You can buy a Raspberry Pi Model A+ right now. It costs around $20/£15, it’s just 56mm long, 12mm thick and uses up to 45% less power than a Model B+…
Since several of you have asked, we’ve just weighed an A+ – it’s 23g.
— Raspberry Pi (@Raspberry_Pi) November 10, 2014
Model A+ Specs:
Dimensions: 65x56x12mm
Memory: 256MB RAM
Expansion: Micro SD slot,
1x USB, 40x GPIO
Networking: None
Price: ~$20/£15
Weight:
The freshly updated version of the Model A does much more than simply bring it in line with the Raspberry Pi Model B+ released in the summer.
The Raspberry Pi Model A+ is the same dimensions as a HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) add-on board, the same price as two cinema tickets and can run at nearly half the power consumption as the Model B+.
The 3.5mm audio & composite jack means the Model A+ is considerably slimmer than the Model A
According to Eben Upton, Founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the new $20 price of the A+ is really pushing the envelope of what’s possible:
“It’s bumping up against the limits of how much you can build a significantly high-tech product for and not have people lose money in the process. We still think most people are still going to buy B+s, but it gives people a way to come and join in for the cost of 4 Starbucks coffees.”
Since it uses the same improved power chain as the Model B+, the Model A+ consumes much less power than any other Raspberry Pi. According to its designer, James Adams, running the same ‘hello_teapot’ demo with a USB keyboard and a HDMI monitor connected the Model B+ consumes 370mA, while the A+ consumes just 200mA – 45% less power under the same conditions.
You can read my exclusive interview with Eben Upton about the Raspberry Pi Model A+ now, or read it in print from the 20th November.
You can also learn more about the Model A+ from the Raspberry Pi Foundation.