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Nano is from 2008, and micro from 2012. Micro seems better on every parameter, in particular in having a better (I think) microcontroller, ATMega32u4, over ATMega328P.

However, all the shops I've checked out, both local and online, sell the Nano, and only some sell Micro. And Nano is always more expensive than Micro. E.g. at RS-Online 26GBP for Nano (link) and 16GBP for Micro (link).

Why do many shops only sell the inferior product?

Why is the older and less capable Nano more expensive?

Why would anyone buy the Nano over the Micro?

gone
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Mads Skjern
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3 Answers3

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The main difference between the ATmega32u4 and the ATmega328P is that the 32u4 has onboard USB. When ATmega328P are used in an Arduino they are often coupled with an FTDI USB to serial chip. The FTDI chip is about $5 so this may be where the extra cost comes in.

Having the USB chip separate is actually not a bad thing:

  • The Atmega328P consumes less power than the ATmega32u4
  • FTDI chips are common, so the drivers are on most computers, whereas the 32u4 requires an .inf file to be loaded on Windows.
  • The FTDI chip uses the FTDI vendor and product ID and thus can be used in large-quantity commercial projects whereas the ATmega32u4 would require purchase of a vendor id and product id from the USB group. (My conclusion after reading around the net a bit, please correct if wrong).
geometrikal
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I'd buy the NANO and STEER CLEAR of the micro with that 32u4 chip. The good ol' 328p chip also has a FTDI chip to handle USB to serial while the other chip handles it on its own. The problem is that the Micro's bootloader ONLY allows trying to program it with USB and requires a special driver. With Linux, only a few select versions have the needed driver. If your Linux version doesn't have the driver, you're out of luck. In that case, take it back or donate it to a hackerspace. You will NEVER make it work.

I was at the arduino.cc site about this and tried everything only to get increasingly annoyed about that lemon of a card. You know it's time to give up when you get flamed.

Peter Bloomfield
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Anonymous
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It depends on what's your focus on. From pure microcontroller view, the 328P compared to the 32u4

  • is 4MHz faster
  • has two Touch Channels more
  • has picoPower technology
  • has an RTC
  • has a lower minimum supply voltage

If one or more of these features are essential for your project, the Nano may be the better choice.

Regarding the price:
I'm not sure if it can have such a high influence, but there may have been a technology shrink. That's why a modern 32bit micro is cheaper than an old-fashioned 8 or 16bit micro, at least in B2B pricing.

mic
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