Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Is 5x Faster Than The Original
October 31, 2021The Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched the follow up model to the ever-popular $5 pocket computer. It’s called the Pi Zero 2 W and it shares the same dimensions as its predecessor but packed with more powerful hardware. Theoretically, existing cases for the Pi Zero W should fit the new board perfectly, however this might not always be the case.
The Pi Zero 2 W has the same Broadcom BCM2710A1 SoC die as the Raspberry Pi 3 but down-clocked to 1GHz. It also has a 512MB LPDDR2 SDRAM packed alongside the SoC. In multithreaded performance, the new board is supposed to be 5 times faster than its predecessor, which is a significant boost by anyone’s standards.
These are the specifications for the Pi Zero 2 W:
- 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
The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W costs $15 and can be ordered with an $8 USB power supply (micro USB). It can supply a current of 2.5A, which is more than enough for this board as well as the Raspberry Pi 3B or 3B+.
For now, the Pi Zero 2 W is only available in the UK, EU, United States, Canada and Hong Kong. Once the Pi Foundation completes the necessary radio compliance work, it should be available in other countries. Australia and New Zealand should receive it in November, 2021.
Though the new board is far more powerful than the Pi Zero and Zero W, the older boards will still be sold alongside the Pi Zero 2 W. The Pi Foundation says that it wants to offer customers the option of choosing the product that best suits their needs. Pi Zero 2 W will remain in production until at least January 2028. For more information visit raspberrypi.com.
