Intel to drop developer IoT modules after Raspberry Pi dominates
Intel has ditched the Galileo developer board and the Joule and Edison compute modules in a spring-cleaning move as it aims to stay ahead in the internet of things market. The Galileo board, introduced in 2013 in a partnership with Arduino, was aimed at Rasperry Pi, but it is the latter product that has dominated the market. Developers and product makers will have until 16 September to place orders for the affected models and Intel will stop shipping units after 16 December. 
The Galileo board was launched in 2013 under an Intel partnership with Arduino. Image: Intel

Chip giant Intel's spring cleaning efforts have swept out three of its compute modules for the Internet of Things and several Recon Jet smart glasses products.

Affected compute modules include Raspberry Pi challenger developer board, Galileo (PDF), as well as the Joule (PDF) and Edison (PDF) compute modules.

Intel launched the Galileo board in 2013 under a partnership with Arduino, targeting the growing community of developers building systems with ARM-based devices like Raspberry Pi.

Edison launched a year later with the aim of seeing the Intel-based compute modules powering wearables and home-based IoT devices, such as smart speakers.

Only last year it introduced the new high-powered Joule, for more advanced applications like robotics. The higher-end 570x model featured an Atom processor, 4GB RAM, 16GB storage, 4K video, built-in Wi-Fi and integration with Intel's face-tracking and natural-language processing technology.

Together, the lineup of IoT compute modules were designed to help Intel avoid missing the next wave of innovation after it failed to keep pace with smartphone chip rivals and missed the mobile boom.

Not mentioned among the list of discontinued compute modules is Curie, a low-powered model designed for wearables, which powers other boards like the Arduino 101 as well as Oakley's range of Radar Pace fitness-tracker sunglasses that launched last year.

Developers and product makers will have until September 16 to place orders for the affected models, though the orders can't be canceled or refunded. Intel says it will stop shipping the units after December 16.

The other IoT-related product Intel is paring back is its Recon Jet line of ARM-powered smart glasses. Intel invested in Recon in 2013, at the height of curiosity in Google's discontinued Glass experiment, and acquired the Canadian company in 2016.

Discontinued products (PDF) include the Recon Jet Pro Plus eyewear for enterprise, the Recon Jet Pro, and Recon Jet.

Orders for the products must be placed by September 29 with final shipments taking place on December 16.

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