Specifications
Here is the complete specification sheet for the Raspberry Pi Zero W. Each row below is a verified spec - no guessed numbers, no invented details - along with what it actually means for the kind of projects you'll build on this board.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| CPU | Broadcom BCM2835, single-core ARM11 (ARM1176JZF-S) @ 1GHz |
| RAM | 512MB |
| Wireless | 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) |
| Video output | Mini HDMI port |
| Data port | Micro USB On-The-Go (OTG) port |
| Power port | Separate micro USB power-only port (two micro USB ports total - they are not the same one) |
| GPIO | 40-pin header, HAT-compatible; ships unpopulated (no pins pre-soldered) on the standard "Zero W" SKU - a "Zero WH" variant exists with the header pre-soldered, at a slightly higher price |
| Camera | CSI camera connector - the smaller/mini-size connector used on Zero-family boards; a standard Raspberry Pi camera ribbon cable does not fit it, you need the specific "Raspberry Pi Zero camera cable" adapter |
| Storage | microSD card slot |
| Ethernet | None |
| Full-size USB-A | None |
| Audio jack | None (audio is possible via the mini HDMI port or via GPIO software methods, but there is no dedicated 3.5mm jack) |
| Released | February 2017 |
| Launch price | Historically around $10 USD at launch - exact current pricing varies by region and availability, so we're not stating a precise current figure here |
What "Single-Core ARM11 @ 1GHz" Actually Means
The BCM2835's ARM1176JZF-S core is an older, relatively simple CPU design, and it only has one core. In practice that means the Zero W is fine, even good, at tasks that spend most of their time waiting on I/O - reading a sensor, waiting on a network response, serving small web requests, toggling GPIO pins - because those tasks don't need raw number-crunching power. It will feel slow or outright struggle with anything computation-heavy: compiling large software projects, image or video processing, running a modern desktop GUI, or anything that would benefit from multiple cores running in parallel. Set your expectations accordingly - this is a board for "run quietly in the background and talk to the network," not "replace my laptop."
What 512MB of RAM Means
512MB is enough to comfortably run Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no desktop) plus a handful of lightweight services or scripts at once - a Python script polling a sensor, a small web server, an SSH session. It is not enough to comfortably run a full desktop environment with a browser open, and it will constrain how many services you can realistically run side by side compared to a full-size Pi with 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of RAM.
Why Two Ports Matter (and Both Are Micro USB)
A common beginner trip-up: the Zero W has two micro USB ports that look identical but do different jobs. One is labeled for power only and simply feeds the board 5V; the other is a USB OTG data port that can act as a USB device (e.g. appearing as a serial console to a computer) or, with the right adapter, host USB peripherals like a keyboard. Plugging power into the wrong port, or expecting a USB device to work in the power-only port, is a common source of "why isn't this working" moments early on.