The latest slice of Raspberry Pi costs $20, is thinner, and needs less juice to get cooking

By Adrian Diaconescu Published November 10, 2014

raspberry pi model a is smaller cheaper than — Image used with permission by copyright holder

When the Raspberry Pi Foundation unveiled the upgraded Model B+ version of its popular mini-computer, fans of the platform were also promised a lower-end, more affordable variant. Now, project founder Eben Upton is delivering the goods in the form of the Raspberry Pi Model A+.

Like the B+, the A+ is more a rehash of original version of the Pi, as opposed to a full-on sequel. As such, it shouldn’t be referred to as a Raspberry Pi 2. It’s smaller, uses less power, yet it’s cheaper. Now that’s one feat you don’t often see pulled off in today’s PC landscape.

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Built with the same 700MHz Broadcom BCM2835 CPU as its predecessor, and touting the same 256MB RAM, the Model A+ measures an incredible 2.56 inches long. That’s more than 3/4 of an inch shorter than the Model A. This thing is so small you can probably squeeze it in your jacket pocket.

As far as this new model’s energy-saving potential goes, the Raspberry Pi Foundation says that the new slice eats up as much as 25 percent less power than the Model A.

Taking after its larger, 512MB RAM-packing cousin released earlier this year, the A+ also cranks up the GPIO pin count to 40. It also incorporates a dedicated low-noise power supply. The friction-fit micro SD card got swapped out for a push-push model as well.

Aside from that, the A+ clones feature from the A, including the Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU. The port selection consists of one USB 2.0 connector, and HDMI. However, there’s no Ethernet jack in this version, but for $20, we can’t complain too much.

At $20, it’s $5 less than the original A, and $15 south of the price of the B+. Look for the A+ stateside at MCM Electronics, and on British shores over at Farnell.

Adrian Diaconescu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Adrian is a mobile aficionado since the days of the Nokia 3310, and a PC enthusiast since Windows 98. Later, he discovered…

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