Everyone's favorite maker of flexible microcontrollers, Raspberry Pi, has just unveiled a set of new, affordable products. The company is building on the success of its $4 Pico board, which has sold just under two million units since its launch in January 2021.
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The new Pico W was released yesterday for $6. The “W” brings 802.11 Wi-Fi connectivity to the system. The $5 Pico H adds a pre-populated header for interfacing with other systems. The $7 Pico WH gives you both. The first two are available now, while the WH board ships sometime in August.
As the company notes, its boards have seen great success beyond their initial focus on hobby and education, as companies have begun to integrate the controllers directly into their products. And it's not uncommon for sophisticated pieces of machinery to be controlled by these small and inexpensive systems.
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Interestingly, the company notes that the chip has been a huge boon to sales to third-party manufacturers. “We’ve always believed that the Pi Pico is well-suited for commercial and industrial applications, but the global chip shortage has greatly accelerated its adoption,” founder Eben Upton in a post. “With millions of units in stock today and a pipeline for tens of millions more, design engineers who have been frustrated by their current suppliers have a perfect excuse to experiment.”
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Adding wireless connectivity opens the system up to all sorts of interesting, networked IoT/smart devices. And the price is definitely right, so the company could sell a few million more of these devices by next year.
