Raspberry Pi 2 Is Faster, More Powerful, and Available Now
The Raspberry Pi is one of our favorite home devices and a brand new model is available today. The Raspberry Pi 2 is powered by a quad-core ARMv7 processor clocked at 900MHz (that’s roughly 6x the speed) and 1GB of RAM (double that of the B +). It’s still only $ 35. It can now run Windows as well.
Raspberry Pi 2 is much faster
For the most part, the Raspberry Pi 2 is very similar to the B +. It has the same form factor (which is why the B + cases work with the Pi 2. Don’t worry, we’ve tried a bit of confirmation), and looks very similar to the B + at first glance. The only exception is the Raspberry Pi 2’s RAM, which is now at the bottom of the board instead of being integrated into the system-on-chip. What’s under the hood is important, though, and the Pi 2 is significantly faster. Check out the above table for a breakdown of all specifications.
However, numbers alone mean little. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of hands-on experience with the Pi 2 and the newest Raspbian, which has been redesigned to support the new ARMv7 board. It is much faster than previous versions. Let’s take a look at the boot times of Raspbian on Pi 2, B + and A + for comparison:
Raspberry Pi 2 : 20.26 seconds
Model B + : 35.72 seconds
Model A + : 34.00 seconds
As you can see, the Raspberry Pi 2 boots up much faster and, as you would expect, various applications and software load faster. Minecraft Pi loads as quickly as it would on any modern desktop, as does a web browser and the rest of the software in the bundle. If you’ve been using the Raspberry Pi since its launch, you know how important this speed boost is.
Raspbian got a new look
Along with the new Raspberry Pi, there is also a new Raspbian built specifically for the new chip. Besides taking advantage of the new hardware, it is also undergoing a design overhaul that you can see in the screenshot above.
Apart from the visual repair, it has become a little lighter and faster. Apps load quickly, use fewer resources, and overall it’s a better experience on both the Raspberry Pi 2 and Model B +. The new look should also make it easier for newbies to get to know Raspbian because it works a little more predictably than previous iterations. Apps fold into the menu bar, loading software from the menu is intuitive, and with the Raspberry Pi 2, multitasking is truly possible.
It will run Windows 10
Perhaps more importantly, the Raspberry Pi 2 runs Windows 10 and that operating system will be free . That’s all we know at this point, but you can subscribe to the Windows Developer Program for more information.
Software support may take a while
This is the biggest Raspberry Pi change we’ve seen so far, and the new processor means some operating systems won’t work with the Raspberry Pi 2 out of the box. RetroPie, the operating system that turns your Pi into a game console, didn’t boot at all for me. Likewise, I had no luck compiling PS1 or Nintendo 64 emulators by hand, so I was unable to test the Raspberry Pi 2 in one of the most popular projects. Likewise, Raspbmc, XBMC’s media center wouldn’t download either, but CMSN does . I haven’t had time to test other distributions, but I suppose they are the same.
I’m sure distributions will update quickly enough, but don’t expect the new Raspberry Pi 2 to be used outside of the newest Raspbian for now. However, all Raspberry Pi models will remain in production as long as there is demand. The Raspberry Pi 2 should now be available from regular distributors .