Raspberry Pi Pico 2 lands with RISC-V cores
Raspberry Pi launched the Pico 2 with RP2350 microcontroller, featuring RISC-V and Arm cores, enhanced memory, security features, and a price of $5, targeting hobbyists and professionals.
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Raspberry Pi has launched the Pico 2, featuring the new RP2350 microcontroller that includes two RISC-V Hazard3 CPU cores alongside the option to use Arm Cortex-M33 cores. Priced at $5, the Pico 2 maintains compatibility with previous models while enhancing on-chip memory to 520KB and offering 4MB of QSPI flash. Users can select between the RISC-V and Arm cores at boot, allowing for flexible configurations. The Hazard3 cores are designed for lightweight applications and support various features like multiplication and division in hardware. The new microcontroller also incorporates a comprehensive security architecture, including Arm TrustZone, signed boot, and hardware random number generation, aimed at professional users. The Pico 2's performance improvements, particularly in floating-point and DSP capabilities, are expected to attract both hobbyists and industrial customers. However, it lacks some connectivity options, such as Wi-Fi, which is anticipated to be available later. The price increase from the original Pico is attributed to rising costs, but the enhancements may justify the change for many users. The Raspberry Pi team is optimistic about the Pico 2's potential in both hobbyist projects and professional applications, especially in areas like music synthesis and smart home technology.
- Raspberry Pi Pico 2 features RISC-V Hazard3 cores and Arm Cortex-M33 cores.
- The device offers enhanced memory and security features for professional use.
- Users can select CPU cores at boot for flexible configurations.
- Price increased to $5, with a Wi-Fi version expected later.
- The Pico 2 aims to support both hobbyist and industrial applications.
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6 commentsSeeing as Raspberry Pi has no dog in the game, and simply wants to offer the best product possible, I wouldn't be surprised if this is their intentional way of giving people RISC-V with the intent to allow them time to port their code to it so they can eventually pull the ARM stack. I say this because Jeff Geerling has a video about the Pico 2 where he explicitly says you can only use RISC-V or ARM cores. Not both sets at the same time.
I think it's probably because a full migration to RISC-V would allow them to innovate a bit more and cut prices, although I don't know what the restrictions really are with ARM's IP control and pricing. At $5, every penny counts though.
The insane component prices that we pay in the US for lower volume electronics manufacturing are killing innovation and driving manufacturing to countries with actual price competition.
Looking on Digikey/Mouser, you'll find that other MCUs with a similar spec are selling for at least $4-5 at qty 3000+.
The RP2350 price is a lot closer to what a large volume buyer would pay for MCUs like this, and still appears to have a healthy margin on top of the cost of dies, packaging, test, etc.
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