Upgraded version of the famous computing board on PI day

Mar 14, 2018 10:17 GMT  ·  By

Raspberry Pi Foundation has just released a new and improved version of their computing board called the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation takes upgrades very seriously, which means that when they put out a new version of their computing board, it’s usually much better than the previous version. The new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ model is definitely better while retaining the same dimensions.

Small computing boards have become much more popular in the past few years, and for the most part, it’s all due to the efforts of The Raspberry Pi foundation to bring powerful and affordable computing to the masses. Despite selling millions of these small wonders, they managed to keep their feet on the ground and prices in check.

A new Raspberry Pi for Pi Day

Today is Pi Day, so it’s not really a coincidence that the latest Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+was launched. But what makes it better? For starters, the new version comes with a 1.4GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM2837B0, in comparison with the previous 1.2GHz BCM2837 iteration. This was possible because of a new design that should dissipate the heat much better and use less power.

Also, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ features dual-band 802.11ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.2, much faster Ethernet, and Power-over-Ethernet support (with separate PoE HAT).

“Dual-band wireless LAN and Bluetooth are provided by the Cypress CYW43455 “combo” chip, connected to a Proant PCB antenna similar to the one used on Raspberry Pi Zero W. Compared to its predecessor, Raspberry Pi 3B+ delivers somewhat better performance in the 2.4GHz band, and far better performance in the 5GHz band, as demonstrated by these iperf results from LibreELEC developer Milhouse” wrote the makers on the official website.

The cherry on top is that all the usual connectors remained in place and the design of the board hasn’t changed, which means that all the old cases should work as well.

The foundation also managed to keep the prices down, and the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ should be available for the same price as the previous generation, meaning about $35 depending on the seller.