This video introduces the Raspberry Pi Pico 2, a new microcontroller board featuring the upgraded RP2350 chip. It highlights significant improvements over its predecessor, the original Pico (RP2040), including a faster 150 MHz base clock, a third Programmable I/O (PIO) block, and a dual-core architecture combining two ARM Cortex M33 cores with two open-source Hazard 3 RISC-V cores. The new chip also boasts double the SRAM (520KB) and improved power efficiency, particularly lower idle power consumption. The Pico 2 maintains an identical form factor, making it a drop-in replacement for existing Pico projects. While initial deep sleep power consumption tests are still ongoing, the datasheet promises significant improvements. The video discusses the implications of these upgrades for various existing projects and the strategic inclusion of RISC-V cores.
Summarizing the Raspberry Pi Pico 2: A Next-Generation Microcontroller
0:00 Introduction to Raspberry Pi Pico 2: The Pico 2 is a new microcontroller, not a Linux-running single-board computer, designed for a wide range of embedded projects.
0:06 New RP2350 Chip: It features the upgraded RP2350 chip, enhancing the capabilities of the original RP2040.
Faster base clock at 150 MHz (with overclocking potential).
Includes two ARM Cortex M33 cores (upgraded from M0+).
Adds two open-source Hazard 3 RISC-V cores, allowing choice between ARM and RISC-V.
0:33 Improved Power Efficiency: The RP2350 chip consumes less power than the RP2040, leading to longer battery life for battery-powered applications. Initial tests show it runs at about 80mW (16mA) compared to the original Pico's 100mW (20-22mA) when running a simple program.
0:50 Identical Form Factor & Compatibility: The Pico 2 maintains the same castellated edges, boot select button, USB port, LED, and chip size/pinout, making it a direct drop-in replacement for existing Pico projects.
2:03 Expanded Memory & IO: SRAM is doubled to 520KB. The larger package size of the RP2350 chip can offer up to 48 GPIO pins.
2:25 Vast Project Potential: The Pico and its successor enable countless projects, from custom video cards, tiny arcade games (e.g., Pico Boy V2, Pico System), Nintendo Switch mod chips (Pico Fly), Doom on Lego bricks, to logic analyzers, SDR receivers (Piccolo SDR), home lab monitors (Axefect), retro computing emulators (BlueSCSI V2, ISA Blaster), and integration into other devices (MNT Reform, Radxa X4).
4:48 Addressing Power Consumption Flaws: The original Pico had higher deep sleep power consumption (around 1-2 milliamps) compared to competitors like the ESP32 (5 microamps).
5:37 Deep Sleep Improvement (Promised): While the video creator struggled to achieve deep sleep lower than 4 milliamps with pre-release software, the datasheet claims a significant improvement down to 10 microamps, which would be transformative for battery life.
6:16 Strategic RISC-V Inclusion: Raspberry Pi's inclusion of open-source RISC-V cores provides a non-proprietary alternative to ARM, suggesting a potential shift in future development, though currently, ARM remains more widely supported for low-level code.
7:21 Future Developments: A Pico 2 W version (with Wi-Fi) is expected later in the year, indicating the RP2350 will become a common component in new devices.