Raspberry Pi Model A+ Board Features a 40-pin GPIO Connector, a micro SD slot, and Improved Power Management

After the Raspberry Pi foundation officially announced Raspberry Pi Model B+ board, it was natural to expect a Model A+ to come soon after. Based on a webpage on Element14 (now down), an update of the cheapest version of the Raspberry Pi could get announced very soon, maybe as soon as Monday. It has specifications very similar to Model A, but replaces the 26-pin GPIO connector, by a 40-pin connector, a micro SD slot takes the place of a full-sized SD slot, and power management has been improved so that it’s more efficient, and can support “power hungry” USB devices. [Update: It’s now officially announced as planned]

Raspberry Pi Model A+
Raspberry Pi Model A+

I’ve drawn a comparison table between the latest two boards: Model B+ vs Model A+.

Raspberry Pi
Model B+

Raspberry Pi
Model A+

SoC Broadcom BCM2835 ARM11 processor @ 700MHz with VideoCore IV GPU
System Memory 512 MB (PoP)  256 MB (PoP)
Storage micro SD card slot
AV Output HDMI and 3.5 mm AV jack
Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet  N/A
USB 4x USB 2.0 host port +
micro USB port
1x USB 2.0 host port +
micro USB port
Expansion 40-pin header for GPIO
CSI interface
DSI interface
Power 5V via micro USB port
Power Consumption 600 mA to 1.8 A @ 5V TBD but lower
Dimensions 85 x 56 mm 65 x 56 mm
Price $35 $20

Beside the price Model A+ should also have lower power consumption, but Element14 simply mentions “A+ board now uses less power (600mA) than the Model A Board (750mA) when running.”, but this conflicts with R-Pi B+ page listed Model B+ drawing 600 mA, against Model B 750 mA, and model A drawing the same 600 mA.  So it’s either a mistake, or a different power measurement scenario. Model A+ board is also smaller than Model B+, and based on a different PCB.

Price has not been announced yet, but I fully expect it to still cost $25 but some now deleted pages listed it for $20. We should know more in the next few days.
Raspberry Pi Model A+ can be purchased for $20 on MCM Electronics or Farnell/element14/Newark.

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19 Comments
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Vinícius Tinti
Vinícius Tinti
10 years ago

The dimensions are listed at the “Price” row in the table.

Anon
Anon
10 years ago

1. put in a dedicated wireless USB adapter in one slot
2. slap on a battery pack to feed the micro USB slot
3. boot OS from microSD
4. leverage the GPIO pins for a 2.5″ SATA HDD (bPI)
5. ????
6. Profit!

Dan
Dan
10 years ago

@Anon

The GPIO are not fast enough for that, though Eben did sat in a Web meeting that some of the extra I/O pins are fast enough to emulate usb and are working on on a hat to do just that.

efcis
efcis
10 years ago

FYI, the Element14 page is now deleted.

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