The diminutive Raspberry Pi Zero is getting its first improve in practically 5 years. At present, Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton introduced the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, a brand new $15 product that places the processor from the Raspberry Pi 3 right into a board the very same measurement as the unique Zero.
The brand new board swaps the outdated Zero’s 1 GHz single-core ARM11 processor for a quad-core Cortex A53-based Broadcom BCM2710A1 processor, additionally clocked at 1 GHz—the identical processor used within the authentic Raspberry Pi 3 launched again in 2016, albeit clocked barely decrease. This can be a substantial improve in energy and functionality for the Pi Zero, going from one core to 4 and from 32 bits to 64.
Upton mentioned that the efficiency improve over the unique Zero “varies throughout workloads” however that for multithreaded duties like these simulated by sysbench, “it’s virtually precisely 5 occasions quicker.” Warmth dissipation is offered by “thick inner copper layers” within the board, which ought to assist forestall thermal throttling with out the usage of further followers or heatsinks.
However the Pi Zero 2 W remains to be a low-powered, miniature model of the Pi, which suggests there’s simply not numerous bodily house for different upgrades. The Zero 2 W nonetheless makes use of 512MB of RAM, 2.4 GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.2, and a single HDMI port together with two micro-USB ports (one for energy, one for knowledge) and a microSD card slot. As a result of it nonetheless makes use of the identical Zero kind issue, it ought to match all current circumstances and equipment made for the unique Pi Zero.
Upton mentioned that the corporate hopes to ship about 200,000 Pi Zero 2 W boards within the the rest of 2021 and an extra 250,000 within the first half of 2022. These numbers are being restricted considerably by ongoing chip shortages, which prompted a rare price increase for the flagship Raspberry Pi 4 mannequin earlier this month.
The unique Pi Zero W and the Wi-Fi-less Pi Zero will proceed to be manufactured and bought for his or her authentic costs of $10 and $5, respectively.
