and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols with data rates up to 4 Mbps for low-latency applications. It also supports Bluetooth Channel Sounding, Bluetooth Mesh and Aliro.

Performance highlights

  • Edge AI: on-device machine-learning inference with the integrated Axon NPU
  • Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E at 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz
  • Average current while connected at DTIM 10: 14 µA at 2.4 GHz and 8 µA at 5 GHz
  • 256 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 application processor and an additional 256 MHz Risc-V coprocessor for real-time tasks and peripheral emulation
  • 1010 EEMBC CoreMark® score running from non-volatile memory, 3.95 CoreMark per MHz
  • 4 MB non-volatile memory and 1 MB RAM: room for the Wi-Fi stack, Matter, ML models and the customer application, plus a DFU slot for firmware updates
  • 4.9 × 4.6 mm WLCSP with up to 65 GPIOs
  • Wi-Fi TX power: +22 dBm
  • Bluetooth LE TX power: +10 dBm
  • Bluetooth LE sensitivity: −99 dBm

Key benefits

  • Edge AI on a Wi-Fi Wireless SoCs: the Axon NPU runs models locally and sends only results over Wi-Fi, saving power and bandwidth.
  • One chip instead of two: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, Thread, NFC, the application processor and the NPU in one device reduce bill of materials, board area and design complexity.
  • Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E: adds the 6 GHz band to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
  • Long battery life: Target Wake Time (TWT) and Wi-Fi power save with a dedicated low-power receiver, enabled by default in nRF Connect SDK, keep devices connected while drawing very little current.
  • Robust security: Arm TrustZone®, CRACEN cryptographic accelerator and tamper detection, designed for PSA Certified Level 3.
  • Familiar development experience: the same nRF Connect SDK that developers already use with nRF54 and nRF70 Series devices.

The nRF71 Series

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  • Up to 256 MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33
  • 256 MHz RISC-V coprocessor with support for SoftPeripherals
  • Integrated Axon NPU
  • 4 MB on-chip NVM 
  • 1 MB on-chip, user-accessible low-leakage RAM
  • Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E at 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz
  • Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
  • Wi-Fi roles: Station (STA) and SoftAP
  • Target Wake Time (TWT) and Wi-Fi power save with low-power receiver
  • Multiprotocol radio for Bluetooth LE and Thread
  • NFC tag
  • High-speed USB with integrated PHY
  • 2x high-speed MSPI (up to 64 MHz)
  • 2x high-speed SPI (up to 64 MHz) and 1x high-speed UART (up to 4 Mbps)
  • 6x SPI/TWI/UART/8 MHz
  • ADC, TDM, PDM, PWM and QDEC
  • TrustZone® isolation, tamper detection and CRACEN cryptographic accelerator, designed for PSA Certified Level 3
  • Up to 65 GPIOs
  • Package option: WLCSP (4.9 × 4.6 mm)
  • Fully supported in nRF Connect SDK

Edge AI on a Wi-Fi Wireless SoCs

Axon NPU acceleration in the nRF7120E

Edge AI

Edge AI is more accessible and scalable than ever. Build smarter devices with embedded AI that run true ML at the edge – powered by Nordic’s ultra-low power wireless SoCs and SiPs.

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nRF71 Series overview

table nRF71.png

The nRF71 Series brings Wi-Fi, short-range radio and host processor together in one device
Since the introduction of the nRF70 Series Wi-Fi Companion ICs, Nordic has enabled developers to add low-power Wi-Fi to designs built on its Bluetooth LE SoCs. The nRF71 Series takes the next step and brings the Wi-Fi radio, short-range radio and host processor together in one device. This reduces bill of materials, board area and design complexity.

Wi-Fi 6 and tri-band Wi-Fi 6E for IoT
The nRF7120 supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) at 2.4 and 5 GHz. The nRF7120E supports tri-band Wi-Fi 6E, adding the 6 GHz band. Both work as a Wi-Fi station or SoftAP and are backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac networks.

Built for battery-powered IoT
The nRF7120 builds on Nordic's experience in ultra-low-power wireless design. Target Wake Time (TWT) and legacy Wi-Fi power-save mode with a dedicated low-power receiver are enabled by default in nRF Connect SDK, so connected devices can stay on the network while drawing very little current between transmissions using existing infrastructure.

Supported protocols
Alongside Wi-Fi, the integrated multiprotocol radio supports Bluetooth LE and Thread, and an NFC tag is on chip. The nRF7120 supports Matter: Bluetooth LE handles commissioning, provisioning and short-range links, and Wi-Fi provides connectivity for Matter over Wi-Fi devices. Matter is a global standard backed by Apple, Amazon, Google, Nordic Semiconductor, Samsung and hundreds of other companies, driving interoperability in consumer IoT.

Application processor and RISC-V coprocessor
The application runs on an Arm Cortex-M33 processor at up to 256 MHz, alongside a RISC-V coprocessor for real-time tasks. With 4 MB of non-volatile memory and 1 MB of RAM, there is room for the Wi-Fi stack, Matter and the customer application, plus a DFU slot for firmware updates.

Advanced security
Security features, including Arm TrustZone, the CRACEN cryptographic accelerator and tamper detection, are designed for PSA Certified Level 3.

Edge AI with the nRF7120EThe nRF7120E adds the Axon NPU, which accelerates machine-learning inference on the device. Developers can run sensor fusion, audio and anomaly detection models locally and send only results over Wi-Fi, saving power and bandwidth.

nRF Connect SDK
Nordic Semiconductor brings decades of experience in ultra-low-power wireless IoT and silicon design to Wi-Fi. The nRF7120 is fully supported in nRF Connect SDK, so developers get the same streamlined workflow they use with the nRF54 and nRF70 Series.

nRF71 Series Wi-Fi Wireless SoCs — comparison

Features and specifications overview
  nRF7120_WLCSP350_stacked.png nRF7120E_WLCSP350_stacked.png
  nRF7120 nRF7120E
Processor
Processor

256 MHz Arm Cortex-M33

256 MHz Arm Cortex-M33
NVM
NVM

4 MB

4 MB
RAM
RAM

1 MB

1 MB
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz

Yes

Yes
Wi-Fi 6E, 6 GHz band
Wi-Fi 6E, 6 GHz band

—

Yes (tri-band Wi-Fi 6E)
Wi-Fi roles
Wi-Fi roles

STA, SoftAP

STA, SoftAP
Target Wake Time (TWT)
Target Wake Time (TWT)

Yes

Yes
Bluetooth LE
Bluetooth LE

Yes

Yes
Thread (IEEE 802.15.4)
Thread (IEEE 802.15.4)

Yes

Yes
Matter
Matter

Yes

Yes
NFC
NFC

NFC tag

NFC tag
Wi-Fi TX power
Wi-Fi TX power

+22 dBm

+22 dBm
Bluetooth LE TX power
Bluetooth LE TX power

+10 dBm

+10 dBm
RX sensitivity (Bluetooth LE)
RX sensitivity (Bluetooth LE)

−99 dBm

−99 dBm
AI accelerator
AI accelerator

—

Axon NPU
RISC-V coprocessor
RISC-V coprocessor

Yes

Yes
Digital interfaces
Digital interfaces

High-speed USB, 2x MSPI (64 MHz), 2x HS-SPI (64 MHz), 1x HS-UART (4 Mbps), 6x SPI/TWI/UART

High-speed USB, 2x MSPI (64 MHz), 2x HS-SPI (64 MHz), 1x HS-UART (4 Mbps), 6x SPI/TWI/UART
Supported SoftPeripherals
Supported SoftPeripherals

SDIO, CAN 2.0B

SDIO, CAN 2.0B
Isolation
Isolation

Arm TrustZone

Arm TrustZone
Cryptographic accelerator and tamper detectors
Cryptographic accelerator and tamper detectors

CRACEN, tamper detection; designed for PSA Certified Level 3

CRACEN, tamper detection; designed for PSA Certified Level 3
Operating temperature
Operating temperature

−40 to +85 °C

−40 to +85 °C
Supply voltage range
Supply voltage range

2.8 to 5.5 V

2.8 to 5.5 V
Packages
Packages

WLCSP with up to 65 GPIOs

WLCSP with up to 65 GPIOs

nRF71 Series Wi-Fi Wireless SoCs — packages

Package details and pin-to-pin compatibility
  nRF7120_WLCSP350_stacked.png nRF7120E_WLCSP350_stacked.png
  nRF7120 nRF7120E
Package
Package

WLCSP

WLCSP
Dimensions
Dimensions

4.9 × 4.6 mm

4.9 × 4.6 mm
Pitch
Pitch

0.35 mm

0.35 mm
GPIOs
GPIOs

Up to 65

Up to 65
Pin-to-pin compatible SoCs
Pin-to-pin compatible SoCs

nRF7120E

nRF7120

Compatible PMICs

nPM1300 PMIC

Power Management IC (PMIC) with unique system management features

The nPM1300 is designed to provide highly efficient power regulation for Nordic’s nRF52 and nRF53 Series, as well as the nRF54L and nRF54H Series wireless multiprotocol Systems-on-Chip (SoC). The PMIC is also suitable for battery charging for applications based on the nRF91 Series systems-in-package (SiPs) for cellular IoT, by using the PMIC’s unregulated output to power the SiP's internal buck regulators.

Devices using the nPM1300 and a compatible SoC or SiP also get access to the Nordic Fuel Gauge, a highly accurate, ultra-low-power way of estimating state-of-charge of rechargeable batteries. 

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