Arduino has released the Nano R4, a compact development board designed to help users traverse seamlessly through every stage of product development. The board is powered by the same chip used in the popular UNO R4, the Renesas RA4M1 microcontroller, which features 256 kB of flash memory, 32 kB of SRAM, and 8 kB of EEPROM, running at 48 MHz.
The Nano R4, being designed specifically for space-constrained projects, has a small form factor, castellated pins to directly integrate into custom PCBs, and single-sided components for slim-profile builds. It includes a built-in Qwiic I2C connector and an additional 5V I2C port, allowing sensors, peripherals, and Arduino’s new Modulino nodes to connect quickly. A VRTC pin keeps the board’s real-time clock (RTC) running on a backup battery. A programmable RGB LED gives real-time visual feedback for debugging and user interaction.
The board is compatible with Arduino’s existing tools and libraries as well as the wider RA4M1-based ecosystem. This makes it easier to reuse code and streamline development. The Nano R4 comes in two variants: one is breadboard-friendly with pre-soldered headers, which costs $13.30, and the other is without headers to cater to professional applications and is priced at $12.10.
