The big and exciting news in the Micro:bit world is that a new and improved version will soon be available to buy for the same low price as the v1.
In this article we will look at the new version and also compare the differences between the hardware.
First lets look at images of the new hardware
Micro:bit v2 image
microbit v2 images
Micro:bit v1 and v2 comparison
In the table below you can see a comparison between the v1 and v2 hardware
Description |
v1 |
v2 |
| Processor | Nordic Semiconductor nRF51822 | Nordic Semiconductor nRF52833 |
| Memory | 256kB Flash, 16kB RAM | 512kB Flash, 128kB RAM |
| Interface | NXP KL26Z, 16kB RAM | NXP KL27Z, 32kB RAM |
| Microphone | N/A | MEMS microphone and LED indicator |
| Speaker | N/A | On board speaker |
| Touch | N/A | touch sensitive logo pin |
| Connector | 25 Pin,3 dedicated GPIO, PWM, I2C, SPI and ext. power. 3 ring pins for connecting crocodile clips/banana plugs. | 25 Pin,4 dedicated GPIO, PWM, I2C, SPI and ext. power. 3 ring pins for connecting crocodile clips/banana plugs. Notched for easier connection. |
| I2C | Shared | Dedicated |
| Communications | 2.4Ghz Micro: bit Radio/BLE Bluetooth 4.0 | 2.4Ghz Micro: bit Radio/BLE Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Motion Sensor | ST LSM303 | ST LSM303 |
| Power Availability | 90mA available for accessories | 200mA available for accessories |
| Software Support | C++, Make Code, Python, Scratch | C++, Make Code, Python, Scratch |
| Power | 5V via Micro USB port, 3V via edge connector or battery pack. | 5V via Micro USB port, 3V via edge connector or battery pack. LED power indicator，Power off(push and hold power button) |
The new version features a much faster processor the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52833 which is actually a bout 4 times faster than the Nordic Semiconductor nRF51822 which is in the v1.
You get twice as much flash memory and an extra 112kB RAM
The communications are still Bluetooth but in the v2 they have been upgraded from Bluetooth 4 to Bluetooth 5
You now get a microphone, on board speaker and touch sensitive logo on the v2 as new features.
There is now 200mA available for accessories rather than 90mA and there is also a power indicator and a much needed power button.
Summary
I will be buying one of these boards, in fact I have one on order
I will test the board and see if there are benchmarking test that I can do to compare the hardware.
As the board is the same size and has the same edge connector then all expansion boards should work OK with the v2 hardware. It is notched to make it easier to connect.
Looking at the Arduino core at https://github.com/sandeepmistry/arduino-nRF5 it appears that the Microbit v2 should hopefully work or at least be supported very quickly
Links
https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-short-range-wireless/nRF52833
https://microbit.org/new-microbit/