New & Reviewed

Get Making: New Pi For Everyone!

DIYODE Magazine

Issue 10, April 2018

It’s no coincidence that International Pi Day (3.14 - get it?) saw the release of a new Raspberry Pi board.

Okay, so maybe for Aussies, it’s Pi Day in name only, since we write our dates the other way around - but who really cares when there’s a new Raspberry Pi board hitting the market?! Okay, it may not be quite as exciting as the release of the Zero W, but it’s still very cool!

So if you haven’t already heard, it’s the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ - yep, that’s an addition of a “+”.

The fact that it’s still part of the current generation is fantastic, as it retains compatibility with the current shields and hardware already out there. But there are a few key features we’d like to point out:

  1. The processor has been upgraded. It’s now running with a 1.4GHz clock, compared to the previous 1.2GHz processor. That’s a useful increase in processing ability.
  2. WiFi performance has been given an upgrade (actually, a HUGE boost) with the addition of 802.11ac support. This WiFi standard leaves the previous in its dust, with 2.4GHz and 5GHz support.
  3. Wired Ethernet is now gigabit capable, though throughput is limited to 300Mbps. Even with that limitation, it’s a massive increase in Ethernet speed, which will help support greater IP-based streaming implementations.
  4. Bluetooth 4.2, BLE, for the latest in low-range wireless connectivity.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation have stated that this version will remain in production until 2023, so there’s a solid five years of service for any implementations before the next great Pi is served.

We’re currently running a few tests to see how these on-paper specs stack up in the real world, and we’re excited by what we’re seeing so far!

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ is available through many Raspberry Pi distributors. The boards we are testing have been provided by Core Electronics.

Want it now? Grab it online from Core Electronics.

CE05436 $54.96