Arduino nano 33 ble vs ble sense. Power consumption, etc

Question

After working with an Arduino Uno at work, I am looking to buy myself a board for some projects/experiments at home. The nano size seems like a great option, especially the one without soldered headers, as it is very flexible and easy to fit in projects with limited space. More specifically, I am interested in nano 33 ble and nano 33 ble sense.

My question is, apart from price does anyone know of any other disadvantages the sense board might have on comparison to the 33 ble?

Does it consume more power if the sensors are not used in a projects (just from being integrated in the board’s circuit)?

Also, does the light intensity sensor work like an LDR (photoresistor)? E.g. will I be able to do things like turn on LEDs automatically when it is dark, based on the sensor’s readings?

Answer 1

The official page for the Nano 33 BLE Sense mentions various things including the datasheet for the light sensor. That appears to be much more sophisticated than an LDR.

According to the sensor documentation (above):

Upon power-up, POR, the device initializes and immedi-ately enters the low power SLEEP state. In this operational state the internal oscillator and other circuitry are not active, resulting in ultra-low power consumption.

You would have to read the documentation for the other devices to check these things. Personally I haven't used one, and Arduino claim it "is a completely new board". So, you may not find a lot of people that can answer those questions.

Keeping power consumption low is quite a complex field. You need to look at clock speeds, sleep states, peripheral power consumption and so on.