The Raspberry Pi Pico W Now Supports Bluetooth
On release, the Raspberry Pi Pico W was well recieved. It added Wifi to the official Pico board, and kept the price incredibly low, making pretty much everyone very happy indeed. There were a few voices, however, complaining that Bluetooth wasn't implemented - and some who even claimed that due to the hardware implementation of the companion Wifi IC, that it wouldn't even be possible to add it.
This was, as Alasdair Allan, head of documentation for Raspberry Pi explained at release, not the case. Bluetooth support was always on the radar, and it was added to the Milestones for the 1.5.0 release of the C SDK. Now that the release is out, users can finally enjoy Bluetooth support on the Raspberry Pi Pico W.
It's important to note that Bluetooth support is only available through the C SDK at the moment, with no MicroPython support as yet. However, this is likely to change soon as all features that make it into the C SDK eventually get ported to MicroPython or CircuitPython.
Bluetooth support on the Pico W was one of many things we chatted to Alasdair Allan about when we interviewed him about heading up documentation at Raspberry Pi, and what lead him there:
So, what does this mean for users? Well, for starters, adding Bluetooth support opens up new possibilities for projects involving the Raspberry Pi Pico W. For example, midlife crisis runners like me can start incorporating running-based accessories like heart monitors into their projects.
But, beyond running accessories, the addition of Bluetooth support means that the Raspberry Pi Pico W can now connect to a wide range of Bluetooth-enabled devices. This opens up a world of possibilities for projects involving wirelessly controlling or monitoring devices.
Overall, the addition of Bluetooth support to the Raspberry Pi Pico W is a welcome development that opens up new possibilities for users. While it's only available through the C SDK at the moment, it's likely that MicroPython support will be added in the future, making the Raspberry Pi Pico W an even more versatile and powerful board for all kinds of projects.
Ian Buckley is a writer, musician, and perpetual tinkerer. Commonly found surrounded by hobby electrical components, he's also a keen programmer and likes to build crazy-sounding instruments with microcontrollers. In addition to Electromaker, Ian writes over at MakeUseOf and has bylines at the likes of Online Tech Tips as well as Help Desk Geek.
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