Why does the Raspberry Pi Zero not have two working USB ports?
Couldn’t the RP0 have had two working microUSB ports that would support data and power in and or out?
-
7you would have to ask the team that made that design decision– jsotolaApr 19, 2020 at 4:16
-
3Ah, yes, I also want the "Team" to make a RpiZW5 with four micro USB3 ports, at the same time half foot print, and most importantly, half price.– tlfong01Apr 19, 2020 at 4:33
-
4why is my car front wheel drive? I want a four wheel drive.– Jaromanda XApr 19, 2020 at 10:23
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Two USB ports would have needed an extra USB hub chip on the board (and there's no spare room for that). The one USB is directly connected to the ARM processor (which is why it can do USB OTG).
With no spare real estate on the board it's impossible to add any more components without changing the form factor and making the Raspberry Pi Zero cost way more than the £5 (no WiFi) or £10 (with WiFi).
If I want more than one USB port on a Zero I'll add an external USB 2.0 HUB.
The PiZero is built to a price and doesn't include anything not absolutely necessary such as a USB hub.
It is what the marketers would call a loss leader - you can only buy 1 because it barely covers its production cost.
It is OK for implementing a basic controller and nothing else.
Anyone who attempts to implement networking or adding a hub is deluding themselves and would be better buying a real Pi which would be cheaper in the long run.
answered Apr 19, 2020 at 4:46
-
6Two USBs would have needed an extra USB hub chip on the board (and there's no spare room for that). The one USB is directly connected to the ARM processor (which is why it can do USB OTG).– DougieApr 19, 2020 at 13:54
-
1
-
1
-
1This doesn’t make sense - is it a loss leader or not? If it covers production, it’s not a loss leader.– TimApr 19, 2020 at 21:02