Raspberry Pi Pico Now Has Wi-Fi Option

The $2 increase seems like a small price to pay

By
Rob Rich
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Rob Rich
News Reporter
  • College for Creative Studies
Rob is a freelance tech reporter with experience writing for a variety of outlets, including IGN, Unwinnable, 148Apps, Gamezebo, Pocket Gamer, Fanbolt, Zam, and more.
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Published on June 30, 2022 02:07PM EDT
Fact checked by
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Fact checked by Jerri Ledford
  • Western Kentucky University
  • Gulf Coast Community College
Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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Raspberry Pi's Pico series is getting its first model that supports wireless networking, by way of the new Pico W.

Pico boards have been around for about a year and a half, acting as Raspberry Pi's flagship mini-computer board (and seeing close to two million sales since release). But one thing the Pico line has been missing is network connectivity. The new Pico W fixes that issue.

Raspberry Pi Pico W wireless board

Raspberry Pi

According to Raspberry Pi, the Pico W builds off its RP2040 microcontroller while utilizing two 133MHz cores and 256kB of SRAM. It also retains the same level of pin compatibility as the original Pico, so it will plug into everything the same way. But of course, the big difference is the inclusion of a way to wirelessly connect to a network.

This functionality comes from Infineon's CYW43439 wireless chip, which provides 802.11n wireless networking capabilities with a theoretical maximum speed of 300 Mbps. The chip also supports Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low-Energy, but Raspberry Pi says that function isn't available in the Pico W. At least not yet—though the company does say it may enable Bluetooth on the Pico W in the future.

The Pico W is available today for $6 from select retailers. As with other Raspberry Pi models, any casing, peripherals, drives, or screens come separately. So don't expect to get one and start using it right out of the box.

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