The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is the next iteration in the Pi Zero line that remains as one of the most affordable single-board computers on the market. The successor to the breakthrough Raspberry Pi Zero W, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is a form factor–compatible drop-in replacement for the original board.
The board incorporates a quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A53 CPU, clocked at 1GHz. At its heart is a Raspberry Pi RP3A0 system-in-package (SiP), integrating a Broadcom BCM2710A1 die with 512MB of LPDDR2 SDRAM. The upgraded processor provides the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with 40% more single-threaded performance, and five times more multi-threaded performance, than the original single-core Raspberry Pi Zero.
The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W offers 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.2, along with support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and modular compliance certification.
The board is equipped with a microSD card slot, a CSI-2 camera connector, a USB On-The-Go (OTG) port, and an unpopulated footprint for a HAT-compatible 40-pin GPIO header. It is powered via a micro USB socket. Video output is via a mini HDMI port; composite video output can easily be made available via test points if needed.
Sharing the same form factor as the original Raspberry Pi Zero, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W fits inside most existing Raspberry Pi Zero cases.
If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.
Skill Level: Competent - The toolchain for programming is a bit more complex and will examples may not be explicitly provided for you. You will be required to have a fundamental knowledge of programming and be required to provide your own code. You may need to modify existing libraries or code to work with your specific hardware. Sensor and hardware interfaces will be SPI or I2C.
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If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
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Based on 21 ratings:
1 of 1 found this helpful:
Faster is better. The previous Pi Zeros were a little slow. This one is a great improvement!
1 of 1 found this helpful:
I use the Pi Zero for a headless, amateur radio application. The Pi Zero W took approximately 2.5 - 3 minutes to fully boot up and be available. The new Pi Zero 2 W boots approximately 4 times faster! It usually only takes around 30 second for it to boot up and be fully functioning.
I've also not noticed much increase in heat since my application does not have a GUI.
1 of 2 found this helpful:
I purchased 2 the first one was DOA I tried to reported and was told to go to the forum, to date It does not work it overheats
Sorry to hear that the device is not working properly. If you posted on the forums we can troubleshoot the unit and assist you to the best of our abilities. https://forum.sparkfun.com
My great Nephew got the bug. I am the nerd in the family and have been playing with Pi since they first came out. He got a Zero, I ordered one so I could work with him. I have it on a MAZE Mouse I designed and we are building them somewhat in parallel 500 miles apart. I am retired but think I might get a few more to build widgets with. Great little product, but it is not a stand alone. a person needs cables, power supply, keyboard, monitor, and enough parts in a kit or otherwise to do things with it. Most of the extra stuff can be used on multiple project so is a one time expense if you get into building widgets with the various Pi.
Loved the pi zero 2. Sparkfun shipped it and priced it right!
Appreciated Sparkfun’s purchase policy for this harder to get product.
Works exactly as expected, was easy to install the raspberry OS and subsequently the pi signage software which is what I bought it for to drive a display as a digital sign for commercial application. Power consumption was low enough that I could power it from the USB port on the back of the TV I used for the digital sign. Performance was just good enough using the Pisignage software using static image files but was a bit sluggish with full HD videos which was not terribly surprising but still good enough.
A couple of relatively minor complaints:
First I really wish it used a USB C connector for one or both of the USB ports especially the DC power input. I really hate micro USB and wish all manufacturers building products with micro USB with switch to USB C.
Secondly, I hate the mini HDMI type connector wish they had used either a full-size HDMI or even a micro HDMI which is much more popular today.
I understand both of these choices are probably based on the original version of the board and changing to USB C or micro HDMI or full HDMI would render it incompatible with cases built for the original. Still would love to see both of these changes.
Of course the elephant in the room is that the availability of these boards is still really poor which means that I can't really deploy this as part of an electronic sign solution that I plan to sell too many of my customers. So it was okay as a test platform and I guess just need to wait for the covid-19 fueled semiconductor and Logistics bottlenecks to get worked out over time which is not really the fault of the raspberry Foundation but is industry wide. Hoping this situation gets worked out soon.
Overall highly recommend this board for any Raspberry Pi application where you don't need a huge amount of CPU performance or lots of memory
This new Pi Zero 2 is a major improvement in speed over it's previous version, you can almost smoothly surf the web with it. I am building an environmental chamber controller out of this one, and so far no issues, a great little micro controller.
The main reason I got this was to test if .net core 6 compiled for ARM would run on this board, and it works! (The earlier versions of the Pi Zero did not have the right ARM chip)
Bought this to get back into tinkering with RPis. Love the little form factor and how little energy it uses. Not the most powerful of Pi's but for what I’ve been using it for, it’s great!
0 of 3 found this helpful:
Paying twice the cost of a First Class package for an item that could also go into a First Class letter is kiling consumers.
Finally I got this board from sparkfun for best price, while local seller in my country charge for about 4x times more. it is much faster than previous zero W
I had issues with the USB port. But I was able to resolve on the forums by confusing a USB hat
The small size and having the processing power to run octopi/octoprint to control my Creality printer via wifi and usb is perfect. The fact that it also supports a inexpensive pi cam even better. Shipping was fast and like all past orders from Sparkfun I’ve made, very pleased.
It's overkill, I know, but for Klipper it works great regardless of which Creality 3d printer it's attached. Thanks, Sparkfun, for providing inventory in such a tight market!
The best thing was the back order fulfillment - this was the best thing for me, I wondered if this would ever be done but it was it was great!!
This is the smallest most powerful device with WIFI and Bluetooth. Low power and potential for fast startups. I'm loving it.
It's running Octoprint for my Ender 3 v2 like a champ! My only complaint is I could only buy one. Don't question if you should buy one for your project, just do it!