The low-cost Arduino microcontrollers have long provided amateur hardware enthusiasts with a way to build their own gadgets.

Now Arduino has expanded its family of tiny Nano boards with new offerings that deliver better specs for a lower price.

The first two new boards are the €10 Arduino Nano Every and the €18 Arduino Nano 33 IoT, which adds wireless connectivity. Both boards are also available without headers for a lower price.

Like other Arduino boards, these microcontrollers can serve as the brains of DIY devices, able to be wired into makeshift circuits so they can interact with lights, sensors, motors, microphones, buttons, and more.

SEE: Hiring kit: IoT developer (Tech Pro Research)

Co-founder of Arduino Massimo Banzi said the new boards will meet demand for low-cost but capable microcontrollers for DIY hardware.

Described as being suited for everyday projects, the Arduino Nano Every improves on the specs of the earlier €20 Arduino Nano in many ways, with 50% more Flash memory, a 25% higher clock speed and 3x the SRAM.

Designed for projects that need wireless connectivity, the Arduino Nano 33 IoT increases the specs even further and adds support for 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v4.2. It is also compatible with the Arduino IoT cloud service, allowing users to remotely monitor and control their projects.

Also revealed were the €19.50 Arduino Nano 33 BLE and the €29 Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense, both of which are again available for a lower price without headers.

The Arduino Nano 33 BLE can communicate with other devices via Bluetooth 5 and has been designed for projects such as wearable tech, motion tracking, environmental monitoring, and other IoT applications.

The Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense adds a suite of sensors to the base BLE board, including a 9-axis IMU for motion sensing; environmental sensors for detecting changes in pressure, temperature and humidity; and a microphone.

Both of the BLE boards come with a Arm Cortex-M4F processor that Arduino says is capable of handling “more demanding projects”.

For more information about the wider Arduino project and how it provides a simple way for people to get started creating their own homemade gadgets, check out TechRepublic’s cheat sheet.

Specs

Arduino Nano Every

Microcontroller ATMega4809
Clock speed 20MHz
Flash 48KB
SRAM 6KB
EEPROM 256B

Arduino Nano 33 IoT

Microcontroller SAMD21G18A
Clock speed Up to 48MHz
Flash 256KB
SRAM 32KB

Arduino Nano 33 BLE / Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense

Microcontroller nRF52480
Clock speed 64MHz
Flash 1MB
RAM 256KB