Murmurings of official Bluetooth support for the $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W have been running since early 2023. Developers favoring C/C++ received support back in February. Today via a blog post from Raspberry Pi LTD CEO Eben Upton, MicroPython developers can now create Bluetooth projects using our favorite microcontroller thanks to the latest MicroPython build.
The Raspberry Pi Pico W's wireless chip, the Infineon CYW43439 provides both 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 over a three pin SPI bus between itself and the RP2040 SoC. The latest MicroPython update brings support for Bluetooth Classic (no ACL/SSO support just yet), BLE Central and Peripheral roles. Bluetooth Classic and BLE can be enabled individually. or at the same time.
The good news is that you don't have to rush out and purchase a new Raspberry Pi Pico W. As this is a software update, work between Raspberry Pi, Infineon and MicroPython creator, Damien George. All you need to do is download the latest update and flash it to your Raspberry Pi Pico W. Also updated is Alasdair Allan's exceptional documentation. A book, Connecting to the Internet with Raspberry Pi Pico W illustrates just how simple a Bluetooth project can now be created using the Raspberry Pi Pico W.
With support now being added for MicroPython, it must only be a short time before it also arrives for CircuitPython.
