The new Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ packs most of the specs of the $35 Pi 3 B+ into a more compact, even cheaper board.
The tiny computer is a massive upgrade over the old Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+, which is based on the same single core system-on-a-chip as the first-generation Pi, released back in 2012. Like the original, the new A+ is a single-board computer designed to be built into homemade hardware — such as this remote-controlled robot — thanks to its small size and low-power consumption.
Despite the very noticeable bump to its specs, the price of the board is $25, only slightly more than the old A+.
Click through the gallery for a guided tour of all the new features on the board.
Read more about the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+
As you see here, the A+ is noticeably shorter than the B+, giving it a more compact, square shape.
The squashed size of A+ is made possible by removing the Ethernet port and by only sporting a single USB port.
Otherwise the specs of the two boards are almost identical, with the only other major difference being the A+ has half the memory of the B+.
Size-wise, the A+ is 65mm \u00d7 56.5mm — the same as the first-generation Raspberry Pi A+ — compared to the B+’s 85.6mm \u00d7 56.5mm.
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This is the underside of the Pi 3 A+, sporting the board’s RAM and the SD card reader.
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Like the Raspberry Pi 3 B+, the A+ runs on a Broadcom BCM2837B0, a quad-core Arm Cortex A53-based processor, running at 1.4GHz.
SEE: More Raspberry Pi coverage (TechRepublic Flipboard magazine)
Wireless connectivity is also identical to the Pi 3 B+, with the A+ offering dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, and the same wireless antenna hidden inside this Raspberry-branded tin.
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The Pi 3 A+ offers one full-sized HDMI 1.3 port, which should work well with 1080p monitors and TVs, as well a microUSB connector for power, and a 4 pole stereo audio output and composite video jack.
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Another view of the ports on the right-hand side of the board.
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Here you can see the chip for the A+’s onboard RAM. With only 512MB, compared to 1GB on the Pi 3 B+, this is probably the biggest difference between the two boards.
If you’re looking to use the Pi as a desktop PC, the constrained memory will likely cause the Pi to struggle once you’ve got a few programs open.
However, for those who work mainly in the command line, and use the Pi to run software as part of a larger system, say as a control unit on a robot, this memory may be plenty.
SEE: More Raspberry Pi coverage (TechRepublic Flipboard magazine)
While only having a single USB 2.0 port may seem limiting, mouse and keyboard can also be connected via Bluetooth, and keeping the ports down helps lower the A+’s power consumption compared to the B+.
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Like the Pi 3 B+, the A+ also sports a 40-pin general purpose input-output (GPIO) header for hooking up other boards, sensors, motors, and homemade hardware to the Pi.
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While there are other options for storage, the A+ typically boots from and stores data on a microSD card, that slots into the reader seen here. If you’re looking for other forms of storage, the Raspberry Pi Foundation says the Pi 3 A+ offers “improved mass-storage booting” compared to the B+.
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Useful for hooking up small LCD screens to the Pi, so it can be used on the move, the usual DSI connector found on Pi boards is also present.
SEE: More Raspberry Pi coverage (TechRepublic Flipboard magazine)
While the A+ is the shorter board, both the B+ and A+ are the same width.
Another advantage over the B+, according to The Raspberry Pi Foundation, is better thermal management, suggesting lower running temperatures and less throttling of the processor when under heavy load.
SEE: More Raspberry Pi coverage (TechRepublic Flipboard magazine)
Nick Heath is a computer science student and was formerly a journalist at TechRepublic and ZDNet.
