The Latest Wireless IoT Dev Kits to Close Out 2025 (Part 2)

The LAUNCHXL-CC26X2R1 LaunchPad Development Kit from Texas Instruments is a great platform for wireless IoT projects. It packs Nordic’s nRF5340 SoC and comes outfitted with a pair of Arm Cortex-M33 CPUs. Furthermore, the kit provides native support for the company’s SimpleLink Bluetooth Low Energy CC2642R wireless MCU and the SimpleLink Multi-Standard CC2652R wireless MCU.

TI’s CC26x2R devices are part of the SimpleLink microcontroller platform, which features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, sub-1-GHz, Thread, Zigbee, 802.15.4, and host MCUs. The MCU platform shares a common, easy-to-use development environment with a single-core SDK and toolset.

SimpleLink allows users to incorporate a combination of elements and devices into their designs, and it provides 100% code reuse when design requirements change. The LaunchPad kit supports programming and debugging with Code Composer Studio and IAR Embedded Workbench IDEs. The kit includes the Launchpad board, a Micro USB cable, and a quick-start guide.

Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF5340 DK Development Kit is another great wireless IoT platform, packing a dual-core Cortex-M33 CPU and supporting most wireless protocols such as Bluetooth LE 5.x, Thread, Zigbee, NFC, and Matter. It features Arduino headers, a SEGGER J-Link OB debugger, current measurement circuitry, and a host of GPIOs.

The board is supported by the nRF Connect SDK, which combines the Zephyr RTOS and protocol stacks into a single toolchain. The kit contains everything needed to get up and running, including an NFC antenna for testing the nRF5340’s NFC-A tag functionality.

Designed for developing high-volume, scalable wireless IoT applications, Silicon Labs’ EFR32xG22 Wireless Starter Kit supports Bluetooth, Zigbee, and proprietary wireless protocols including Zigbee Green Power. The platform has a pair of +6-dBm radio boards that are complete reference designs for EFR32xG22 Wireless SoCs, with matching network and PCB antennas for +6-dBm output power in the 2.4-GHz band.

Also on-board is a J-Link debugger with a Packet Trace Interface and a Virtual COM port, allowing for application development and debugging of the radio board and any attached external hardware.

The P-NUCLEO-WB55 pack developed by STMicroelectronics features an MB1355C board driven by the company’s STM32W55 microcontroller with a VFQFPN68 package. The pack also includes an MB1293C USB dongle based on ST’s STM32W55 MCU in a smaller UFQFPN48 package. As a result, users can easily get started with Bluetooth 5 and/or 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread).

The board incorporates an Arm Cortex-M4 along with a Cortex-M0+ for the radio stack. It also integrates a J-Link OB, Arduino headers, and ST’s own RF section for antenna reference. The pack is supported by the STM32CubeWB firmware package and CubeMX for quick configuration.

NXP’s FRDM-KW41Z board, a low-power, integrated single-board computer (SBC) equipped with Bluetooth LE v4.2 and IEEE 802.15.4 RF connectivity protocols, is designed for low-power embedded systems. The platform is well-suited for healthcare devices, wearable sports and fitness devices, AV remote controls, computer keyboards and mice, gaming controllers, access control security systems, smart energy, and home area networks.

The FRDM-KW41Z comes with a pair of FRDM boards that can be used as development boards or as shields to connect to a host processor. It also includes a USB interface, an on-board FXOS8700CQ motion sensor, and Arduino headers for attaching different hardware. The board runs the MCUXpresso SDK and supports Kinetis Protocol Stack libraries for multiprotocol testing.

The SAM R34 Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit, a hardware platform designed to evaluate the SAM R34 family of LoRa devices, is ideal for developing SAMR34 R34-based LoRa end-node applications. Built by Microchip Technology, the board features an ATSAMR34 Series RFSoC with an integrated SX1276 LoRa radio, along with Xplained Pro headers, a USB interface, and an integrated debugger.

As far as kits go, the SAM R34 Xplained Pro Evaluation platform is more on the barebones side — it’s only packaged with a SMA RF Antenna Port with an External Whip Antenna.