Raspberry Pi 3 is out today (RASPBERRY PI 3 ON SALE NOW AT $35, 29 February 2016), it’s been almost 4 years since I have my first Raspberry Pi, the Raspberry Pi Model B, with has only 256MB ram, now the Raspberry Pi 3 comes with the same price – $35, but much more powerful, including Quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex A53 clocked at 1.2 GHz, built in 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 LE, and fully compatible with the previous version(s)! No more usb WiFi / Bluetooth dongle from now on also means we don’t need to be worried about the compatible of the WiFi/BT chip and Pi, also save us 2 USB ports, that’s very nice! Let’s take a look at it now:
Here is a photo of Raspberry Pi 3, almost the same look as Pi 2:
(Raspberry Pi 3 picture original from RS online: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/8968660/)
Another pic with some notes:
(From the link of Raspberry Pi 3 diagram on RS online Raspberry Pi 3 page)
To make it easier to be compared, I made a simple comparison chart by myself, to compare the difference between Raspberry Pi 3 and all the Raspberry Pi models I have:
| Raspberry Pi 3 Model B | Raspberry Pi 2 Model B | Raspberry Pi Model B+ | Raspberry Pi Model B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release | Feb 2016 | Feb 2015 | July 2014 | April 2012 |
| Processor Chipset | BCM2837 | BCM2836 | BCM2835 | |
| Processor Core | ARM Cortex-A53 | ARM Cortex-A7 | ARM11 | |
| Processor Arch | ARMv8 quad core 64Bit | ARMv7 quad core 32Bit | ARMv6 single core 32Bit | |
| Processor Speed | 1.2 GHz | 0.9 GHz | 0.7 GHz | |
| RAM | 1 GB | 0.5 GB | 0.5 GB (rev 2) / 0.25 GB (rev 1) | |
| Storage | MicroSD | SD card | ||
| USB 2.0 | 4x USB Ports | 2x USB Ports | ||
| Max Power Draw (@5V) | 2.5 A | 1.8 A | 1.2 A | |
| GPIO | 40 pin | 26 Pin | ||
| Ethernet Port | 10/100 Mbit Ethernet | |||
| WiFi | Built in | No | ||
| Bluetooth LE | Built in | No | ||
| Comments | The latest version | ~6x faster, Free Win10 IoT! | More USBs and GPIO | The original RPi |
(If there are mistakes, feel free to tell me)
I don’t have Pi Model A, A+, compute model and Pi Zero, so didn’t add them on the chart, the points of Pi Model A+ and Pi Zero should be its power consumption, I/O, size and price, and I guess they are not so widely used or popular in commonly used scenario, so please don’t mind.
I use OpenELEC, OSMC (RaspBMC) to watching movies and videos on my Raspberry Pi for a long time, it’s good have a much more powerful Raspberry Pi to bring the better user experience about lower latency in the UI, sinces the post about Raspberry Pi 3 on Raspberry Pi blog says it’s compatible with Pi and Pi2, and OSMC also says they support Raspberry Pi 3(Raspberry Pi 3 announced with OSMC support), I will like to have a Raspberry Pi 3 very soon! If you also want to buy your own Pi 3, you can purchase it online from RS components and element14 right now:
- RS components: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/8968660/
- element 14: https://www.element14.com/community/community/raspberry-pi
Once I have it (and I should also have free time), I’ll also do some simple benchmarks on it, I did some benchmarks on Pi and Pi 2 before, see:
https://www.peterdavehello.org/2016/02/raspberry-pi-1-model-b-basic-benchmarks/
https://www.peterdavehello.org/2016/02/raspberry-pi-2-model-b-basic-benchmark/
Besides Raspberry Pi 3, there is going to have a Four year party of Pi, and Matt Timmons-Brown, aka The Raspberry Pi Guy make a video to celebrate what the Raspberry Pi community has achieved over the last four years:
Very cool!
Resource / Reference:
- Makezine: Meet the New Raspberry Pi 3 — A 64-bit Pi With Built-in Wireless and Bluetooth LE:
- http://makezine.com/2016/02/28/meet-the-new-raspberry-pi-3/
- Raspberry Pi 3 Diagram from RS components:
- Raspberry Pi 3 datasheet from RS components:
- Raspberry Pi on wikipedia:
- RASPBERRY PI 3 ON SALE NOW AT $35 on Raspberry Pi Blog
- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Board Features a 64-Bit ARM Processor, Adds WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity, by CNXSoft:
