Pimoroni Puts a Raspberry Pi RP2350 on Your Desk with the Presto Smart Screen
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MicroPython and C++, the 4"-square Presto packs a punch.
Pimoroni has launched a new Raspberry Pi RP2350-powered gadget, this time a smart display for your desk: the Pimoroni Presto.
"Presto is a swish, fully programmable display designed to keep precious digital information close to your fingertips," the company says of its latest release. "Make it do anything you want… Calendar updates? Check. Weather reports? Sure! Photos of favorite humans or animals? Of course. Generative digital art? It would be rude not to."
The heart of the Presto is a 4" square-format full-color IPS touchscreen display with a 480×480 resolution, connected to a Raspberry Pi RP2350B — Raspberry Pi's second-generation in-house microcontroller, featuring 520kB of static RAM and two Arm Cortex-M33 cores, two Hazard3 RISC-V cores, or a combination of the two as chosen by the user. To this, Pimoroni has added 16MB of quad-SPI flash with execute-in-place (XIP) support plus 8MB of pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM), and a microSD Card slot for additional storage.
While the device can be programmed over the same USB Type-C port that powers it, Pimoroni has also added a Raspberry Pi RM2 wireless module, built around the Infineon CYW43439 single-band Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5.4 chip for network connectivity. There's a piezoelectric speaker for sound, and seven mini SK6812 RGB LEDs for ambient lighting — plus a Qwiic/STEMMA QT compatible connector for extra hardware and a two-pin JST-PH connector for an optional battery, though there's no on-board charging circuit.
The microcontroller comes pre-loaded with a MicroPython firmware, with the company providing a getting-started guide with an app launcher and a range of examples. For those who would prefer C++, Pimoroni has also released a boilerplate project for use with Raspberry Pi's official software development kit (SDK).
The Presto is now available in the Pimoroni store, priced at $74.18 including aluminum stand — or $106.43 for a starter kit with 32GB microSD Card, Qw/ST Pad controller, and a three-in-one Multi-Sensor Stick with light, movement, and environmental monitoring capabilities.