Raspberry Pi announced on Monday the Pico 2 W, the wireless-enabled variant of this summer’s Pico 2. Built around the new RP2350 microcontroller and featuring the wireless modem from the original Pico W, it is priced at US$7 and serves as a suitable centerpiece for connected Internet of Things (IoT) projects.
Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W features 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.2, providing increased flexibility in IoT or smart product designs and expanding project possibilities.
“When we launched our debut microcontroller, RP2040, way back in 2021, we couldn’t have imagined the incredible range of products that would be built around it, or the uses that the community would put them to,” Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry PI, wrote in a blog post. “Combining a symmetric pair of fast integer cores; a large, banked, on-chip memory; rich support for high-level languages; and our patented programmable I/O (PIO) subsystem, it quickly became the go-to device for enthusiasts and professional engineers seeking high-performance, deterministic interfacing at a low price point.”
Upton noted that RP2350 builds on this legacy, offering faster cores, more memory, floating point support, on-chip OTP, optimised power consumption, and a rich security model built around Arm’s TrustZone for Cortex-M. “It debuted in August on Pico 2, on the DEF CON 32 badge (designed by our friends at Entropic Engineering, with firmware and a gonzo sidewalk badge presentation by the redoubtable Dmitry Grinberg), and on a wide variety of development boards and other products from our early-access partners,” he added.
Wireless things
Many projects and products built on these platforms—such as Linux-capable Raspberry Pi computers, microcontroller boards, or silicon products—fit the general description of the ‘Internet of Things.’ They combine local computing, storage, and real-world interfacing with connectivity to the cloud.
“Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W brings all the power of RP2350 to these IoT projects,” according to Upton. “The on-board CYW43439 modem from our friends at Infineon provides 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and is supported by C and MicroPython libraries. Enthusiasts benefit from the breadboard-friendly Pico form factor, while our upcoming RM2 radio module (already in use on Pimoroni’s Pico Plus 2 W) provides a route to scale for professional products which have been prototyped on the platform.”
In conclusion, Upton wrote, “We’re very pleased with how Pico 2 W has turned out. And, where the Pico 1 series ended with Pico W, we have a few more ideas in mind for the Pico 2 series. Keep an eye out for more news in early 2025.”
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