Mini Review: Chinese Raspberry Pi Pico Clone

 With the general availability of the RP2040, it was only a matter of time until we got Chinese boards with the same form factor as the Raspberry Pi Pico. I review here one of the many options you can find at AliExpress.

The RP2040 boards I've used before tried to distinguish themselves from the Pi Pico by its format and/or adicional features:

•  The Seeeduino Xiao RP2040 is very compact and has the same pinout as the other Xiao boards (as possible).
• The RP2040 Zero from Waveshare is also compact but manages to expose a great number of the RP2040 pins.
• The Arduino Nano Connect RP2040 has the form factor and pinout of the Nano boards and adds a high-end WiFi chip.
• The Feather RP2040 from Adafruit uses the form factor and pinout of the Feather line and adds battery support.
• The LILIGO T-Pico C3 has an RP2040, an ESP32 C3, a color display and battery support in a small board.

Like many Chinese boards, the one I bought has no brand. I do not know if the more or less identical boards available are made by the same manufacturer or based on the same schematic. 

While this boards have the same form factor and pinout as the Pi Pico, the do have some differences. I will try to group them as "advantages" and "shortcomings" according to my personal viewpoints.

Advantages:

• Reset button (sorely missing in the Pi Pico)
• 4 MB Flash (there are also 16 MB models, the Pi Pico has only 2 MB)
• USB-C connector (the Pi Pico has a USB micro)
• Pin labels in the top face (missing in the Pi Pico)
• An RGB LED and a general use button (not available on the Pi Pico)

Disadvantages:

• Pins are not castellated (cannot solder the RP2040 board over another, like the Pi Pico)
• Linear voltage regulator (the Pi Pico uses a more efficient switching regulator)
• Debug connector (SWD) has a different pinout from the Pi Pico
• The board is just a little wider than the Pi Pico
• USB-C connector did not work with an OTG adapter (for USB host)

The RP2040 looks legit, I've seem no reports of fake RP2040 chips.

In my tests (so far) the board worked fine, except for the use of the USB in host mode (using an OTG adapter). Not sure if this problem is specific for my particular board, for this supplier or for all the clones currently available.

The amazing thing is that they are selling this 4 MB boards for less than the Pi Pico!

I will probably stay with the official Pi Pico board in my projects, but this clones are an interesting option.