The Raspberry Pi has been a long-time best friend of hacksmiths as its products have allowed them to come up with some of the most exciting and unique products. The company is launching a new microcontroller with WiFi capabilities called the Pico W for just $6.
Raspberry Pi Launches Pico W for $6 with WiFi Capabilities
Raspberry Pi has just dropped the announcement regarding a successor to its previous Pico, the Pico W. Although a $2 difference from the Pico which sold at $4, the $6 Pico W comes with WiFi capabilities that can be extremely useful for IoT projects and more.
The main goal of the new chip is to provide hacksmiths access to the internet to create certain IoT projects. Arm has already used the Pico W to create a smart plant that is capable of sending texts and uploaded a video of their project on Twitter.
The @Raspberry_Pi Pico W has arrived!🥳⁰⁰This new IoT platform is based on the RP2040, containing a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor & an @Infineon CYW43439 with an Arm Cortex-M3 processor.⁰
— Arm (@Arm) June 30, 2022
It makes building connected devices #onArm easier than ever before. Who wants one?🙋 https://t.co/TGVTjUqG3D
Why Does the Pico W Cost More than the Pico Microcontroller
Although the Pico W is basically the same as the original Pico, hardware-wise, it includes an 802.11n Wi-Fi radio which provides IoT capabilities. According to the story by The Verge, it's understandable why the Pico W costs more.
When thinking about it, the extra $2 that buyers are paying is really just for WiFi capabilities. As per Eben Upton, the CEO of Raspberry Pi, "just the radio conformance for a modern Raspberry Pi product is the best part of half a million dollars."
Other Potential Capabilities for the Raspberry Pi Pico W
The original Pico is still not going away and if buyers really want to save as much as they can, they can choose the microcontroller without WiFi. A video of the Raspberry Pi Pico W was uploaded on YouTube to show the capabilities of the microcontroller.
As per the company, the Pico uses an Infineon CYW43439 chip that is capable of supporting Bluetooth. Raspberry Pi, however, says that it is still not yet enabled but this is also something they are considering for the future.
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Pico W Comes with Its Own Drop-in Replacement
Pico W also comes with its very own drop-in replacement for a project base on a standard Pico. It was also specified that the new product is not designed to become a desktop computer that can be used to surf the internet.
It is, however, built to help users control other electronics or hardware devices. The chip is capable of doing that by sending information back and forth "over a network" and users will also be able to control the lights from their laptop.
In a press release, the company noted that people that are looking to experiment with certain hardware have started to use Pico ever since the semiconductor shortage has made it difficult for buyers to buy chips.
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Written by Urian B.
