Last year, the Raspberry Pi Pico launched for just $4, now it's being upgraded to include wireless networking while only costing $2 more.
In fact, Raspberry Pi is launching three new versions of the Pico today. Alongside the main $6 Pico W, there's also a $5 Pico H, and a $7 Pico WH, both of which add pre-populated headers. At the heart of all of them remains the RP2040 microcontroller, consisting of a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor running at 133MHz with 264kB of internal RAM and up to 16MB of off-chip flash memory.
The wireless chip on the Pico W is the CYW43439 from Infineon and offers 2.4GHz 802.11n connectivity. The same chip also includes support for Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low-Energy, but Raspberry Pi hasn't enabled them on the new board (yet). Anyone already working with the existing Pico will be pleased to hear the Pico W retains pin compatibility with the older board.
Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Ltd., says that despite the global supply problems, millions of RP2040 microcontrollers are available and there's a "pipeline in place for tens of millions more." That's why the $6 Pico W is available and shipping today.