Raspberry Pi has announced the launch of Raspberry Pi Pico W. Its predecessor Pico was launched last year is the smallest board from the company retailing at $4, it featured an RP2040 microcontroller powered by a 133MHz Arm Cortex-M0+ CPU cores. The newer Pico W is powered by the same microprocessor but also features an Infineon CYW43439 chip which enables the wireless connectivity. The board may also get Bluetooth connectivity in future updates.
The Raspberry Pi released the original Pico for the Internet of Things (IoT), but the one important feature it missed was internet connectivity. Now with the release of Pico W, the microcontroller gets the capability to connect to the internet. Furthermore, there are speculations that the board might soon get a firmware update which will enable Bluetooth connectivity in the board.
“Like all modern Raspberry Pi boards, the radio circuitry is encapsulated in a metal shield can, reducing compliance costs for customers who want to integrate it into their own products,” said Raspberry Pi Trading. “CYW43439 supports both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low-Energy – we have not enabled Bluetooth on Pico W at launch, but may do so in the future.”
The Pico W features a Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz 802.11n, albeit not that new, the inclusion of a wireless connectivity makes this device more convenient. The Pico W will be sold for $6 and will be made available soon.
