Raspberry Pi Foundation release updated Model A+

Raspberry Pi Foundation release updated Model A+

The Raspberry Pi foundation yesterday released a new iteration of the popular maker . Previously updates have focused on the more capable networked Model B which has provided wired connectivity. This time around, they have the Model A+, previously a first generation Raspberry Pi product.

However, with the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+, the device uses the same Broadcom 2837 SoC (doubling the clock speed and quadrupling the core count). They also added dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth from the Model 3 B+. It still has the same amount of memory as original Pi Model A+ boards, at 512MB.

The main differences are a reduced USB port count (down to one from four). It is also missing the wired Ethernet port (and the support that this can bring).

The price of the board is $25, which is $10 higher than the Zero W (but you gain a DSI interface to directly drive LCD panels, dual-band WiFi, as well as more and faster CPU cores), and $10 less than the Pi 3 Model B+ (but you lose the Ethernet port). I suspect that if you need the extra processing , then the new Model A+ suits you better than the Zero W. (The Zero could still win if space is really at a premium). But full connectivity options are still best with the wired Ethernet option of the Model B+.

John Dixon

John Dixon is the Principal Consultant of thirteen-ten nanometre networks Ltd, based in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. He has a wide range of experience, (including, but not limited to) operating, designing and optimizing systems and networks for customers from global to domestic in scale. He has worked with many international brands to implement both data centres and wide-area networks across a range of industries. He is currently supporting a major SD-WAN vendor on the implementation of an environment supporting a major global fast-food chain.

Comments are closed.