Raspberry Pi announces the Pico W, a $6 microcontroller equipped with an 802.11n Wi-Fi radio, powered by an Infineon CYW43439 chip with Bluetooth disabled
It's the Pico, but it knows about the network — Raspberry Pi has introduced a successor to last year's Pico …
Context & Ripple Effects
Raspberry Pi’s $4 Pico launch established its own RP2040-based microcontroller as a low-cost hardware-project platform. Pico W adds network access at a modest price step, extending a connectivity pattern already present in Raspberry Pi’s Zero W computer.
The move also defines a wireless Pico branch rather than a one-off board: related coverage later describes a Pico 2 W update with more speed, memory, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Bluetooth’s disabled state makes the initial product’s connectivity proposition specifically Wi-Fi-led.
First-order effects
- Hardware developers can build Wi-Fi-connected Pico projects for $6, while Raspberry Pi gains a networked variant alongside the original Pico.
- Infineon supplies the CYW43439 radio underpinning Pico W’s Wi-Fi capability; Bluetooth is unavailable despite being present in the chip.
Second-order effects
- Raspberry Pi’s low-cost wireless options become more segmented: Pico W targets microcontroller projects, while the earlier Zero W includes both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
- Projects that require Bluetooth must use another board or radio solution, leaving Wi-Fi as Pico W’s built-in path for network connectivity.
Third-order effects
- The Pico line’s later Pico 2 W iteration suggests Raspberry Pi is making wireless connectivity a recurring feature of its microcontroller roadmap, not solely a capability of its larger computers.
- If that product split persists, low-cost hardware platforms will increasingly differentiate between network-connected microcontrollers and fuller wireless computers rather than competing on processor capability alone.
The trend: Raspberry Pi is extending wireless connectivity from its single-board computers into a distinct, low-cost microcontroller line with successive Wi-Fi-enabled variants.