You can now get the 1.4GHz clock speed, 5GHz wireless networking and improved thermals of Raspberry Pi 3B+ in a smaller form factor, and at the smaller price. Meet the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+.
Long-time readers will recall that back in 2014 the original Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ was followed closely by a cut-down Model A+. By halving the RAM to 256MB, and removing the USB hub and Ethernet controller, we were able to hit a lower price point and squeeze the product down to the size of a HAT.
Although Raspberry Pi Org didn’t make A+ form-factor versions of Raspberry Pi 2 or 3, it has been one of their most frequently requested “missing” products. Now, with Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ shipping in volume, they are able to fill that gap by releasing Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+.
Phenomenal cosmic powers! Itty-bitty living space
Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ incorporates most of the neat enhancements they made to its big brother and features:
- A 1.4GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU
- 512MB LPDDR2 SDRAM
- Dual-band 802.11ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.2/BLE
- Improved USB mass-storage booting
- Improved thermal management
Like its big brother, the entire board is certified as a radio module under FCC rules, which in turn will significantly reduce the cost of conformance testing Raspberry Pi-based products.
In some ways, this is rather a poignant product for us. Back in March, we explained that the 3+ platform is the final iteration of the “classic” Raspberry Pi: whatever we do next will of necessity be less of evolution because it will need new core silicon, on a new process node, with new memory technology. So 3A+ is about closing things out in style, answering one of our most frequent customer requests, and clearing the decks so we can start to think seriously about what comes next.
