Bluetooth Module Comparison: nRF52 vs. PSoC 64

According to Security Today, approximately 127 new IoT devices are coming online every second. This is such a staggering growth rate that the number of IoT devices in the field is expected to surpass 75 billion in 2025. Telecoms are getting into the game with their own proprietary IoT platforms, which are built on top of standard hardware modules. These platforms include cellular, WiFi, and most importantly, Bluetooth.

Over time, Bluetooth has undergone multiple revisions, and it used to be relegated to smart home or consumer applications. Bluetooth 5.0 is the current version and it provide some interesting features that were not available in previous revisions. IoT products will become more commonplace in every industry, Bluetooth will continue to be an integral part of the IoT wireless ecosystem.

If you’re designing new IoT products, there are a number of MCUs available that integrate some decent processing power with Bluetooth connectivity. Two popular products available as modules and individual SoCs are the nRF52840 from Nordic Semiconductor and the PSoC 64 from Cypress Semiconductor. Both chips are very useful for new IoT products, and Octopart is here to give you a full Bluetooth module comparison for these components.

nRF52840 Overview

The designers I work with love the nRF52840 module from Nordic Semiconductor, especially for wearables and smart home devices. The device is part of the nRF52xxx family, all of which are intended for IoT products. The nRF52840 is available in a number of variants for earlier versions of Bluetooth (note that Bluetooth 5 is backwards compatible). They are also inexpensive (just a few dollars from major distributors), and the level of integration they provide eliminates the need for many external components.

Here are some of the major features you’ll find on an nRF52840 SoC/module:

• Integrated DC-DC converter/LDO for power management

• Supports up to 2 Mbps data rates via Bluetooth 5

• Programmable transmit power (-20 dBm to +4 dBm)

• High sensitivity (-96 dBm @ 1 Mbps, -93 dBm @ 2 Mbps)

• Compatible with other nRF52, nRF51 and nRF24 SoCs/modules

For interfacing with other analog sensors, the device includes an integrated multichannel ADC, or it can interface with other devices/sensors via standard interfaces. Nordic also provides plenty of support for developers with an SDK and free software stacks.

There is no integrated antenna in the module, although the module includes an integrated 50 Ohm balun for impedance matching. If you’re not an antenna designer, you can download a reference design from Nordic with an antenna for use in your own designs. The module solution basically includes the output antenna and some other components and is usually surface-mountable. A number of other companies have developed their own module solutions, and Nordic provides an inexpensive USB development dongle for prototyping.

nRF52840 USB development dongle

PSoC 64 Overview

PSoC 64 actually refers to the family of PSoC 6x modules from Cypress Semiconductor. The PSoC 61-64 provide successively greater capabilities, with PSoC 63 and 64 providing integrated Bluetooth connectivity. The PSoC 64 is currently the most powerful in the product line and boasts its security capabilities. This is quite important in IoT products that pass data back-and-forth over wireless protocols, and devices with onboard encryption/decryption are extremely important.

Here are some of the major features you’ll find on a PSoC 64 component:

• Dual-core processor architecture (ARM)

• Multiple sleep modes for power savings

• Programmable digital and analog subsystems

• 8x 32 bit and 24x 16 bit timer/counter PWMs

The PSoC 64 is also available in a variety of development boards, including as a self-assembled USB dongle (see below). The PSoC64 also includes 2 SDHC hosts for interfacing with peripherals via SDR and DDR buses.

PSoC 64 development board

Product Comparison

The table below shows some of the relevant specifications for both modules. From a PCB design standpoint, the PSoC 64 module requires more stable power integrity due to its lower supply voltage. However, the tradeoff is a more powerful device with integrated Bluetooth 5; this is easily seen in its larger number of GPIOs, greater memory, faster processor, and faster ADC with more channels. Both vendors provide example code, developer libraries, and an SDK to get started with software design, and both are ideal for creating a new IoT product.

If you need to build a standalone product that doesn’t need to interface with other computer peripherals or interfaces, go with the nRF52840 module. Otherwise, go with the PSoC 64. The other advantage of the PSoC 64 is the number of ADC channels; use this product if you need to interface with more than 8 analog sensors. The onboard memory provided by the PSoC 64 module is only marginal compared to the nRF52840. Applications that require large memory can still use an external SD card for data storage and recall.

The Bluetooth module comparison shown above only scratches the surface of the available options on the market. If you’re looking for processing power for your next embedded system or IoT product, you can find the components you need with when you use an electronic parts search engine like Octopart. The advanced filtration functions help you narrow down to the components you need and help you compare Bluetooth modules and other SoCs. Try searching on Octopart or browsing our Receivers and Transceivers category page when you’re looking for your next part.

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