Arduino, the popular open source electronics platform, is making a significant change to its software foundation. After Arm's announcement to discontinue support for Mbed in 2026, Arduino has decided to adopt Zephyr RTOS as the underlying operating system for several of its boards.
This change will affect a number of Arduino products, including the GIGA, Nano 33 BLE, Nano RP2040 Connect, and PRO series models. However, popular UNO, MKR and Nano models will not be affected, since they do not depend on Mbed.
To ensure a smooth transition, Arduino plans gradual implementation. The first beta using Zephyr RTOS is expected in late 2024, with full deployment to various boards scheduled for 2025. This proactive approach aims to complete the change long before Arm completely phases out Mbed.
Arduino's involvement in Zephyr goes beyond this recent decision. As a Silver member of the Zephyr project, the company has been actively contributing to its development. This prior involvement has undoubtedly accelerated the process of creating an Arduino core based on the Zephyr foundation.
Although this change may seem complex to developers, Arduino assures users that the transition will be transparent. The Arduino APIs, which form the interface between hardware and software, will remain unchanged. This means that the existing code should continue to work without modifications.
Zephyr RTOS, a lightweight, real-time operating system managed by the Linux Foundation, has been gaining ground in the embedded systems community. Its adoption by Arduino will likely further cement its position as a leading choice for IoT and embedded applications.
It should be noted that Arduino is not the only one facing this challenge. Other prominent players in the embedded systems market, such as BBC micro:bit and Raspberry Pi, They will also have to adapt to the end of Mbed support.
This strategic decision by Arduino highlights the changing landscape of embedded systems development. As hardware capabilities increase and software complexity grows, the choice of underlying operating system becomes increasingly crucial. Zephyr's open source nature and growing ecosystem make it an attractive option for developers looking for a robust and flexible platform.