I was a bit nervous to see the Raspberry Pi 3 announced with no mention at all of Windows 10. But Microsoft has confirmed that it supports the new kit PC with a free version of Windows 10 IoT Core.
There’s just one catch: You can’t use the release version of Windows 10 IoT Core with Raspberry Pi 3. Instead, you must use a new Windows Insider Preview release, putting you in perpetual upgrade mode.
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“This morning, the Raspberry Pi Foundation announced availability of their new board—the Raspberry Pi 3,” Microsoft Director of Program Management for Windows IoT Billy Anders writes in a new post to the Building Apps for Windows blog. “We’re excited to have Windows 10 support the new board via a new Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview update available for download today.”
As with last year’s Raspberry Pi 2, Microsoft will support Raspberry Pi 3 with Windows 10 IoT Core, which is available now for free. The firm notes that Windows 10 IoT Core is optimized for “connected things and smaller devices with or without a display,” and of course supports the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). Microsoft also highlights the improvements its made to Windows 10 IoT Core since the initial Raspberry Pi 2 release, including supporting popular Wi-Fi dongles such as the Raspberry Pi Wi-Fi dongle.
But with Raspberry Pi 3, things are a bit different. Yes, Microsoft promises more new features in the coming weeks. But these will come via the always-updating Windows Insider program, as you can only use a pre-release Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview build—called theFebruary 2016 Insider Preview—with the Pi 3. The release version won’t work.
According to the release notes, the Windows 10 IoT Core February 2016 Insider Preview, or build 14262, including a number of notable changes:
You can install the new Insider Preview update today via a direct download or through the newly supported Raspberry Pi installer (NOOBS), Microsoft says.
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