New Synology DS223j NAS Rumoured for End of 2022/2023

The Synology DS223j NAS Rumoured for Q4 2022 / Q1 2023

Update (28/09/22 UK) – The CPU that will be featured in the Synology DS223j, DS123 and DS223 will be the Realtek RTD1619. The articles have been updated. The release date is looking like Q1 (Jan-March) 2023.

If you want to be the first to know, you can get alerts on this SPECIFIC page by entering your email address at the bottom of the article.

If you have been looking at Synology or a more cost-effective, low-price and highly power-efficient NAS drive in 2022/2023, then there is a very good chance that you have been wondering about the release of the DS223j, as the current value series offering of the DS220j has been available now for well over two years and looking a little old now. Well, I am pleased to share that I have been informed that Synology has plans to release the newest entry into their budget/cost-effective tier with this new 2-Bay NAS in the last quarter of 2022 (or possibly the start of 2023). This little snippet of information (alongside mention of other new desktop NAS’, such as the DS223, DS223+, DS723+ and DS923+), details which units are going to form the bulk of the brand’s home-prosumer-SMB diskstation portfolio. The DS2xxj series has always been highly desirable as the entry point for most first-time Synology NAS users and although is a solution that arrives with hardware that could arguably be called ‘economical’, it is worth also remembering that it will almost certainly arrive with support of DSM 7 – so you are going to be looking at an affordably jumping off point into a complete hardware+software solution. Although the details we have on the DS223j are incredibly thin on the ground at the time of writing, this information DOES come from a very trustworthy source that I am sorry to say I cannot share. I am sure this will result in many having doubts about the reliability of this information (I would feel the same), but you are just going to have to trust me on this and/or wait out the rest of 2022 as this all plays out. Let’s discuss the DS223j a little further.

Update 01/09 – New CPU Information for the Synology DS223, DS223j and DS423

This a small but very pertinent update to the potential CPU that will be in the Synology Value series. Alongside ongoing rumours that the first wave of DSx23 series diskstation NAS will arrive in October, a new CPU entry has appeared online with DSM 7.1 support of late 2020 released Realtek RTD1619 ARMv8-A processor. The architecture of which is incredibly likely to be for the DS223j, DS223 and DS423:

Realtek RTD1619
Cortex-A55 SoC
ARMv8-A
Q4 2020
12 nm / 5W
6 Core @ 1.3 GHz
4GB Max Capacity (likely tiered at each value model)
H.265 4K@60fps, H.264 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps
Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbit/s
USB 3.0, USB 2.0

Now, the interesting thing about this CPU is that 6 core architecture and increased 4K support over that of the RTD1296 that came before it (though a marginal drop in clock speed, this is more than made up for in efficiency). The ethernet/network speed still appears to cap at 1GbE, but even though 2.5GbE continues to grow in the market, I think very few people (myself included) would have though Synology would include a 2.5G network connection in their value tier. Here is how the RTD1619 and RTD1296 CPU Compare:

Processor

Realtek RTD1296

Realtek RTD1619

ISA

ARMv8-A (64-bit)

ARMv8-A (64-bit)

Synology NAS ft. CPU

DS220j, DS420j, DS118, DS218, DS418

DS223, DS223j, DS423 (TBC)

Microarchitecture

Cortex-A53

Cortex-A55

Family

RTD

RTD

Part number(s), S-Spec

RTD1296

RTD1619

Release date

Q4 2018

Q4 2020

Lithography

12 nm

12 nm

Cores

4

6

Threads

4

6

Base frequency

1.4 GHz

1.3 GHz

High performance cores

4x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.4 GHz

6x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 1.3 GHz

Cache memory

1 MB

1 MB

Max memory capacity

2 GB

4 GB

Memory types

LPDDR2/3, DDR3/4

LPDDR2/3, DDR3/4

TDP

13 W

5 W

GPU integrated graphics

ARM Mali-T820 MP3

ARM Mali-G51 MP3

GPU execution units

3

3

GPU shading units

48

48

GPU base clock

650 MHz

650 MHz

GPU boost clock

750 MHz

650 MHz

GPU FP32 floating point

30.6 GFLOPS

72 GFLOPS

Socket

SoC

SoC

Max display resolution

4K@60fps

4K@60fps

Video decoding

H.265 4K@60fps, H.264 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps

H.265 4K@60fps, H.264 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps

Video encoding

H.264 1080p@60fps

H.264 1080p@60fps

Modem

Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbit/s

Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbit/s

Connectivity

USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI 2.0a

USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI 2.0b

Below is the rest of the original article from 18/07/22.

What Do We Know About the Synology DS223j 2-Bay NAS Drive?

Unfortunately, we still have very few concrete ideas on many of the details of the DS223j NAS. Alongside the DS223j, I have been informed that the Synology DS923+ Expandable and Fully Featured 4-Bay and FOUR new revisions of the Diskstation 2-Bay are in the works. The 2 Bay systems are the Synology DS723+ Expandable Premium NAS, a DS223+ mid-range fully software featured 2-Bay, a DS223 standard value series NAS and, finally, the DS223j cost-effective 2-Bay system. No details on the hardware have been provided, but these will almost certainly follow in the footsteps of previously released Diskstation 2/4-Bay Devices in this hardware tier, such as the DS420j and DS220j. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose the source of this information. This is as much information as I can share right now, other than a rather wide release window (see at the bottom of the article), that is about it. Now, I can already hear the complaints in the comments about this, but you are going to have to trust me on this one, as I trust the source and in 6 months all this will play out. Additionally, I received further information on other planned Synology hardware accessories/add-ons that I need to verify in the meantime before I publish. So, let’s discuss what we think the hardware of the DS223j and other Diskstations are likely to be.

What Do We Expect the Hardware of the Synology DS223j NAS to Be?

As mentioned, the DS223j information I have received also highlights a range of other NAS devices arriving in that same 6 months time frame. The DS2xxj NAS have always formed the lowest hardware/price point of the RAID enabled systems in the brand’s portfolio (before they killed off the DS216se anyway) and the need for the system to run DSM 7 comfortably (even at this more home-user-focused system) will result in the brand giving this NAS a modest, yet still capable day one hardware. I will say that at the time of writing, I have ZERO idea on the CPU+Memory of the DS223j, but with well over a decade of this brand’s approach to these systems, we can make some educated guesses based on the brand’s hardware choices in previous years AND the state of NAS hardware/components that are favoured by the industry in 2022/2023 already. The DS223j will almost certainly not arrive with a x86 processor, instead arriving with an ARM processor (likely ARM v8). So, for the DS223j NAS CPU, i think it will be one of two options (and again, this is an educated guess):

  • An ARM 4-core/4-thread Cortex-A55 2.0GHz processor, 64bit
  • AnnapurnaLabs Alpine AL324 / AL314 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57 4-core 1.7GHz processor

Both of these processors are ARM architecture, i.e. they are very power efficient for 24×7 use. Alongside these, I can imagine that the DS223j will either arrive with 512MB of fixed/non-upgradable memory in line with previous DS2xxj releases OR they will increase this to 1GB to ensure that DSM 7 runs as smoothly as it can with its base level functions (i.e before you install further applications in the app center). The DS220j was released back in 2020 with DSM 6.2 with its modest Realtek RTD1296 CPU and 512MB of memory even ran DSM 7 (with high CPU/Memory utilization admittedly – as shown in the video below), but I think the DS223j will need 1GB of DDR4 if it plans to run DSM 7 smoothly in years to come.

Aside from that, I do not think we will see much else changed on this. The System will certainly be 1GbE and feature one or more USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. As well as almost certainly arriving in the familiar Synology white plastic chassis of previous generations. One question people might have is HDD compatibility and I cannot see the brand being heavy-handed on this very affordable end of the portfolio, however, do not rule this out (in even a small way) if Synology reveal a more mid-range/affordable HDD series alongside their enterprise HAT5300s.

When Will We See the Synology DS223j NAS Released?

We understand that the DS223j and other DSx23 Diskstation systems are arriving towards the end of the year and start of 2023 – Almost certainly in smaller release groups and with further details on them being revealed at the Synology 2023 Event (that last bit IS speculative, but almost certainly the case). We will update this page regularly with more information on the DS223j NAS as it arrives, so if you want to be the first to know, you can get alerts on this SPECIFIC page by entering your email address below.

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      Leave a Reply to Shaun JamesCancel reply

      50 thoughts on “New Synology DS223j NAS Rumoured for End of 2022/2023

      1. When does Synology typically drop new hardware? I’m desperately in need of upgrading, and I’ve been looking at the DS1621xs+ to replace my aging and now almost full DS1513+, but I don’t want to buy 2 year old out of date hardware just to have them release something new and improved 2 weeks later.

        Do they have traditional dates for new hardware like say Apple?

        Depending on the price delta, I might consider the 1823xs+ you mentioned in the video, if they’re not likely to update the 1621xs+ soon.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      2. My prediction:
        The j, value and play series (if it doesn’t disappear) will mount ARM Realtek RTD1619 processors with 1Gb ethernet.
        J series with 1Gb, play series with 2Gb and value series with 4Gb (this is the maximum available for this CPU).

        The plus series will have x86 AMD Ryzen R1600 processors with upgradable memory.

        The first NAS could be released will be the ds223 and ds423
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      3. I was surprised at how highly you two spoke of the arm processors in the 223j. My first nas was a 220j and it was terribly underwhelming in performance. Maybe it was the 512MB of Ram, but it absolutely failed miserably when I tried running multiple applications especially when I was uploading photos and videos from my phone to photo station would make the system completely unusable for anything else as it tried to process the files and index them. I tolerated it for a few months then upgraded to the DS920+ and I LOVE it. It does everything I ask of it with ease.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      4. Btw. according to the source code packages, the EPYCs will – finally – use Linux kernel v5. Unfortunately, in classic Synology fashion, an older version missing some AMD and/or EPYC optimizations.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      5. I bought DS1621xs+ just a year ago. With all the functionality it does, I do not think I will upgrade to DS1823xs+ when it comes out as all specifications you had put it. As long as Synology sorts out the HDD brand compatibility list for using other brands in their sets, I would refuse to jump into the trap.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      6. I am just waiting for a Synology with ARM-processor in a DS15xx-series, guess I can live with my DS918 a couple more years since 1GBit is ok for me so far (just photo editing from my client and store data there).
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      7. Will Synology release any NAS’es with the mainstream Intel Core/AMD Ryzen processors? I love the new QNAPs, with the Intel 12th Gen, purely for the 12th Gen’s QuickSync capabilities with Plex. Unfortunately Plex doesn’t support AMD hardware transcoding, otherwise I’d definitely get some sweet, efficient and powerful Zen3/4 one. I’m also thinking of building my DIY NAS with TrueNAS or UNRAID, but it’s really hard to find a modern Mini-ITX motherboard with 4+ SATA ports and a minimum of 2.5GBe ethernet so, QNAP’s 12th Gen Intel solutions look perfect at the moment
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      8. Funny how Eddie sometimes makes faces while listening to Robbie as if to say…nah, he really talks too much and too fast…
        And for crying out loud Robbie…. it’s not Ryzon. It’s Ryzen. Zen. Get it.?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      9. I know this might be a strange question, but has someone ever tried to use 4x 100TB Nimbus Data drives in a 4 bay Synology or Qnap? I know this seems to be complete nuts but from the technical point of view, would that even work?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      10. Synology it’s an mess, on one side dismiss surveillance market without an competitive product with user diy DVA (enable user to add Nvidia GPU or USB m.2 you) and that insanity about “blessed hard drives’, meanwhile no nvme-only Nas no compact pro-sumer units as an all flash successor for desktop FS1018 , and while at last they offer WiFi 6 router’s Asus (reference Brand for good routers) sells a bunch of WiFi 6e with powerful opensource o more featured and even slightly cheaper. I’m quite disappointed and bet no single cent on Synology future.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      11. Straight off the bat guys, I apologise for the ‘humming’ sound in this vid. Trying to sync mine and Eddie’s sound proved 10x harder than it should have been and in the end the balance of the audio was leveraged more towards Eddie (as I am always the louder/noisier/more-annoying one!). Sorry if this makes it tough to listen to at points (particularly when I go a bit ‘high’! Have a great weekend everyone!
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      12. This post has been updated with new information regarding the CPU that is almost certain to be featured on the Synology Value series of Diskstation NAS (obtained from official sources) – 01/09/22

      13. My DS200j was updated to DSM 7 and it sucks. Transfer speed dropped from 110ΜΒ/s to 10MB/s and it is soooo slow. I updated based on this video and now my NAS is useless…
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      14. So I am really confused here. I use my 220j almost entirely for streaming videos. If that is the only thing it is doing is DSM 7.0 a mistake or not? Experiences SEEM to go both ways but no opinions from people that have updated to 7.0 are straight in whether it is ok.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      15. After updating my ds220j to 7 its so slow , could be due to photos indexing?
        should I backup my phone photos again or move photos ( that already been backed up by ds file app ) to the folder that used by photos app?
        Thanks
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      16. No one talks about the fact that facial recognition is removed on those J devices.
        It was there on moments.
        Synology photos is not such a big upgrade compared to moments.

        I have seen many reviews but no one seems to mention facial recognition
        WHY?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      17. I gave up on Synology NAS, so I bought a Dell R720 and made that into a NAS BOX. Granted mines Twice the price of synology, but I have 16 cores, 32 treads @3.3Ghz, 192GB of 1866 Ram and 32Tb of storage with dual (redundant) power supplies.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

      18. If I use my station only as a mapped network drive. Should I just keep older DSM? I’m concerned only about security.
        I’m on DS220J

        P.S. Thanks to you I’m working now with Synology equipment and it is so easy to use. Great help from you.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE