The Raspberry Pi Compute Module is a tiny computer that looks like a stick of laptop memory, but which has the same processor, memory, and storage as a first-gen Raspberry Pi.
Now a new model’s on the way, and it’s based on the newer, more-powerful Raspberry Pi 3.
Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton tells IDG News that the new model will have the same 64-bit processor as the Raspberry Pi 3, which means that it should be up to 10 times faster than its predecessor.
The new model should be available in a few months and supports Linux and Windows 10 IoT Core software. It lacks some of the features you’d find on a full-sized Raspberry Pi 3 such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB and HDMI ports. But it’s not designed to be a complete computer. Instead it’s positioned as a product that can act as the brains of a larger device.
While a full-sized Raspberry Pi is about the size of a pack of cards, the Compute Module is even smaller, allowing it to go places where a normal Raspberry Pi cannot.
First launched in 2014, the Compute Module was positioned as a project for designers that wanted to create their own Pi-powered devices like cameras or media players.