An overpowered home server with an integrated LLM. That’s the basic idea behind UGREEN’s new NASync iDX6011, a device that’s sure to generate vicious arguments among NAS enthusiasts.

I first encountered UGREEN’s NASync devices at CES 2024, about one year ago today. My colleagues and I expected to talk to the company about smartphone accessories—instead, we were greeted by six NASync DXP-series home servers, all with attractive designs and powerful hardware.

Now, at CES 2025, I’m experiencing a bit of déjà vu. UGREEN is introducing its NASync iDX6011: a six-bay home server loaded with Intel’s Core Ultra 5 processor and 32GB of preinstalled DDR5 RAM. The box also packs dual 10GbE connectivity, two M.2 NVMe drive bays, Thunderbolt ports, an integrated SD card reader, a plethora of USB ports, and PCIe expansion for graphics cards or other accessoires.

Alongside the iDX6011 comes an upgraded model called the iDX6011 Pro. Unfortunately, UGREEN hasn’t shared the Pro model’s full specs, but the company tells me that the iDX6011 Pro will be more powerful than its non-Pro sibling. It’s also got a touchscreen panel for drive capacity readouts, file transmission progress, and other at-a-glance information.

These new NASync devices—the iDX6011 and iDX6011 Pro—are squarely aimed at enthusiasts and professional customers. They’ve got more horsepower than you’ll ever need for Plex video transcoding, they’re capable of running multiple simultaneous desktop VMs, and their use of 10GbE connectivity should provide DAS-like transfer rates over a networked connection. You can get similar functionality from a custom-built server, though the iDX6011 should appeal to video editors, businesses, and others who want a powerful off-the-shelf solution.

But UGREEN isn’t marketing the iDX6011 as a tool for video editors or VM nerds. Instead, the iDX6011 is touted as an “AI-powered NAS.” It’s even got a built-in LLM that can pull information from local databases or “online knowledge bases,” summarize blocks of text, and do all the other stuff that chatbots are known for. I asked UGREEN for additional details, specifically the LLM’s name, and the company told me “it’s a joint-developed model tailored for UGREEN NAS.” I’d prefer a more straightforward answer, but if this is a “joint” project, there are probably some business roadblocks that prevent UGREEN from sharing all the details at this time. I’m happy to wait.

Anyways, there may be some genuine uses for this LLM, particularly in business settings where workers need to sift through mountains of internal documentation. And, in any case, UGREEN is demonstrating that a consumer-grade NAS can fill the role of an AI testbed. The iDX6011 lacks a discreet GPU, so it won’t be doing anything too crazy, but it’s powerful enough for lightweight AI development or deployment. It may be a convenient option for those who want to experiment with AI on a small, dedicated, network-attached device.

Do I have any use for these AI capabilities? No, not at all. And, from a privacy perspective, I’m not thrilled by the idea of running an unnamed LLM in UGREEN’s immature operating system. Many people will share my opinion, and some will be very fanatical about the whole thing. I just hope that the anti-AI crowd will recognize the iDX6011’s powerful hardware, as hardware is the true selling point for this device.

I should point out that NASync devices aren’t limited to UGOS. You can run whatever operating system you want on a NASync system. Booting into a different OS won’t void your hardware warranty and will only take a few minutes of your time.

The UGREEN NASync iDX6011 and iDX6011 Pro are expected to launch in Q2 or Q3 of 2025. Pricing is unknown at this time, which is a shame, as I’d love to compare the price of an iDX-series NAS to that of a similarly-spec’d PC.

Source: UGREEN