Performance-wise it's pretty much the same as the Pi 5 16GB (and can be slightly faster than the regular Pi 500 depending on the task, if it benefits from faster storage or more RAM...)
Since this is the first Pi with built-in NVMe (I'm not counting the Compute Module Developer Kit), I plugged in an eGPU and tested a new 15-line patch for AMD GPU drivers, which seems to support practically all modern AMD graphics cards[1].
> Our experiences with that programme informed the development of Raspberry Pi 400, our all-in-one PC, whose form factor (and name) harks back to the great 8-bit and 16-bit computers – the BBC Micro, Sinclair Spectrum, and Commodore Amiga – of the 1980s and 1990s.
(emphasis mine)
So the 400 name is explicitly inspired by such systems, their next one is called the 500, and the upgrade to that is called the 500+. I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that's exactly the inspiration.
deater45 minutes ago
quite possible because it's from Europe, but remember that Apple was sticking + on the end of their model names 6 years before the Amiga existed.
zamalek1 minute ago
I think that many companies have been appending + to the end of product names for an extremely long time. This is hardly an Apple innovation.
And yes, the plus sign was omitted in all of them. (-:
chrismorgan14 hours ago
> The ultimate all-in-one PC
I object to this labelling: the term “all-in-one PC” has always been used to mean a computer integrated into a screen, to which you must add a keyboard and mouse (or more likely it will be bundled with a low-quality keyboard and mouse). But this is a computer integrated into a (good) keyboard, to which you must add a screen and mouse—and screens are more expensive than keyboards. Even a basic not-too-horrible screen will cost another $80, and the sort of screen you might like to pair with such a keyboard might be double that.
cesarb1 hour ago
> Even a basic not-too-horrible screen will cost another $80
I believe the idea is that you'd plug it into the TV you already have, like we did in the 1980s.
geerlingguy13 hours ago
Yeah; the marketing language around new Pi products is always a bit flowery... besides this misnomer calling it 'AIO', the marketing also says "uncompromising performance" and "premium desktop computer", which I'd argue are quite a stretch, unless you're comparing it to SBCs and not... desktop computers!
bombcar1 hour ago
The term I've used for these is "single board computer".
daft_pink13 hours ago
I also don’t get the language and would prefer to supply my own Keychron with a regular raspberry pi.
esseph8 hours ago
Spending more on the keyboard than on the pi! :-)
imtringued12 hours ago
Yeah but screens are dirt cheap if you are willing to buy them used via classified ads.
is more expensive than Pro Display XDR with nanotexture and the 1k stand
pdpi13 hours ago
Adam Savage posted a video a couple of weeks ago, where he discusses this keyboard with Ryan Norbauer. That thing is overengineered to the point I'd argue it actually becomes some sort of artistic statement.
At least Norbauer immediately states that it's "probably the world's most insanely irrationally hyperengineered keyboard" and later on continues that "nobody needs a 3000 dollar keyboard."
It's clear from that it's a sincere hyper-obsession, shared by others within a small community. I can respect that more than just making something expensive for the sake of appealing to ultra-rich who wish to flaunt their wealth.
binary13210 hours ago
Overpriced to the point that it becomes an artistic statement: “The buyer fell for it again”
pcdoodle1 hour ago
I really like my new macbook keyboard but hate apple. There's something cool about buying from small designers that make something you can't get anywhere else, not because it's rare, but executed in a way that makes no business sense at scale. Find your niche.
Sohcahtoa821 hour ago
Seems like the Rolex of keyboards.
People gush over how it's built as if it actually improves the function of it.
pcdoodle1 hour ago
I love it. Great artists ship and they are making what they want and lucky enough to have others that appreciate it and buy.
pinkmuffinere43 minutes ago
IMO the coolest thing about this is that it all fits in a keyboard. It would be awesome if this came bundled with smart glasses, so I could walk into a coffee shop with just keyboard and glasses, and get work done without having to hunch over my laptop. Of course the present offering is lacking in computing power (and any form of display)
amluto14 hours ago
Holy smokes, they actually fixed my personal pet peeve of this entire product line: it has an internal M.2 slot. The performance of pretty much any SD card for a desktop workload is poor to say the least, and letting a USB boot device dangle out kind of defeats the purpose of the form factor. But this new model has actual fast internal storage!
P.S. HN mods, consider fixing the submission name. It’s 500+, not 500, and that completely changes the meaning of the article.
jsheard12 hours ago
> Holy smokes, they actually fixed my personal pet peeve of this entire product line: it has an internal M.2 slot.
What's odd is that the original 500 already had an unpopulated M.2 slot, so they considered it a year ago but backed out for whatever reason.
dave781 hour ago
According to Jeff Geerling's video, the main PCB in the 500+ is identical to the 500, same revision and all. Presumably they planned both the 500 and 500+ at the same time so they designed a single PCB that could accommodate both, and then only populated the m.2 parts when building a 500+.
So I don't think they "backed out" rather just didn't have the 500+ ready to launch yet.
ndxndn3 hours ago
I don't think they backed out. It seems clear that they always have intended to offer these exact configurations, since they are using the same board.
Even the connection to the new keyboard was already present on the 500 even though it used another connector than the 500+
watersb38 minutes ago
Looks amazing.
Keyboards that put various control keys down the rightmost edge of the keyboard -- these drive me insane.
Fitt's Law and me with keyboards.
I could just remap the keys, or cover that edge of the keyboard somehow.
Which would also be an homage to the classic computers that we all grew up with: covering that Reset Key on the Apple ][ with a cassette tape case.
So many comments are very negative here. I'm currently using a Pi 4 as my home desktop computer and I will probably replace it with a Pi 500+. I really want to avoid a pre-installed Windows, want my computer to be 100% silent, low energy, and I fancy the computer-is-in-keyboard feel. Sure, I might get a mini PC for a bit cheaper but I like to support Raspberry Pi. The products are easy to get into, have great and lasting software support, and a large community behind it.
segmondy1 hour ago
We are going to see a $1,000 Raspberry pi in the next decade, won't we?
kennywinker57 minutes ago
Their original premise, a super low cost linux system for hardware exploration, is constantly being undermined by their price, imo. For most projects, as long as you don’t need GPIOs or super low power consumption, you should probably use an old mini pc that’s destined for scrap and cost less.
pinkmuffinere45 minutes ago
Is it really? If you want super low cost, they have the zero w2, the rpi2, the rpi3, etc. I feel they've already mostly perfected the products for that purpose. But of course they don't want to just 'stop building', so now they're moving up to more premium options. I feel there's nothing wrong with this. If you want the low cost exploration, stick with the things they designed forever ago, which fit that purpose.
vegancap1 hour ago
I've been around long enough to find it absolutely astonishing, that you can now fit a computer with 16gb of ram, 265gb of storage and a quad core processor, with no cooling, inside a keyboard.
thw_9a83c57 minutes ago
It is astonishing! It's especially impressive when you realize that the motherboard itself is so small that most of the keyboard interior is basically empty space [0].
For a comparison, the "similar" computer from 2006 [0] had a maximum configuration of 4xCPU @ 1 GHz and 8GB of RAM. It weighed 60 lb (27 kg) and looked like this:
All the marketing for this advertises it as a desktop computer. What's the appeal of this compared to a cheaper and more powerful N150 NUC, or a used mini PC if it's for personal use where you just need one?
A N150 has about twice the CPU performance, hardware video decoding that isn't crippled, and much more software built for its architecture among other things.
qhwudbebd12 hours ago
And the N150 had mainline linux support from day one, whereas I'm not sure if there's proper support for pi5-family devices in a released mainline kernel even now, two years after the launch.
They used to do an good-to-adequate job of linux support, but nowadays they seem rubbish at it. Nobody wants to be stuck on a downstream kernel full of cobbled-together device support that's too poorly-written to upstream.
Asmod4n2 hours ago
It can be used as a usb gadget device, i am not aware of any SFF x86 PC that has such a chip.
regularfry12 hours ago
The appeal is the form factor, really. A decent amount of compute (not amazing, but decent) built into a decent mechanical keyboard (jury's out, but I'll believe the sales pitch until shown otherwise) is unusual.
hyperbovine13 hours ago
Right, this thing is priced from an earlier (pre-BeeLink) era. There’s just so much more you can get for $200 nowadays, right off Amazon.
binary13210 hours ago
It is fundamentally just a novelty product at this point.
boredhedgehog12 hours ago
It requires a separate keyboard, which means more space usage and more cables. And not sure, but I think the N150 has a fan, so more noise.
jsheard12 hours ago
N150 machines come with or without fans, the chip is cool enough to run passively with a decent heatsink.
The ones with fans tend to be cheaper and have better sustained performance though.
card_zero11 hours ago
Looks like the whole tiny case is the heatsink, I like it.
omnimus13 hours ago
Software support could be one if N150 wasnt x86 from intel.
Computer049 minutes ago
The ultimate I want it, I don't need it. What would I possibly use this for I can't already do? No clue. But there's a fire of desire burning in me - for this thing! I am on a no-buying streak due to the economy. But in another universe I would've already purchased this.
gorgoiler1 hour ago
Daily driving with a Pi was very very close to possible for me, back in 2020 when I last tried it, but unfortunately a Pi 4 just didn’t have enough oomph to handle bigger web apps like outlook webmail,
Google’s productivity suite, or a few other tools I needed for my job.
How does the Pi 5 family compare,
five years on?
georgemcbay1 hour ago
In my experience, its a lot better than the Pi 4 was at fitting this niche, but unless you really need ARM or Pi GPIO or some other specific feature you're better off just using an N150 based mini pc.
lsch103342 minutes ago
Its dimensions are 312mm × 123.06mm × 35.76mm, so volumetrically it's 107.8% of a generic 14 inch laptop I'm currently typing on.
The power button is the top right key on the keyboard, right next to the F12 / Delete key.
KolmogorovComp2 hours ago
Why are Rpis still bothering with SD cards? Who did not get their pi card corrupted while used as a server?
dave782 hours ago
Second paragraph in the article:
"Raspberry Pi 500+ boasts ... an internal M.2 socket pre-fitted with a 256GB Raspberry Pi SSD"
so I'm not sure what your point about SD cards is in this case.
Scramblejams1 hour ago
I did not!* Through many Pis serving many years and experiencing many power outages.
But I'm using CanaKit power supplies (which supply 5.1 volts, Rpis are notoriously flaky if the voltage dips just a little below 5v) and ATP industrial automotive-grade flash cards (not a big premium in absolute terms, I think 32 gig cards are $13 on Digikey).
* Okay okay, before I switched to those accessories I did have problems.
Aurornis1 hour ago
It has a built-in 256GB SSD
The SD card is a very easy common and well documented way for new users to image the device.
kelipso2 hours ago
Yeah, worst thing about it. You can’t really push it to do a lot of tasks because sd cards are so unreliable, compared to nvme for example.
scoopdewoop2 hours ago
This has an nvme with the OS pre-installed.
cypherpunks011 hour ago
Are sd cards still corrupting all the time in rpi servers even with high-quality SLC sd cards, or just with cheap consumer sd cards?
Rohansi1 hour ago
Most likely cheap or fake SD cards. I've been running a Raspberry Pi camera (recording) to a SanDisk SD card for years and it's still going strong.
bitwize1 hour ago
I put an NVMe SSD in a USB3 enclosure and boot my Pi 4 from that, just to be safe. But I've never actually experienced Pi SD card corruption. I don't know whether it's because I choose good power supplies, good cards, or both.
kimmygraham1 hour ago
Is it possible yet to Miracast from the Pi to a smart TV? I like the form factor, but I'd love to only be tethered to power and not HDMI.
JonChesterfield13 hours ago
I'm confused by the use case for this. The keyboard gets a cable running to a monitor. Might need a power cable as well but let's assume usbc covers both.
An alternative is a raspberry pi on the vesa mount, or attached to the monitor arm. The cable to a keyboard is now optional, wireless USB being much easier than wireless displayport.
Keyboard can now be flat too.
When is this a good idea?
indigo94512 hours ago
The marketing blurb that's linked makes it quite clear that this targets retro hobbyists, who want a modern take on the C64. It's not really meant to be a practical design.
It still is a more practical design than a flat keyboard, which only masochists would use willingly.
tredre32 hours ago
> wireless USB being much easier than wireless displayport
I'm sure you meant bluetooth but just so we're all clear: Wireless USB isn't easy at all. Hardware availability for it is very limited and you'll need adapters on both ends. Frankly there's more hardware to wirelessly transfer HDMI than USB.
regularfry12 hours ago
So if they had made one change, it would be fantastic as a throw-in-the-backpack computer.
That change would be to support display port alt-mode on a USB-C port, rather than only having mini-HDMI. If they'd done that, you could plug AR glasses like the XReal One straight into it, and not need a separate screen. Your entire compute becomes a keyboard+power, glasses, and wireless mouse. That would be really nice: two cables, total, one for power to the pi and one from the pi to the glasses.
As it is, you need an hdmi to usb-c converter, which also needs to be powered, another couple of cables, and more of a setup faff each time. It sounds minor, but it's a missed opportunity. For me it turns it from "take my money" to "eh... I can do better."
pengaru11 hours ago
I thought these kinds of ~affordable computers in keyboards were obviously aimed at families/young users plugging into an existing TV in the living room, like a modern take on the C64.
keernan20 minutes ago
I've been using keyboards since ... well since they replaced electric typewriters which in turn replaced my Royal mechanical typewriter. I never much thought about keyboards until the keyboard on my Lenovo Ideapad. I thought that was the best keyboard ever.
Until I laid out $120 for a mechanical keyboard (a Nuphy Air75). I just love it.
And here is a mechanical keyboard with a computer inside (actually two; one just to program the keyboard) that isn't that much more than I paid for my Nuphy. I already own three rpi that I don't use. But the itch to buy one of these is attacking me. Maybe I'll get some AI glasses...
glimshe13 hours ago
$200 and still micro HDMI? No, thanks.
Who is this product for? I've abandoned RPi after the rise of sub $200-PCs on Amazon, which usually come with power supply, on/off buttons, dual full size HDMIs, SSDs etc etc.
sys_647387 hours ago
That's fine if you want a PC which is totally orthogonal to what the Pi is originally for.
rbanffy14 hours ago
> When we’re designing new Raspberry Pi products, we naturally look back to the computers of our childhoods: the tastefully beige BBC Micro, the Sinclair Spectrum with its rubber keyboard, the Commodore 64 “breadbin”, or the grandfather of them all, the Apple II.
Now someone needs to make the keycaps with the right themes - black with function keys for the BBC, QL-looking for the Spectrum, shades of brown for the 64, and brown with "BELL" on the G for the Apple II.
JdeBP12 hours ago
Although for many years people have just been putting Pis inside actual home computer cases. In the BBC case, as a (software programmable) Second Processor connected over the Tube.
Those are the closest to the nonexistent model number "II" but they do not have the QL-derived keyboard.
maratc8 hours ago
An improvement over Pi 500 in many ways, but adding keys to the right of heavily-used (r) Shift / Enter / Backspace would make it much harder to find these keys without looking at the keyboard.
The previous version also had half-height arrows that had some negative space ("not keys") above them, and so it was easier to position the fingers over the arrows just by feel; this one makes it harder.
I'd hope the next generation returns to the previous keyboard layout (which was almost perfect for me.)
birdalbrocum12 hours ago
For 200€, you can get yourself an old Thinkpad, flash it with some coreboot variation, install a GNU/Linux distribution and in process you will learn more things and it is not an RGB keyboard; it is really an "all-in-one PC".
ssl-32 hours ago
"For that price, you can just use an old laptop" has been true ever since the OG Raspberry Pi showed up ~13 years ago.
And that's great, and stuff, if what a person wants is the most compute they can get for the fewest dollars possible.
But when someone instead wants a quite small computer that is actually friendly to hardware tinkering, and they want to buy it new, then a used Thinkpad will not scratch that itch -- but a new Raspberry Pi will.
(It's a bad comparison. It always has been a bad comparison.)
euroderf4 hours ago
"It just works", this idea is not.
sys_647387 hours ago
The power of the Pi comes from the standardized 40 pin GPIO for hooking other devices up to.
analog3142 minutes ago
This really comes down to a matter of preferences, but I've never used the GPIO either. The reason is that a microcontroller board makes a much better GPIO for my use. Then I can unplug it and put it away when I'm done, use it with any PC -- desktop or laptop -- give it away, and carry it into the room where my soldering station is. A microcontroller also opens up the whole world of stand-alone gadgets.
Naturally software / firmware support is an issue. If the stuff you want to do is easy to code on your preferred platform, that's a reason to keep using it.
lproven1 hour ago
I've owned 7, no, 8 of them so far. One is running in my "server room" right now, as my Pi-Hole.
I have never ever connected anything to the GPIO.
sys_647381 hour ago
I connect various devices over I2C and SPI bus for evaluation.
j4512 hours ago
Yes, except the Pi is a throwback to the keyboard as entire computers:
- Commodore Vic 64
- Atari ST
Also, this was popular for kids during the pandemic.
I'd consider these pretty viable for kids setup with an apple ii emulator to start.
ndxndn3 hours ago
The 500+ is nearly my dream PC. While I would have preferred a slightly different keyboard layout, it's really nice to be able to carry your PC around and have a nice desktop Keyboard.
forsakenharmony52 minutes ago
clicky switches are a crime
bluelightning2k12 hours ago
This is impressive but really odd.
Isn't the entire point of Raspberry Pi to not be premium with a nice form factor, etc.
And why would I use a mechanical keyboard to drive the type of workload I'd be doing on a Pi.
Seems like they've taken super opposite and incompatible parts of PC use-cases and combined them in a really odd way.
Great industrial design. Which again isn't something I'd want from a Pi. But at the same time we all appreciate.
I kind of like it but do find it baffling.
renewiltord57 minutes ago
A nice nod to the past, but my problem with the Raspberry Pi series has always been that the power brick has been immense. One thing that would be cool is if there were one like this with an integrated power-supply and an internal reel for the power cable. As it is, the power bricks are always the largest part of these devices.
drnick12 hours ago
What's the point of this? Most of us here on HN probably already own good to god tier mechanical keyboards. If I really wanted a Pi (I don't), I would get a VESA mount for it. But you have to keep it mind that Pi's can't even play 4k videos at 60fps reliably and are kind of a terrible choice for general desktop use against N100 (or later) mini-PCs, or even used thin clients like ThinkCenters with laptop CPUs that are far more capable.
dheera1 hour ago
Maybe it can be an advanced keyboard that does more than just a keyboard. Like maybe it calls an LLM and types shit for you, and you plug it into something else as a USB device, and implement USB 1.0 by bit-banging the GPIO or some shit
pcdoodle1 hour ago
I don't own a mechanical keyboard but it's fun because you could upcycle it at end of life to a cool keyboard.
rs18613 hours ago
Since the original 500 was released, I don't think there is any other major manufacturer that followed, even the Chinese mini PC makers. It feels like nobody really wants this product other than maybe some Raspberry Pi users? If this form factor makes sense, you would expect other people to build similar devices, like what happened after Steam Deck.
pjmlp13 hours ago
Looks quite alright and as someone from the 8 bits generation I get the idea, added to my possible gadgets list.
thomassmith6513 hours ago
I keep waiting and waiting for a revival of beige plastic in the tech industry. This would be a perfect candidate.
This seems like an interesting product for tinkerers and hobbyists, or possibly for educational purposes (e.g. Linux computer for university students to learn on). I find it hard to see how this can replace a more typical small desktop computer though.
72deluxe9 hours ago
What sort of things are most people doing on their desktop computer that needs more power or RAM though? I can't imagine.
You can still buy woefully underpowered laptops with hopeless resolutions and with 4GB of RAM running Windows 11, and that is a horrible desktop experience. At least with this it is a usable desktop machine, where the normal bottleneck was IO speed.
apexalpha9 hours ago
This would be so much better to use in schools than Macs, iPads or crappy Windows PCs.
I hope many schools see this and will consider it.
extraduder_ire9 hours ago
For schools in particular, the promise to keep making them until at least January 2035 is a big boon for replacing broken ones. Even if it'll likely be replaced with something better long before then.
OhMeadhbh14 hours ago
Oh man! It has a REAL keyboard! TAKE MY MONEY!
geerlingguy14 hours ago
For those who don't read through the specs, it uses Gateron KS-33 low-profile 'blue' switches (though the plastic on the Pi 500+ switches is grey, not blue).
In my testing, the keyboard was between 55-60 dBa from about a foot away. Not quiet, but so much better to type on than the Pi 400/500's chicklet keyboard that came before.
It's a mid-tier mechanical keyboard with low-end desktop performance. So it's not going to move the needle if you're satisfied with an N150 mini PC and a cheap keyboard. But if you were already thinking of buying a Pi, or you like the keyboard-computer aesthetic, this is now the top-end for that (especially considering the 16 GB of RAM).
TacticalCoder14 hours ago
[dead]
M95D11 hours ago
Not a real keyboard until it has at least 103 keys.
Kim_Bruning13 hours ago
Is it ... is it worth buying for the keyboard alone?
boneitis10 hours ago
If it's just the keyboard appearance itself piquing your interest, you might check out the Keychron K3 (the brand has apparently grown a lot since I was last shopping around for keyboards, so it looks like they have a "K", "K Pro", and "K QMK" as well as several other "[Insert Letter Here]" lines of models now... back then all they had were K keyboards).
To clarify, this is to say I'm looking on their website right now and seeing at least five variants of "K3" alone.
It's hard to tell when all the promotional photos are showing either a partial shot or an aggressive angle, but it looks so much like my K3 that I actually thought they were going to say they collaborated with Keychron on the design.
josephg2 hours ago
Yep I second this. I have a K1 (I think) with blue switches. The switches are the most important choice - since that controls the entire feel of using the keyboard. When I first got mine, I got red switches. But red switches don’t give you any tactile feedback when it passes the threshold to be considered “pressed”. I swapped to blues and I love them. Very satisfyingly clicky. They’re a bit loud though. Swapping switches is easy - I think the replacement set of blues just set me back $20 or something.
If there are any computer shops you can go in person to try them out, I highly recommend it. They make a lot of different switches and the feel is a very tactile, personal thing. (Though I think I’d also be happy with yellow or brown switches after some time with them!)
geerlingguy13 hours ago
Definitely not.
Though it would be a decent standalone keyboard if they updated the 'Pi Keyboard' design (one of their oldest products) with this top case, and with a USB 3 hub integrated into it. Price would have to be in the sub-$100 range to be interesting, though.
fatihkocnet12 hours ago
Why they keep raising prices? They are going for laptop prices with this pace
HelloUsername14 hours ago
Nice Tenacious D quote
stavros3 hours ago
I wish you were there.
wewewedxfgdf13 hours ago
What's the point of this? Where does it fit, who is it aimed at apart from Explaining Computers and good old Jeff Geerling (hiya Jeff!).
Maybe if it has been designed into a retro style case or something?
As it stands it's very hard to see who would want this.
rs18613 hours ago
Since the original 500's release I have never seen a single forum post (in generic tech discussions) about the product.
In other words, for me who spends lots of timing reading/watching discussions/reviews of gadgets, this never came up once, anecdotally.
I don't think you are alone in your confusion.
jacquesm8 hours ago
One has been sitting in my hallway closet running a pretty complex HA setup. It has been so rock solid that I more or less forgot about it.
XorNot12 hours ago
This one has been on my radar as a first computer for my son for a while - just lock out the wifi and set it up with a "boot to basic" image maybe?
Certainly something which could grow to support some Arduino work.
EDIT: Admittedly this would be a no brainer if there was an off-the-shelf Atari ST style thing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST purely for the sheer mass providing some protection.
wewewedxfgdf12 hours ago
Kids don't want "boot to basic". Old fogey's like me brought up on Commodore 64 look back on boot to basic like the good old days, but "boot to basic" is long gone and no-one is interested in that, except conceptually old people think it makes kids learn because that's what made them learn, but back in the old days you tolerated boot to basic in a world in which the only computer for 3 square miles was the BBC micro sitting in front of you.
BoredPositron12 hours ago
Nice I make good money repairing high end cameras by replacing micro HDMI ports. I hope it becomes standard lol.
kotaKat13 hours ago
STILL no full size HDMI port? Did they let Officer Mayonnaise spec the port on this one?
close0413 hours ago
Might be good value for the keyboard alone but too bad they couldn't put anything better than the 7 year old A76 CPU in there. I understand the reasoning, the ecosystem consistency, I know that the price limits how cutting edge the internals can be, but it's still a pity, for my interest at least.
rs18613 hours ago
Where's the plus sign in the original title? The current one (with "Raspberry Pi 500") does not make any sense.
threatofrain13 hours ago
Depending on what you want to experiment with, a Mac Mini might be far more cost-productive for most people wanting to play with software and servers.
pedro_caetano13 hours ago
A large part of the original Ethos of the Raspberry Pi foundation is to bring back some of the technology fascination and allure that children in 1980's Britain experienced with the BBC Micro and Acorn computers (which ultimately led to today's ARM).
We can assume the 500 is meant more as a nostalgia 'one-computer-for-every-child' design more so than a powerful work house for developers.
fsckboy12 hours ago
yes, but without us, who will teach these children to piss and moan about everything!?
this device would make a very practical workstation for developing Raspbery Pi software for little embedded RPi projects.
pjmlp13 hours ago
Sure, where can I get a new one at comparable Pi prices?
threatofrain11 hours ago
If you're buying Raspberry Pi's, either the form factor or power requirements really worked for you, such as if you're in robotics, IoT sensors, or hardware-adjacent stuff, or you knew you were spending a little bit extra for the hobby space.
That includes all the people setting up home labs for their own learning. An M1 is about $250 refurbished under Amazon's protection program. If you intend to use this as a hybrid device, which many frugal people do, then you'll also likely be using this as a desktop device connected to a monitor. The cost of electricity will rival your purchase in a year.
If you're gonna buy a throwaway computer for a child to experiment with, IMO a used Mac Mini delivers unbelievable price efficiency as a general-purpose computer. Use it as a server, use it for programming, use it for homework.
nsteel2 hours ago
If you are going down this path, an N150 machine is cheaper, more flexible (Windows), more readily available, brand new, and performant enough for all the above use-cases. An old Mac Mini makes no sense to me.
pjmlp10 hours ago
I asked for a new one, and I am not going to pay such prices for 2nd hand stuff, assuming they exist at all, cheapest is 320 € on Amazon Germany.
ceayo13 hours ago
The 20 dollar minicomputer has now become the 200 dollar rgb keyboard. Still, I’ve tried and using a raspberry pi as a desktop computer but everything is so impractical. Maybe the pi 5 is better, but I do not believe it’ll ever replace normal desktop computers. Raspberry Pi’s started as a small board which you can even run Linux on, with low power consumption, so toucan run it day round for services like home assistant. In my opinion, it should stay that way.
nebalee10 hours ago
The 20 dollar minicomputer has not become the 200 dollar rgb keyboard. You can still get a ~20 dollar Raspberry Pi minicomputer that runs Linux and has low power consumption: The Pi Zero 2. They expanded their range of products on the top, both performance and price wise, but boards on the other end of the range are still on offer.
Huh I read minicomputer and assumed we were talking about the first home computers, which that was about their epoch. (TBF I don't think any were ever $20 so that's on me).
Although if you go from the Pi 1 in 2012 at $35 at launch, it would be about $50 today.
Nit: It's the Pi 500+ (the + was eaten up by HN's automated title sensationalism-removal, I guess)
And I've posted benchmark data to my sbc-reviews repo here: https://github.com/geerlingguy/sbc-reviews/issues/81
Performance-wise it's pretty much the same as the Pi 5 16GB (and can be slightly faster than the regular Pi 500 depending on the task, if it benefits from faster storage or more RAM...)
Since this is the first Pi with built-in NVMe (I'm not counting the Compute Module Developer Kit), I plugged in an eGPU and tested a new 15-line patch for AMD GPU drivers, which seems to support practically all modern AMD graphics cards[1].
[1] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/full-egpu-acceleratio...
> Nit: It's the Pi 500+
I really want to hope the name is a nod to the Amiga 500+ (which had twice the RAM of the A500 ..)
This made me do some research and I'd say it appears so.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-500-and-raspbe...
> Our experiences with that programme informed the development of Raspberry Pi 400, our all-in-one PC, whose form factor (and name) harks back to the great 8-bit and 16-bit computers – the BBC Micro, Sinclair Spectrum, and Commodore Amiga – of the 1980s and 1990s.
(emphasis mine)
So the 400 name is explicitly inspired by such systems, their next one is called the 500, and the upgrade to that is called the 500+. I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that's exactly the inspiration.
quite possible because it's from Europe, but remember that Apple was sticking + on the end of their model names 6 years before the Amiga existed.
I think that many companies have been appending + to the end of product names for an extremely long time. This is hardly an Apple innovation.
Earliest post:
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370021
Other duplicates:
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45375782
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372608
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372319
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370260
And yes, the plus sign was omitted in all of them. (-:
> The ultimate all-in-one PC
I object to this labelling: the term “all-in-one PC” has always been used to mean a computer integrated into a screen, to which you must add a keyboard and mouse (or more likely it will be bundled with a low-quality keyboard and mouse). But this is a computer integrated into a (good) keyboard, to which you must add a screen and mouse—and screens are more expensive than keyboards. Even a basic not-too-horrible screen will cost another $80, and the sort of screen you might like to pair with such a keyboard might be double that.
> Even a basic not-too-horrible screen will cost another $80
I believe the idea is that you'd plug it into the TV you already have, like we did in the 1980s.
Yeah; the marketing language around new Pi products is always a bit flowery... besides this misnomer calling it 'AIO', the marketing also says "uncompromising performance" and "premium desktop computer", which I'd argue are quite a stretch, unless you're comparing it to SBCs and not... desktop computers!
The term I've used for these is "single board computer".
I also don’t get the language and would prefer to supply my own Keychron with a regular raspberry pi.
Spending more on the keyboard than on the pi! :-)
Yeah but screens are dirt cheap if you are willing to buy them used via classified ads.
> screens are more expensive than keyboards
This keyboard https://www.norbauer.co/products/the-seneca?variant=48640876...
is more expensive than Pro Display XDR with nanotexture and the 1k stand
Adam Savage posted a video a couple of weeks ago, where he discusses this keyboard with Ryan Norbauer. That thing is overengineered to the point I'd argue it actually becomes some sort of artistic statement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FEv1qw4_w
At least Norbauer immediately states that it's "probably the world's most insanely irrationally hyperengineered keyboard" and later on continues that "nobody needs a 3000 dollar keyboard."
It's clear from that it's a sincere hyper-obsession, shared by others within a small community. I can respect that more than just making something expensive for the sake of appealing to ultra-rich who wish to flaunt their wealth.
Overpriced to the point that it becomes an artistic statement: “The buyer fell for it again”
I really like my new macbook keyboard but hate apple. There's something cool about buying from small designers that make something you can't get anywhere else, not because it's rare, but executed in a way that makes no business sense at scale. Find your niche.
Seems like the Rolex of keyboards.
People gush over how it's built as if it actually improves the function of it.
I love it. Great artists ship and they are making what they want and lucky enough to have others that appreciate it and buy.
IMO the coolest thing about this is that it all fits in a keyboard. It would be awesome if this came bundled with smart glasses, so I could walk into a coffee shop with just keyboard and glasses, and get work done without having to hunch over my laptop. Of course the present offering is lacking in computing power (and any form of display)
Holy smokes, they actually fixed my personal pet peeve of this entire product line: it has an internal M.2 slot. The performance of pretty much any SD card for a desktop workload is poor to say the least, and letting a USB boot device dangle out kind of defeats the purpose of the form factor. But this new model has actual fast internal storage!
P.S. HN mods, consider fixing the submission name. It’s 500+, not 500, and that completely changes the meaning of the article.
> Holy smokes, they actually fixed my personal pet peeve of this entire product line: it has an internal M.2 slot.
What's odd is that the original 500 already had an unpopulated M.2 slot, so they considered it a year ago but backed out for whatever reason.
According to Jeff Geerling's video, the main PCB in the 500+ is identical to the 500, same revision and all. Presumably they planned both the 500 and 500+ at the same time so they designed a single PCB that could accommodate both, and then only populated the m.2 parts when building a 500+.
So I don't think they "backed out" rather just didn't have the 500+ ready to launch yet.
I don't think they backed out. It seems clear that they always have intended to offer these exact configurations, since they are using the same board.
Even the connection to the new keyboard was already present on the 500 even though it used another connector than the 500+
Looks amazing.
Keyboards that put various control keys down the rightmost edge of the keyboard -- these drive me insane.
Fitt's Law and me with keyboards.
I could just remap the keys, or cover that edge of the keyboard somehow.
Which would also be an homage to the classic computers that we all grew up with: covering that Reset Key on the Apple ][ with a cassette tape case.
(fancy example https://www.callapple.org/vintage-apple-computers/apple-ii/h... )
So many comments are very negative here. I'm currently using a Pi 4 as my home desktop computer and I will probably replace it with a Pi 500+. I really want to avoid a pre-installed Windows, want my computer to be 100% silent, low energy, and I fancy the computer-is-in-keyboard feel. Sure, I might get a mini PC for a bit cheaper but I like to support Raspberry Pi. The products are easy to get into, have great and lasting software support, and a large community behind it.
We are going to see a $1,000 Raspberry pi in the next decade, won't we?
Their original premise, a super low cost linux system for hardware exploration, is constantly being undermined by their price, imo. For most projects, as long as you don’t need GPIOs or super low power consumption, you should probably use an old mini pc that’s destined for scrap and cost less.
Is it really? If you want super low cost, they have the zero w2, the rpi2, the rpi3, etc. I feel they've already mostly perfected the products for that purpose. But of course they don't want to just 'stop building', so now they're moving up to more premium options. I feel there's nothing wrong with this. If you want the low cost exploration, stick with the things they designed forever ago, which fit that purpose.
I've been around long enough to find it absolutely astonishing, that you can now fit a computer with 16gb of ram, 265gb of storage and a quad core processor, with no cooling, inside a keyboard.
It is astonishing! It's especially impressive when you realize that the motherboard itself is so small that most of the keyboard interior is basically empty space [0].
[0]: https://assets.raspberrypi.com/static/25912715ba437c32c56757...
That's incredible!
For a comparison, the "similar" computer from 2006 [0] had a maximum configuration of 4xCPU @ 1 GHz and 8GB of RAM. It weighed 60 lb (27 kg) and looked like this:
https://imgur.com/fc7BWTc
But Raspberry Pi 500+ has already 2.4GHz quad-core ARM64 CPU and 16GB RAM.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_Tezro
All the marketing for this advertises it as a desktop computer. What's the appeal of this compared to a cheaper and more powerful N150 NUC, or a used mini PC if it's for personal use where you just need one?
A N150 has about twice the CPU performance, hardware video decoding that isn't crippled, and much more software built for its architecture among other things.
And the N150 had mainline linux support from day one, whereas I'm not sure if there's proper support for pi5-family devices in a released mainline kernel even now, two years after the launch.
They used to do an good-to-adequate job of linux support, but nowadays they seem rubbish at it. Nobody wants to be stuck on a downstream kernel full of cobbled-together device support that's too poorly-written to upstream.
It can be used as a usb gadget device, i am not aware of any SFF x86 PC that has such a chip.
The appeal is the form factor, really. A decent amount of compute (not amazing, but decent) built into a decent mechanical keyboard (jury's out, but I'll believe the sales pitch until shown otherwise) is unusual.
Right, this thing is priced from an earlier (pre-BeeLink) era. There’s just so much more you can get for $200 nowadays, right off Amazon.
It is fundamentally just a novelty product at this point.
It requires a separate keyboard, which means more space usage and more cables. And not sure, but I think the N150 has a fan, so more noise.
N150 machines come with or without fans, the chip is cool enough to run passively with a decent heatsink.
e.g. https://www.minix.com.hk/products/minix-z150-0db-fanless-min...
The ones with fans tend to be cheaper and have better sustained performance though.
Looks like the whole tiny case is the heatsink, I like it.
Software support could be one if N150 wasnt x86 from intel.
The ultimate I want it, I don't need it. What would I possibly use this for I can't already do? No clue. But there's a fire of desire burning in me - for this thing! I am on a no-buying streak due to the economy. But in another universe I would've already purchased this.
Daily driving with a Pi was very very close to possible for me, back in 2020 when I last tried it, but unfortunately a Pi 4 just didn’t have enough oomph to handle bigger web apps like outlook webmail, Google’s productivity suite, or a few other tools I needed for my job.
How does the Pi 5 family compare, five years on?
In my experience, its a lot better than the Pi 4 was at fitting this niche, but unless you really need ARM or Pi GPIO or some other specific feature you're better off just using an N150 based mini pc.
Its dimensions are 312mm × 123.06mm × 35.76mm, so volumetrically it's 107.8% of a generic 14 inch laptop I'm currently typing on. The power button is the top right key on the keyboard, right next to the F12 / Delete key.
Why are Rpis still bothering with SD cards? Who did not get their pi card corrupted while used as a server?
Second paragraph in the article:
"Raspberry Pi 500+ boasts ... an internal M.2 socket pre-fitted with a 256GB Raspberry Pi SSD"
so I'm not sure what your point about SD cards is in this case.
I did not!* Through many Pis serving many years and experiencing many power outages.
But I'm using CanaKit power supplies (which supply 5.1 volts, Rpis are notoriously flaky if the voltage dips just a little below 5v) and ATP industrial automotive-grade flash cards (not a big premium in absolute terms, I think 32 gig cards are $13 on Digikey).
* Okay okay, before I switched to those accessories I did have problems.
It has a built-in 256GB SSD
The SD card is a very easy common and well documented way for new users to image the device.
Yeah, worst thing about it. You can’t really push it to do a lot of tasks because sd cards are so unreliable, compared to nvme for example.
This has an nvme with the OS pre-installed.
Are sd cards still corrupting all the time in rpi servers even with high-quality SLC sd cards, or just with cheap consumer sd cards?
Most likely cheap or fake SD cards. I've been running a Raspberry Pi camera (recording) to a SanDisk SD card for years and it's still going strong.
I put an NVMe SSD in a USB3 enclosure and boot my Pi 4 from that, just to be safe. But I've never actually experienced Pi SD card corruption. I don't know whether it's because I choose good power supplies, good cards, or both.
Is it possible yet to Miracast from the Pi to a smart TV? I like the form factor, but I'd love to only be tethered to power and not HDMI.
I'm confused by the use case for this. The keyboard gets a cable running to a monitor. Might need a power cable as well but let's assume usbc covers both.
An alternative is a raspberry pi on the vesa mount, or attached to the monitor arm. The cable to a keyboard is now optional, wireless USB being much easier than wireless displayport.
Keyboard can now be flat too.
When is this a good idea?
The marketing blurb that's linked makes it quite clear that this targets retro hobbyists, who want a modern take on the C64. It's not really meant to be a practical design.
It still is a more practical design than a flat keyboard, which only masochists would use willingly.
> wireless USB being much easier than wireless displayport
I'm sure you meant bluetooth but just so we're all clear: Wireless USB isn't easy at all. Hardware availability for it is very limited and you'll need adapters on both ends. Frankly there's more hardware to wirelessly transfer HDMI than USB.
So if they had made one change, it would be fantastic as a throw-in-the-backpack computer.
That change would be to support display port alt-mode on a USB-C port, rather than only having mini-HDMI. If they'd done that, you could plug AR glasses like the XReal One straight into it, and not need a separate screen. Your entire compute becomes a keyboard+power, glasses, and wireless mouse. That would be really nice: two cables, total, one for power to the pi and one from the pi to the glasses.
As it is, you need an hdmi to usb-c converter, which also needs to be powered, another couple of cables, and more of a setup faff each time. It sounds minor, but it's a missed opportunity. For me it turns it from "take my money" to "eh... I can do better."
I thought these kinds of ~affordable computers in keyboards were obviously aimed at families/young users plugging into an existing TV in the living room, like a modern take on the C64.
I've been using keyboards since ... well since they replaced electric typewriters which in turn replaced my Royal mechanical typewriter. I never much thought about keyboards until the keyboard on my Lenovo Ideapad. I thought that was the best keyboard ever.
Until I laid out $120 for a mechanical keyboard (a Nuphy Air75). I just love it.
And here is a mechanical keyboard with a computer inside (actually two; one just to program the keyboard) that isn't that much more than I paid for my Nuphy. I already own three rpi that I don't use. But the itch to buy one of these is attacking me. Maybe I'll get some AI glasses...
$200 and still micro HDMI? No, thanks.
Who is this product for? I've abandoned RPi after the rise of sub $200-PCs on Amazon, which usually come with power supply, on/off buttons, dual full size HDMIs, SSDs etc etc.
That's fine if you want a PC which is totally orthogonal to what the Pi is originally for.
> When we’re designing new Raspberry Pi products, we naturally look back to the computers of our childhoods: the tastefully beige BBC Micro, the Sinclair Spectrum with its rubber keyboard, the Commodore 64 “breadbin”, or the grandfather of them all, the Apple II.
Now someone needs to make the keycaps with the right themes - black with function keys for the BBC, QL-looking for the Spectrum, shades of brown for the 64, and brown with "BELL" on the G for the Apple II.
Although for many years people have just been putting Pis inside actual home computer cases. In the BBC case, as a (software programmable) Second Processor connected over the Tube.
* https://youtube.com/watch?v=mP7fiaync5E
> QL-looking for the Spectrum
I was going to object, but probably right to just skip the horror of the true Spectrum keyboard.
Maybe they meant the ZX Spectrum II, known to some as “The Toaster” for some reason.
Rubber keyboard, I heard it referred to as dead-flesh.
It put me off computing for a few years, that and all the bloody modes for different keywords.
You are mixing up several different computers here.
> Maybe they meant the ZX Spectrum II
No. There was never never a "Spectrum II".
The second model after the original 16K and 48K was the ZX Spectrum Plus, in a keyboard derived from the 1984 Sinclair QL design.
http://www.retro8bitcomputers.co.uk/Sinclair/ZXSpectrumPlus
Then the 3rd model was the ZX Spectrum 128, in the same keyboard, but with more ports and a large external heatsink.
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/2584/sinclair-zx-spe...
> known to some as “The Toaster” for some reason.
Nope. The 128 was known as the "toastrack" for the heatsink.
> Rubber keyboard, I heard it referred to as dead-flesh.
Not since the Plus model, no.
After the 128, Amstrad bought the brand. It launched the ZX Spectrum +2 and +3.
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/3648/Sinclair-ZX-Spe...
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/509/Sinclair-ZX-Spec...
Those are the closest to the nonexistent model number "II" but they do not have the QL-derived keyboard.
An improvement over Pi 500 in many ways, but adding keys to the right of heavily-used (r) Shift / Enter / Backspace would make it much harder to find these keys without looking at the keyboard.
The previous version also had half-height arrows that had some negative space ("not keys") above them, and so it was easier to position the fingers over the arrows just by feel; this one makes it harder.
I'd hope the next generation returns to the previous keyboard layout (which was almost perfect for me.)
For 200€, you can get yourself an old Thinkpad, flash it with some coreboot variation, install a GNU/Linux distribution and in process you will learn more things and it is not an RGB keyboard; it is really an "all-in-one PC".
"For that price, you can just use an old laptop" has been true ever since the OG Raspberry Pi showed up ~13 years ago.
And that's great, and stuff, if what a person wants is the most compute they can get for the fewest dollars possible.
But when someone instead wants a quite small computer that is actually friendly to hardware tinkering, and they want to buy it new, then a used Thinkpad will not scratch that itch -- but a new Raspberry Pi will.
(It's a bad comparison. It always has been a bad comparison.)
"It just works", this idea is not.
The power of the Pi comes from the standardized 40 pin GPIO for hooking other devices up to.
This really comes down to a matter of preferences, but I've never used the GPIO either. The reason is that a microcontroller board makes a much better GPIO for my use. Then I can unplug it and put it away when I'm done, use it with any PC -- desktop or laptop -- give it away, and carry it into the room where my soldering station is. A microcontroller also opens up the whole world of stand-alone gadgets.
Naturally software / firmware support is an issue. If the stuff you want to do is easy to code on your preferred platform, that's a reason to keep using it.
I've owned 7, no, 8 of them so far. One is running in my "server room" right now, as my Pi-Hole.
I have never ever connected anything to the GPIO.
I connect various devices over I2C and SPI bus for evaluation.
Yes, except the Pi is a throwback to the keyboard as entire computers:
- Commodore Vic 64 - Atari ST
Also, this was popular for kids during the pandemic.
I'd consider these pretty viable for kids setup with an apple ii emulator to start.
The 500+ is nearly my dream PC. While I would have preferred a slightly different keyboard layout, it's really nice to be able to carry your PC around and have a nice desktop Keyboard.
clicky switches are a crime
This is impressive but really odd.
Isn't the entire point of Raspberry Pi to not be premium with a nice form factor, etc.
And why would I use a mechanical keyboard to drive the type of workload I'd be doing on a Pi.
Seems like they've taken super opposite and incompatible parts of PC use-cases and combined them in a really odd way.
Great industrial design. Which again isn't something I'd want from a Pi. But at the same time we all appreciate.
I kind of like it but do find it baffling.
A nice nod to the past, but my problem with the Raspberry Pi series has always been that the power brick has been immense. One thing that would be cool is if there were one like this with an integrated power-supply and an internal reel for the power cable. As it is, the power bricks are always the largest part of these devices.
What's the point of this? Most of us here on HN probably already own good to god tier mechanical keyboards. If I really wanted a Pi (I don't), I would get a VESA mount for it. But you have to keep it mind that Pi's can't even play 4k videos at 60fps reliably and are kind of a terrible choice for general desktop use against N100 (or later) mini-PCs, or even used thin clients like ThinkCenters with laptop CPUs that are far more capable.
Maybe it can be an advanced keyboard that does more than just a keyboard. Like maybe it calls an LLM and types shit for you, and you plug it into something else as a USB device, and implement USB 1.0 by bit-banging the GPIO or some shit
I don't own a mechanical keyboard but it's fun because you could upcycle it at end of life to a cool keyboard.
Since the original 500 was released, I don't think there is any other major manufacturer that followed, even the Chinese mini PC makers. It feels like nobody really wants this product other than maybe some Raspberry Pi users? If this form factor makes sense, you would expect other people to build similar devices, like what happened after Steam Deck.
Looks quite alright and as someone from the 8 bits generation I get the idea, added to my possible gadgets list.
I keep waiting and waiting for a revival of beige plastic in the tech industry. This would be a perfect candidate.
https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chas...
This seems like an interesting product for tinkerers and hobbyists, or possibly for educational purposes (e.g. Linux computer for university students to learn on). I find it hard to see how this can replace a more typical small desktop computer though.
What sort of things are most people doing on their desktop computer that needs more power or RAM though? I can't imagine.
You can still buy woefully underpowered laptops with hopeless resolutions and with 4GB of RAM running Windows 11, and that is a horrible desktop experience. At least with this it is a usable desktop machine, where the normal bottleneck was IO speed.
This would be so much better to use in schools than Macs, iPads or crappy Windows PCs.
I hope many schools see this and will consider it.
For schools in particular, the promise to keep making them until at least January 2035 is a big boon for replacing broken ones. Even if it'll likely be replaced with something better long before then.
Oh man! It has a REAL keyboard! TAKE MY MONEY!
For those who don't read through the specs, it uses Gateron KS-33 low-profile 'blue' switches (though the plastic on the Pi 500+ switches is grey, not blue).
In my testing, the keyboard was between 55-60 dBa from about a foot away. Not quiet, but so much better to type on than the Pi 400/500's chicklet keyboard that came before.
It's a mid-tier mechanical keyboard with low-end desktop performance. So it's not going to move the needle if you're satisfied with an N150 mini PC and a cheap keyboard. But if you were already thinking of buying a Pi, or you like the keyboard-computer aesthetic, this is now the top-end for that (especially considering the 16 GB of RAM).
[dead]
Not a real keyboard until it has at least 103 keys.
Is it ... is it worth buying for the keyboard alone?
If it's just the keyboard appearance itself piquing your interest, you might check out the Keychron K3 (the brand has apparently grown a lot since I was last shopping around for keyboards, so it looks like they have a "K", "K Pro", and "K QMK" as well as several other "[Insert Letter Here]" lines of models now... back then all they had were K keyboards).
To clarify, this is to say I'm looking on their website right now and seeing at least five variants of "K3" alone.
It's hard to tell when all the promotional photos are showing either a partial shot or an aggressive angle, but it looks so much like my K3 that I actually thought they were going to say they collaborated with Keychron on the design.
Yep I second this. I have a K1 (I think) with blue switches. The switches are the most important choice - since that controls the entire feel of using the keyboard. When I first got mine, I got red switches. But red switches don’t give you any tactile feedback when it passes the threshold to be considered “pressed”. I swapped to blues and I love them. Very satisfyingly clicky. They’re a bit loud though. Swapping switches is easy - I think the replacement set of blues just set me back $20 or something.
If there are any computer shops you can go in person to try them out, I highly recommend it. They make a lot of different switches and the feel is a very tactile, personal thing. (Though I think I’d also be happy with yellow or brown switches after some time with them!)
Definitely not.
Though it would be a decent standalone keyboard if they updated the 'Pi Keyboard' design (one of their oldest products) with this top case, and with a USB 3 hub integrated into it. Price would have to be in the sub-$100 range to be interesting, though.
Why they keep raising prices? They are going for laptop prices with this pace
Nice Tenacious D quote
I wish you were there.
What's the point of this? Where does it fit, who is it aimed at apart from Explaining Computers and good old Jeff Geerling (hiya Jeff!).
Maybe if it has been designed into a retro style case or something?
As it stands it's very hard to see who would want this.
Since the original 500's release I have never seen a single forum post (in generic tech discussions) about the product.
In other words, for me who spends lots of timing reading/watching discussions/reviews of gadgets, this never came up once, anecdotally.
I don't think you are alone in your confusion.
One has been sitting in my hallway closet running a pretty complex HA setup. It has been so rock solid that I more or less forgot about it.
This one has been on my radar as a first computer for my son for a while - just lock out the wifi and set it up with a "boot to basic" image maybe?
Certainly something which could grow to support some Arduino work.
EDIT: Admittedly this would be a no brainer if there was an off-the-shelf Atari ST style thing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST purely for the sheer mass providing some protection.
Kids don't want "boot to basic". Old fogey's like me brought up on Commodore 64 look back on boot to basic like the good old days, but "boot to basic" is long gone and no-one is interested in that, except conceptually old people think it makes kids learn because that's what made them learn, but back in the old days you tolerated boot to basic in a world in which the only computer for 3 square miles was the BBC micro sitting in front of you.
Nice I make good money repairing high end cameras by replacing micro HDMI ports. I hope it becomes standard lol.
STILL no full size HDMI port? Did they let Officer Mayonnaise spec the port on this one?
Might be good value for the keyboard alone but too bad they couldn't put anything better than the 7 year old A76 CPU in there. I understand the reasoning, the ecosystem consistency, I know that the price limits how cutting edge the internals can be, but it's still a pity, for my interest at least.
Where's the plus sign in the original title? The current one (with "Raspberry Pi 500") does not make any sense.
Depending on what you want to experiment with, a Mac Mini might be far more cost-productive for most people wanting to play with software and servers.
A large part of the original Ethos of the Raspberry Pi foundation is to bring back some of the technology fascination and allure that children in 1980's Britain experienced with the BBC Micro and Acorn computers (which ultimately led to today's ARM).
We can assume the 500 is meant more as a nostalgia 'one-computer-for-every-child' design more so than a powerful work house for developers.
yes, but without us, who will teach these children to piss and moan about everything!?
this device would make a very practical workstation for developing Raspbery Pi software for little embedded RPi projects.
Sure, where can I get a new one at comparable Pi prices?
If you're buying Raspberry Pi's, either the form factor or power requirements really worked for you, such as if you're in robotics, IoT sensors, or hardware-adjacent stuff, or you knew you were spending a little bit extra for the hobby space.
That includes all the people setting up home labs for their own learning. An M1 is about $250 refurbished under Amazon's protection program. If you intend to use this as a hybrid device, which many frugal people do, then you'll also likely be using this as a desktop device connected to a monitor. The cost of electricity will rival your purchase in a year.
If you're gonna buy a throwaway computer for a child to experiment with, IMO a used Mac Mini delivers unbelievable price efficiency as a general-purpose computer. Use it as a server, use it for programming, use it for homework.
If you are going down this path, an N150 machine is cheaper, more flexible (Windows), more readily available, brand new, and performant enough for all the above use-cases. An old Mac Mini makes no sense to me.
I asked for a new one, and I am not going to pay such prices for 2nd hand stuff, assuming they exist at all, cheapest is 320 € on Amazon Germany.
The 20 dollar minicomputer has now become the 200 dollar rgb keyboard. Still, I’ve tried and using a raspberry pi as a desktop computer but everything is so impractical. Maybe the pi 5 is better, but I do not believe it’ll ever replace normal desktop computers. Raspberry Pi’s started as a small board which you can even run Linux on, with low power consumption, so toucan run it day round for services like home assistant. In my opinion, it should stay that way.
The 20 dollar minicomputer has not become the 200 dollar rgb keyboard. You can still get a ~20 dollar Raspberry Pi minicomputer that runs Linux and has low power consumption: The Pi Zero 2. They expanded their range of products on the top, both performance and price wise, but boards on the other end of the range are still on offer.
By the inflation calculator that's dead on the money though: https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1960?amount=1
> $1 in 1960 is worth $10.95 today
$20 * 10 = $200
The first Raspberry Pi was not released in 1960.
Huh I read minicomputer and assumed we were talking about the first home computers, which that was about their epoch. (TBF I don't think any were ever $20 so that's on me).
Although if you go from the Pi 1 in 2012 at $35 at launch, it would be about $50 today.