Adafruit Launches Metro RP2350 Development Board in Arduino UNO Form Factor

Adafruit has introduced the Metro RP2350, a new development board designed in the popular Arduino UNO form factor, featuring the Raspberry Pi microcontroller.

This launch comes after a delay, with the product first announced in August 2024. Initially, a version based on the RP2350A chip, which has 30 pins, faced issues with its pin layout, prompting Adafruit to upgrade to the RP2350B variant, which includes 48 pins.

The RP2350B chip at the core of this board is equipped with dual Cortex-M33 cores operating at a frequency of 150 MHz, along with two Hazard3 RISC-V cores. The board is further enhanced with 528 KB of RAM and offers 16 MB of flash memory for program storage. Additionally, there is an option for a variant with an extra 8 MB of PSRAM, catering to dynamic memory needs for larger projects. Users can also expand memory via a microSD card slot.

A standout feature of the Metro RP2350 is its adherence to the Arduino UNO's design, allowing users to leverage a vast ecosystem of compatible shield expansions. While the board operates at a logic voltage of 3.3 volts, unlike the 5 volts used by the Arduino UNO, it maintains compatibility with 37 pins, including a 22-pin HSTX FPC port for DVI video output, a STEMMA-QT interface, and a 3-pin JST-SH port for debugging.

Power supply options include a USB-C connection or a 5.5 mm DC jack, supporting an input voltage range of 6 to 17 volts. The onboard TI 5V buck converter ensures a stable power supply, capable of delivering up to 2A, which is sufficient to power external modules.

Another noteworthy feature is the RX-TX switch function. Traditional Arduino boards assign digital pins in a specific order, but the UART interface on the RP2350 has a different configuration. Adafruit has implemented a small switch that allows users to adjust the pin layout, thus providing flexibility to either use the conventional numbering or the accurate UART pin assignments.

The board is programmable using MicroPython and CircuitPython, as well as an unofficial Arduino integration, making it versatile for developers of various skill levels.

The Metro RP2350 is available for purchase on the Adafruit store, priced at $24.95 without the additional RAM and $27.95 with the extra 8 MB RAM.

For more detailed information about the RP2350, additional resources can be found in the Pico 2 test review.