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 look at the main Raspberry Pi models to date.

There are more Raspberry Pi models than we will see in this post, where we will limit ourselves to 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 look at some of them.

We have two families of Raspberry Pi. The “normal” family, and a smaller-sized 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 B being the most common. Versions 2 and 3 only had a “B” version.

Raspberry Pi Model 1

Model 1 has a Broadcom BCM2835 SOC, a VideoCore IV graphics chip, and a single-core ARM11 ARM1176JZF-S processor 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. The B+ model increases the USB ports to 4 and changes the SD card to a micro SD.

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

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 Model 2

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 quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor at 900 MHz and 1Gb of SDRAM. The VideoCore IV graphics chip is retained.

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

Raspberry Pi Model 3

The Raspberry Pi 3 B primarily aimed for a connectivity change, as the main new feature was the inclusion of Bluetooth 4.1 and Wifi 802.11n.

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

Raspberry Pi Zero Family

On the other hand, we have the Raspberry Pi Zero family, a series of very small size and low-cost models, making them interesting for device integration and IoT.

Raspberry Pi Zero

The Raspberry Pi Zero has, roughly, 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, an ARM1176JZF-S processor at 1Ghz, and has 512Mb of SDRAM.

Given the small size, it lacks the Ethernet port and DSI connector, and only has one Micro USB port. However, it retains the electronic functions GPIO, SPI, I2C, and UART.

Raspberry Pi Zero W

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

Raspberry Pi Models Comparison

Here is a table with the specifications of the main Raspberry Pi models.