Makers and tinkerers, it’s time to warm up those soldering irons. Raspberry Pi has just announced an update to its itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny microcontroller (the Pico 2), now with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Pico 2 W is available at Raspberry Pi resellers starting at just $7, a measly two bucks more than the non-wireless version.
The Pico series are microcontrollers — not standalone computers like the Pi series — but they’re still beloved tools for projects that need a little more functionality than you can get with hand-wiring or standard breakout boards. The Pico 2 was launched earlier this year with an upgraded dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 chip, 520KB of onboard SRAM, and an onboard switch-mode power supply, among other goodies.
The Pico 2 W adds an Infineon CYW43439 wireless modem, which provides 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 capabilities. That opens up a ton of new functionality, especially for gadgets that don’t otherwise have wireless options. According to Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton, they’re looking into more Pico 2 variants and they might even be ready to talk about them early next year.
For the moment, you can buy a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W at PiShop.us, Vilros, and CanaKit. Other shops don’t seem to have it just yet, though Adafruit has a “coming soon” page up.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.