Hi there,

So I just bought the CE in "radical red" new in box 2 weeks ago from Amazon. I looked up the production code - 0419-L. Should I return it and try to get a revision M model or is the difference negligible? And if I did return it and got another one, how do I know that I am getting an updated model?

It's just frustrating that I spent money on a new product to get slightly outdated hardware.

Revision M and newer are indeed significant upgrades over older revisions. They're less slow, in a noticeable way.

Depends on the OS version. If you don't already know, ever since 5.3.1, Ti has been crippling the OS and removing features (and you can't downgrade). All the revision Ms will have 5.3.1 and up. There's also an argument to be made about the speed, which is considerably better on rev Ms because of the faster flash that can be accessed with no wait states. Personally, I think getting a rev M is worth it since 5.3.1 doesn't block much (only on-calc ASM, which admittedly isn't very useful). You can make sure its rev M by looking at the packaging, it should be the new light blue packaging as opposed to the older red packaging. Soon they will start selling even newer calculators pre-loaded with 5.5.1, which is real bad, but for now those aren't on the market so you don't need to worry about accidentally getting one that's too new. Also, if its "Tangent Teal", then you know its rev M or more, and I believe "Matte-matic Black" is also rev M+ only, but I'm not 100% sure.
Here's what the different packaging looks like

And here's what the Tangent Teal looks like:


Also, you probably won't find any but there are 4 unreleased colors which were only made in revision M, which I discussed in this thread.

Yes, I'd try to get a revision M. Like womp said, they're the fastest CEs out there and don't have too many restrictions yet since they come pre-installed with OS 5.3.6 or OS 5.4.0. You can actually remove one of the restrictions by downgrading to OS 5.3.0 like I did.

Thank you, I appreciate the input

I received two with the new packaging but still got an older revision. I think TI updated the packaging before rolling it out with the new revisions. The two I received were manufactured in 3/19 (Tangent Teal) and 4/19 (Radical Red). Oh well. It's still a good calculator. Word to the wise, don't buy from Amazon. Big box retailers are more likely to have newer stock.

Oddly, the Tangent Teal is faster.

What do you mean 'faster' if you don't think it's the new revision? Exactly what letter is at the end of its date code? If it's M or later then you're getting the new revision.

Well, I mean complex calculations are about two seconds faster on the teal one (with all settings and updates being equal) but they are nowhere close to Revision M comparisons that I saw. They are both Revision L. L-0319-L (Teal) and L-0419-L (Red) are the date codes.

It seems as if TI updated the packaging at least by March 2019 and then Revision M for TI 84 + CE came out near the end of April 2019.

Just wanted to update to warn other people in case they were looking to buy newer revisions.

I'm using CERMASTR 2.0 to downgrade and it freezes. It's a revision M calculator.