With half the RAM of a Pi 3B, 512MB, we can get the basics done such as coding via Thonny, basic web browsing and a few games of Minecraft Pi Edition. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W has the same BCM2710A1 die as the Raspberry Pi 3, but don’t expect Pi 3 performance. We also tested the official Raspberry Pi Camera with the Zero 2 W and are happy to report that it worked as expected. Suffice it to say that, if you have any Raspberry Pi HATs or add-ons, you can run them on the Pi Zero 2 W with the exception of the PoE HAT and PoE HAT+ which require the PoE header pins only present on the 3B+ and 4. We then tested Raspberry Pi’s own Sense HAT and it worked with no issues. Explorer HAT Pro installed and ran without a hitch and so did the pHAT version. First on the list is Pimoroni’s Explorer HAT Pro, a board we are extremely accustomed to after leading 25+ Picademy training sessions where we used it to teach students. We installed the current version of Raspberry Pi OS 32-bit, and proceeded to power on and test a series of HATs. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W comes with the standard 40 pin GPIO, of course you will need to get your soldering iron ready, or invest in some of Pimoroni’s Hammer Headers. The form factor is identical to the Zero’s that came before it, so you can drop this into an existing project with little or no config. What you can expect is for the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W to replace the Pi Zero in your embedded projects. So don’t expect it to replace your beloved Raspberry Pi 2 / 3 or 4. Straight off the bat, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is not a desktop replacement Pi. When integrating the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W into your project, ensure that you have more than enough power for the Pi and any other devices. The same test on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and we saw 280mA at idle and 580mA under stress. The Raspberry Pi Zero W draws around 260mA at idle and 370mA when stressed using Stressberry. The added performance of the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W does see it draw a little more power, something to factor into your projects.
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