Why Arduino Uno R3 vs R4 Isn't Close in 2024

hey everyone in this video I will be comparing the Uno R3 with the new Uno R4 boards and by the end of this video you will have a clear understanding of which board to choose if you are confused I will also give my final verdict at the end so without any further delay let's dive right into the comparison the table here sums up all the differences between the two so please have a quick look so first things first there are two version of Uno R4 R4 Minima and R4 Wi-Fi the this is R4 Wi-Fi both boards are identical but R4 Wi-Fi has some additional features which are esp32 S3 chip giving it Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality 12 cross8 onboard LED metrics and an i2c connector but irrespective of this the comparison is valid for both boards the Uno R3 that I have here for comparison is a clone but closely resembles the original one in fact I never purched chased an original UNO R3 because I never felt the need to so let's start with the hardware differences between the two since both are from the Uno family they have the same form factor 68 mm in length and 53 mm in width if you are a true Uno lover then this may be a bummer for you unlike Uno R3 the microcontroller on Uno R4 is not removable the fact that you could remove the microcontroller IC on Uno R3 made it very popular because I can replace the damaged microcontroller with a new one without the need to purchase a whole new board secondly in a project where I need this at Mega IC only I can program it by placing it here and then use it as a standalone device now I know some clones have SMD version of the microcontroller installed I'm not talking about those here the microcontroller on Uno R4 is Renaissance ra4 M1 a 32bit microcontroller based on arm cortex M4 and compared to the 8bit at Mega 328p on R3 it's very powerful the clock frequency of R4 is three times than that of R3 running at 48 MHz programming port a USB connector can be used to power or program the board the new R4 has a better USBC connector instead of the old bulky usbb connector on the Uno R3 it's faster more durable and easier to plug in since it works both ways this is an essential upgrade as USBC is very popular and commonly used nowadays so so no need to purchase a cable separately just for programming the Uno memory can you guess how much more memory we get with the Uno R4 let's compare flash memory 32 KB on R3 256 KOB on R4 8 times more than the Uno R3 SRAM 2 Koby on R3 32 KOB on R4 16 times more and eom 1 KOB on R3 8 kiloby on R4 eight times more so overall you get eight times more memory with Uno R4 and by chance if you decide to go with the Wi-Fi version of R4 you get additional memory of esp32 as well 384 KOB of ROM and 512 KOB of SRAM now let's discuss the pins on both boots just like R3 on the right side we have 14 digital pins out of which six supports pwm no changes here right wrong pwm pin can generate a 12bit signal unlike the 8bit pwm signals on R3 the higher the resolution better the analog output but irrespective of the resolution at pwm Pin can never generate a pure analog wave why because it's still a modulated signal we are just switching the digital output voltage at a very high speed with a specific duty cycle to get an average output value and that's why R4 has one D Channel as well it's on pin a0 and has a 12-bit resolution best for audio projects and generating different signals similarly we have an increase in ADC resolution as well from 10bit resolution on R3 to 14bit on R4 which provides better analog or sensor readings regarding communication protocols the R4 supports uart SPI i2c just like R3 but it goes the extra mile with support for the can protocol as well providing new opportunities for advanced projects when d 4 and D5 are pins for the same RTC to keep track of the date and time of your project you must have used this module called RTC or realtime clock module with Uno R3 you don't need this bulky module anymore yes the R4 has a built-in RTC chip inside the Renaissance ra4 M1 which is very easy to use to power the boots you can either use the barrel Jack USB connector or VN pin the VIN pin on R3 excepts voltage between 6 to 20 volts and on R4 between 6 to 24 volts but the recommended voltage is 7 to 12 volts for both boards another important difference to note here is the voltage regulator on R3 versus Buck converter on R4 both perform the same function converting the external Supply voltage to the rated voltage of the microcontroller since a buck converter is more efficient they decided to use it in R4 current consumption in terms of current driving capability these bools are not compatible at all because the maximum current limit per GPI pin on R4 is 8 mamp which is 2.5 times less than that of R3 the same sensors actuators or modules we have been using directly with Uno for years are no longer possible with R4 so even if you want to use an LED you would have to be extra careful in choosing the resistor value so where's compatibility there price if you'll compare the price on the official website R4 Minima is priced at $20 where is the R3 at $27 almost 25% less now it may seem Minima is the best option here but we should consider this as well you can get a clone version of R3 for just $10 at half the price of R4 Minima so if you're a beginner just starting out I recommend starting with R3 as it is more beginer friendly thousands of projects are made using it and answers to almost all the questions and doubts related to it are already there on the internet if you go for Uno R4 Minima you will have a hard time figuring out how to build projects made on R3 using it due to its low current driving capability and peripheral issues as for the R4 Wi-Fi it will cost you $27 by paying $7 extra you get the Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth functionality and an LED metric but if you're really interested in Wireless features then it's better to go for a $7 ESP 32 board esp32 has become very popular in recent years and there are a lot of books tutorials and website on the topic so why pay four times more for just the Wi-Fi feature on the contrary if you're an experienced user and have an existing Uno project requiring Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and a display R4 Wi-Fi can be a good choice no need to buy a separate Wireless module when you're are getting the ease and support of orino with the power of esp32 on a single board so guys this was it if you like the comparison between both boats and are interested in more audio related videos then please subscribe to the channel and I'll see you in the next video

Channel: THE ELECTRONIC GUY

Views: 5,316

Keywords: arduino, arduino uno, arduino uno r3, arduino uno r4, arduino uno r3 vs r4, arduino comparison, arduino uno 2024, new arduino, arduino with wifi, arduino esp32, arduino programming, esp32, differences, arduino uno r3 and r4 differences, arduino uno r3 and r4 comparison, arduino uno r3 vs. r4

Id: ZiURRljlUEc

Length: 7min 38sec (458 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 09 2024