The Raspberry Pi Foundation has a history of designing and making some pretty ground-breaking devices, and the Pi Zero W is a useful member of this family.

The Zero W is a super-small, hackable, ultra-low-cost computer. It uses the same 40-pin GPIO arrangement as its larger siblings, so it’s compatible with a wide range of accessories. To attach HATs (and other things) to your Zero W you’ll probably want to solder on a 40 pin header, as the he vanilla Zero W comes without a pin header.

Pi Zero boards use a mini HDMI port for connecting to a display and microB USB ports for connecting to power and USB devices. You can find adapters for plugging in standard HDMI cables and standard USB A devices (like keyboards) in this adaptor kit [[[do we carry this?]]] (it comes with a 40 pin header too!). You can pick up a suitable power supply [[[need product?]]]. If you’re looking for something to protect your Pi, try an enclosure to safely ensconce it and protect it from bumps and bruises.

Features

• BCM 2835 SOC @ 1GHz
• 512MB of RAM
• On-board Wireless LAN – 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n (BCM43438)
• On-board Bluetooth 4.1 + HS Low-energy (BLE) (BCM43438)
• micro-SD slot
• mini HDMI for display
• micro-B USB for data
• micro-B USB for power
• CSI camera connector *
• 40-pin GPIO connector (Zero W requires soldering)
• Compatible with existing pHAT/HAT add-ons
• Dimensions: 65mm x 30mm x 5mm

Notes

• Please be aware that the LED on your Zero W won’t light up if there’s no SD card or if there’s a problem with the image. SD cards that work in other models of Pi are not guaranteed to work in your Zero W, so it’s worth flashing a fresh image if you’re having problems.
• You will require at least NOOBS 2.2.0 (27th Feb 2017) or Raspbian 2017-02-27 or newer. The instructions from the Raspberry Pi Foundation here will guide you on how to flash Raspberry Pi OS to your SD card.
• * The CSI camera connector on the Pi Zero is smaller than the one on full size Raspberry Pis. You may need an adapter cable if you want to plug in an official Raspberry Pi camera.