There's a new Raspberry Pi model in town, the Raspberry Pi 3, just released on the 29th of February 2016 (which is actually the 1st of March here in New Zealand). It's a birthday present from the Raspberry Pi Foundation for their own 4th birthday.

Buy the Raspberry Pi 3 right here at nicegear!

The form factor and connectors for the Pi 3 are exactly the same as the Pi 2. However there are a few upgrades. First off, we get a new 64-bit processor; the new BCM2837 has a quad-core, 64-bit ARMv8 running at 1.2GHz. Additionally, the Raspberry Pi 3 has on-board WiFi and BLE (no more USB WiFi dongles). Finally, and not quite so interestingly, there's a new switching power source that supports up to 2.5 amps. The standard 2 Amp micro-USB power supply for the Raspberry Pi will still work just fine, it's just that the Pi itself can provide more power to the connected USB devices, if you need it for whatever reason.

The biggest change is the inclusion of integrated Wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1 on board adding two great connectivity options straight out of the box. The Wireless LAN should be compatible with all home network setups and is supported in the latest NOOBs image.

Bluetooth will allow you to use a wireless keyboard/trackpad without extra dongles, keeping things nice and tidy.

Performance

Compared with the Raspberry Pi 2 the CPU is running at a 33% faster clock rate (1.2GHz vs 0.9GHz) the more modern core also means a more efficient instruction set, especially when performing operations on 64-bit values.

Video and 3D performance has also seen a bump with the VideoCore being clocked at 400MHz for video processing (up from 250MHz) and the 3D graphics processor running at 300MHz (up from 250MHz).

In general use you can expect the Raspberry Pi 3 to perform around 50% quicker than the Raspberry Pi 2 running the same software. In the future as software adds optimisations for the architecture the gap will widen further.

Interesting things to note

• You will need the latest NOOBS image (1.8.0) for the Wireless LAN and Bluetooth drivers to be installed.
• The indicator LEDs have moved (to accommodate the Wireless LAN antenna) which may affect some cases.
• The microSD slot is no longer spring-loaded meaning a little more access space is required which may effect some cases.
• Cases made from metal may cause signal issues with the Wireless LAN and Bluetooth.
• Some of the smaller components on the board have moved or changed, this doesn't effect much, you can now take flash photos of the Pi without it resetting.

Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B Features

• Now 10x Faster - Broadcom BCM2387 ARM Cortex-A53 Quad Core Processor powered Single Board Computer running at 1.2GHz!
• 1GB RAM so you can now run bigger and more powerful applications
• Fully HAT compatible
• 40pin extended GPIO to enhance your "real world" projects.
• Connect a Raspberry Pi camera and touch screen display (each sold separately)
• Stream and watch Hi-definition video output at 1080
• Micro SD slot for storing information and loading your operating systems.
• 10/100 BaseT Ethernet socket to quickly connect the Raspberry Pi to the Internet

Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B Technical Specification

• Broadcom BCM2387 chipset
• 1.2GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A53
• 802.11 bgn Wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1 (Bluetooth Classic and LE)
• 1GB RAM
• 64 Bit CPU
• 4 x USB ports
• 4 pole Stereo output and Composite video port
• Full size HDMI
• 10/100 BaseT Ethernet socketbr
• CSI camera port for connecting the Raspberry Pi camera
• DSI display port for connecting the Raspberry Pi touch screen display
• Micro SD port for loading your operating system and storing data
• Micro USB power source

Compare the new Pi 3 to the older Pi 2

This post was compiled from info found around the Internet including SparkFun, Pimoroni and The Pi Hut.