SparkFun IoT RedBoard – Raspberry Pi RP2350 or ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth boards with Arduino UNO R4 form factor

SparkFun has just launched the “IoT RedBoard – RP2350” and “IoT RedBoard – ESP32” boards with Arduino UNO R4 form factor based on respectively Raspberry Pi RP2350B + RM2 wireless module and ESP32-WROOM-32E WiFi and Bluetooth module.

Both boards feature Arduino UNO headers and a Qwiic connector for expansion, a microSD card for storage, battery support, USB and DC jack power input, plus a few buttons and LEDs. The RP2350 board also adds an HSTX connector mainly useful for controlling HDMI or SPI displays.

Sparkfun IoT RedBoard specifications:

• MCU sub-system and wireless
  • RP2350 model
    • MCU –  Raspberry Pi RP2350B
      • CPU
        • Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trust zone, Secure boot
        • Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz
        • Up to two cores can be used at any given time
      • Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM
    • Memory – 8MB PSRAM
    • Storage – 16MB Flash
    • Wireless module – Raspberry Pi RM2 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.2 module with PCB antenna
  • ESP32 model – ESP32-WROOM-32E module
    • SoC – ESP32 dual-core Tensilica LX6 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz with 520KB SRAM
    • Storage – 4MB, 8MB, or 16MB flash
    • Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 BR/LE connectivity, built-in PCB antenna
• Storage – MicroSD card slot
• USB – USB Type-C port for programming and power
• Expansion
  • Arduino UNO R4 headers
  • Qwiic Connector
  • RP2350 model only – 22-pin 0.5mm pitch vertical HSTX connector for display connection
• Debugging – 3-pin 1mm pitch vertical debug connector (RP2350 model only)
• Misc
  • Buttons and LEDs
    • RP2350 model
      • Reset, Boot, and User buttons
      • Power, charging, and 2x user LEDs
    • ESP32 model
      • Reset and Boot buttons
      • Power, charging, Tx/Rx, and user LEDs
  • WS2812 RGB LED
• Power Management
  • 5V via USB-C port
  • 6V/7V to 15V via DC jack
  • 2-pin connector for Battery
    • MCP73831 Single-Cell LiPo Battery Charger
    • MAX17048 Battery Fuel Gauge
• Dimensions – Arduino UNO R4 form factor

Both boards are open-source hardware, but strangely the Sparkfun IoT RedBoard – RP2350 was designed with KiCad, while engineers working on the Sparkfun IoT RedBoard – ESP32 designed it with Eagle. The RP2350 model has code samples for MicroPython and Arduino with documentation on the Sparkfun Docd website. We’re told the ESP32 variant ships with MicroPython, but the documentation on the Sparkfun Learn website provides instructions to get started with the Arduino IDE. You’ll also find more details directly on GitHub in the RedBoard-RP2350 and RedBoard-ESP32 repositories.

The IoT RedBoard – ESP32 is far from the first ESP32 Series board with Arduino UNO form factor, and alternatives include Adafruit Metro ESP32-S3, Banana Pi BPI-ESP32, ESPDUINO-32, and others. Raspberry Pi RP2350 boards that follow the Arduino UNO form factor are harder to find, but we previously covered the Adafruit Metro RP2350 and (upcoming) alternatives like the RP2350-Eins or UNO RP2350. However, the IoT RedBoard – RP2350 is the first to also feature WiFi and Bluetooth making it a proper alternative to the Arduino UNO R4 WiFi board.

As a single chip/module solution, the IoT RedBoard – ESP32 is cheaper at $29.95, while the RP2350 + RM2 model goes for $39.95.

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