Mmm, I can smell the sweet, sweet arrival of a brand new Raspberry Pi…
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has unveiled the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ (also known simply as the CM3+), a sizeable update to the existing Compute Module 3 (CM3), the smallest, nimblest, and most versatile Raspberry Pi board.
The Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are designed for use in embedded, industrial and small devices rather than the retro arcade machines, personal clouds, and bijou desktop PCs that the bigger Raspberry Pi boards are often used for.
Available in four distinct versions, pricing the Pi Compute Module 3+ starts at $25.
And despite being no bigger than a stick of laptop RAM, the CM3+ is said to be even faster than previous modules and boast better thermal behaviour when in use.
“This newest version of our flexible board for industrial applications offers over ten times the ARM performance, twice the RAM capacity, and up to eight times the Flash capacity of the original Compute Module,” James Adams, COO of Raspberry Pi Foundation, says in a blog post.
“Our aim for the Compute Module was to deliver the core Raspberry Pi technology in a form factor that allowed others to incorporate it into their own products cheaply and easily.”
Better, Faster, Cooler
The new Compute 3+ module is based on a Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC running at 1.2GHz (limited from the 1.4GHz it can run at for power reasons).
Pricing for the CM3+ starts at $25 for a ‘Flash-less’ lite model. This steps up to $30 for 8GB eMMC storage, $35 for 16GB eMMC storage, and $40 for 32GB eMMC storage.
A ‘Compute Module IO Board‘ is also available for those looking to repurpose their Compute module into a something more flexible, with the board offering HDMI, USB and display ports.
As well as serving up a fresh slice of Pi, the foundation also revealed it will no longer recommend its existing CM1, CM3, and CM3 Lite products for new designs. Instead, the new CM3+, which is now on sale, is recommended module for new industrial designs.
Helpfully, the new module will be in production and will be on sale until January 2026 (!).