Raspberry Pi Pico W, H, & WH: Which to Choose

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has made computing more fun and accessible for countless people across the world. More than 40 million of their low-cost, credit card sized Raspberry Pi computers have been sold in the 10 years since its introduction, each backed by unrivalled levels of community support.

In January 2021, Raspberry Pi turned its attention to the popular microcontroller space with the introduction of the ground-breaking Pico. Designed specifically to interface with real-world projects, the Pico is easy to use, packs impressive power, and is available for as little as $4 – opening a whole new world of computing possibilities. Over a million orders were placed in the first month alone and it has since become the go-to controller for many hobbyists.

Despite this, many regarded the Pico’s lack of onboard wireless as a significant drawback. Although options existed to add separate wireless functionality, the complexity of retrofitting Wi-Fi distracted from the Pico’s simplicity and price point. The Raspberry Pi Foundation was well aware of this and other feedback, and in June 2022 announced three new upgrades: The Pico H, Pico W, and Pico WH. The ‘W’ indicates on-board Wi-Fi while the H signifies pin headers, two conspicuously absent features of the original Pico.

But before we compare the features of these new offerings, let’s look again at what makes the Pico so special.

Read More: Raspberry Pi Pico W, H, & WH: Which to Choose | All3DP