Windows 10 IoT Adds Raspberry Pi 3 Support

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Windows 10 IoT Core has been updated to include support for Raspberry Pi 3, Microsoft announced Monday. The addition was released in a new Insider build -- Windows 10 IoT Core February 2016 Insider Preview.

News of the update arrived on the same day the Raspberry Pi Foundation released the Raspberry Pi 3. This also marked the fourth anniversary of the company and its launch of the original Raspberry Pi.

Like the Raspberry Pi 2, the updated device will retail for $35, but it reportedly has 50% more processing power. It comes with a quad-core 1.2 GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 processor with built-in Bluetooth and wireless LAN support.

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"The new Raspberry Pi 3 is faster, more powerful and the first out of the box IoT ready Raspberry Pi," wrote Billy Anders, director of program management for Windows IoT, in a blog post.

It's worth noting if you're already using Windows 10 IoT Core, you won't be able to run it on the new Raspberry Pi 3. The device will only work with the latest Insider build, meaning you would have to switch to preview releases.

The IoT Core was publicly launched in August 2015 to give developers a means of connecting devices and services to the Internet of Things using Windows 10. Microsoft added this version of Windows 10 to make it easy for developers to use preferred languages for building IoT apps.

Windows 10 IoT Core is "optimized for connected things and smaller devices with or without a display," Anders wrote. The platform also includes enterprise-level servicing and security. Automatic updates come via Windows Update online, and Universal Windows Platforms (UWP) APIs enable apps to control system management.

In its new IoT Core preview build, the Windows team is enabling support for the new Raspberry Pi 3 board. It promises more features will roll out in coming weeks.

Microsoft will continue to release preview builds and to collect user feedback in order to enable more capabilities for Raspberry Pi on Windows 10. User feedback on previous builds has resulted in support for popular WiFi dongles, including the Raspberry Pi dongle.

In his blog, Anders also noted several customers have inquired about the commercialization potential of the platform. Microsoft is collaborating with element14, he explained, to offer customers the option of using Windows 10 IoT Core for their Raspberry Pi Customization Service.

If this became reality, OEMs would be able to customize versions of Raspberry Pi to meet their specific requirements, use the open-source BSP Microsoft released, and deploy their creation running Windows 10 IoT Core.

Windows 10 received another update this week when Microsoft announced an enterprise-oriented service called Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection for the OS. The security update builds on current safeguards like Device Guard, Passport, Windows Hello, and Credential Guard.

The protection is designed to provide a layer of post-breach security for Windows 10 Enterprise devices. IT administrators can explore their networks for signs of a breach, determine how each machine was targeted, and view the history of individual PCs over a 6-month period.

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