The Raspberry Pi 2 Model B is the second generation Raspberry Pi. It replaced the original Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ in February 2015. Compared to the Raspberry Pi 1 it has:

• A 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU
• 1GB RAM

Like the (Pi 1) Model B+, it also has:

• 4 USB ports
• 40 GPIO pins
• Full HDMI port
• Ethernet port
• Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video
• Camera interface (CSI)
• Display interface (DSI)
• Micro SD card slot
• VideoCore IV 3D graphics core

Because it has an ARMv7 processor, it can run the full range of ARM GNU/Linux distributions, including Snappy Ubuntu Core, as well as Microsoft Windows 10 (see the blog for more information).

The Raspberry Pi 2 has an identical form factor to the previous (Pi 1) Model B+ and has complete compatibility with Raspberry Pi 1.

We recommend the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B for use in schools: it offers more flexibility for learners than the leaner (Pi 1) Model A+, which is more useful for embedded projects and projects which require very low power.