Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W released: only $15

by ·

Among the single-chip computers that makers like, Raspberry Pi Zero W is a very special one. Compared with its big brother Raspberry Pi and second brother Raspberry Pi CM, it is more compact, but it also maintains good output performance and is used in small projects such as DIY homemade smart speakers, surveillance cameras, and even some mini handhelds. Raspberry Foundation also stated that the Zero series has sold 4 million pieces so far, which is quite popular, but Raspberry Pi Zero W has been out for a while, and it is now ushered in a new generation upgrade, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W.

Since it is positioned at the ultra-low price level of $15, although it is the second generation, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W still maintains roughly the same PCB design as the first generation. The new generation is mainly on the SoC, upgraded to the Broadcom BCM2701A1, which is the same as the Raspberry Pi 3, which contains a 4-core Cortex-A53 CPU. The performance can be said to be a huge improvement compared to the previous generation of single-core, and the video decoding capability can support the H.264 format up to 1080p30.

However, the standard memory is still 512MB LPDDR2, and there is currently no higher capacity version available. But Raspberry Foundation said that in order to integrate memory into the new SoC, modern SiP packaging technology is used here, which is rare on such cheap hardware.

As for the interface, the display output is still Mini-HDMI, leaving the solder joints for the composite interface, and the power supply uses the micro USB interface instead of USB-C.

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W specifications

Here are the highlights:

  • Broadcom BCM2710A1, quad-core 64-bit SoC (Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1GHz)
  • 512MB LPDDR2 SDRAM
  • 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE
  • 1 × USB 2.0 interface with OTG
  • HAT-compatible 40 pin I/O header footprint
  • MicroSD card slot
  • Mini HDMI port
  • Composite video and reset pin solder points
  • CSI-2 camera connector
  • H.264, MPEG-4 decode (1080p30); H.264 encode (1080p30)
  • OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0 graphics

Tags: