Raspberry Pi Models and Features

In the previous post we saw what Raspberry Pi is and some of the key reasons for its success in the geek/maker community. In this post we will see the main models of Raspberry Pi so far.

There are more Raspberry Pi models than we will see in this post, where we will limit ourselves to seeing the main and most common ones, leaving out some minor models with less impact.

Of course, there are also many competitors. Some of them are very interesting. In a future post we will see some of them.

We have two families of Raspberry Pi. The “normal” family, and a smaller size model called “Zero”.

Raspberry Pi Family

The “main” family has had 3 versions, with the current model being the Raspberry Pi 3 B. The first Raspberry Pi, model 1, had several versions, A, B, and B+, with the most common being the B. Versions 2 and 3 only had a “B” version.

Raspberry Pi 1 Model

Model 1 has a Broadcom BCM2835 SOC, VideoCore IV graphics chip, and ARM11 ARM1176JZF-S processor of a single core at 700MHz, although it could be overclocked to 1000 MHz.

Model A has 256Mb of SDRAM, 1 USB port, and lacks Ethernet connectivity. Model B has 512Mb, 2 USB ports, and added an Ethernet port. Model B+ expands to 4 USB ports and changes the SD card to a micro SD.

All model 1s have RCA, HDMI, and DSI video outputs for an LCD panel. As for audio outputs, they have a 3.5mm Jack connector and HDMI output.

As electronic devices, one of the most interesting and differentiating aspects of Raspberry Pi, all models have 8 x GPIO, SPI, I²C, and UART.

Raspberry Pi 2 Model

The Raspberry Pi 2 B was an updated version of the Raspberry Pi B whose main change was a much higher computing power. It mounts a Broadcom BCM2836 SOC, a four-core ARM Cortex A7 processor at 900 MHz, and 1Gb of SDRAM. The VideoCore IV graphics chip is maintained.

The Raspberry Pi 2 has 4 USB ports, 10/100 Mb Ethernet port. The memory card is Micro SD. The number of GPIO pins is expanded to 17, maintaining the SPI, I²C, and UART functions.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model

The Raspberry Pi 3 B mainly sought a change in connectivity, as the main novelty was the inclusion of Bluetooth 4.1 and Wifi 802.11n.

The power is expanded with a Broadcom BCM287 SOC, and a four-core ARMv8 processor at 1.2GHz 64-bit. The VideoCore IV chip is maintained, 1Gb of SDRAM, Ethernet port, 4 USB ports, and 17 GPIO with SPI, I²C, and UART functions.

Raspberry Pi Zero Family

Then we have the Raspberry Pi Zero family, a series of very small and low-cost models, which make them interesting for integration into devices and IoT.

Raspberry Pi Zero

The Raspberry Pi Zero has, in essence, the same power as a Raspberry Pi 1 B, in a much smaller size.

Like the Raspberry Pi 1 B, the Raspberry Pi Zero mounts the Broadcom BCM2835 SOC, ARM1176JZF-S processor at 1Ghz, and has 512Mb of SDRAM.

Due to its small size, it lacks the Ethernet port and DSI connector, and only has a Micro USB port. However, it maintains GPIO, SPI, I2C, and UART electronic functions.

Raspberry Pi Zero W

An update of the original Raspberry Pi Zero that adds Bluetooth 4.1 and Wifi 802.11n, maintaining the rest of the features.

Comparison of Raspberry Pi models

Here we have a table with the characteristics of the main Raspberry Pi models.