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Is that really true? I thought the pitch was always, pretty much in order: • GPIO for hacking - basically an Arduino but a real computer • Low power use (prac

Is that really true? I thought the pitch was always, pretty much in order: • GPIO for hacking - basically an Arduino but a real computer • Low power use (practical to run from a battery for some purposes) • Tiny form-factor Price seemed to be more of an "it doesn't matter that much if you break it while hacking with it" factor than a reason-to-buy.

jgalt212 2y ago
It's become a dual-use device, hence the obligatory comparisons.
p_ing 2y ago
"Low cost" is/was part of their mission. https://www.raspberrypi.org/files/about/RaspberryPiFoundationStrategy2016-18.pdf https://www.raspberrypi.org/files/about/RaspberryPiFoundatio...
- deleted 2y ago
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- dcminter 2y ago
  That's very interesting. Incidentally that slide deck mentions the pi zero - which is still very cheap (the 2w is about $20 where I live), so I guess they're still honouring that even if their fancy one is pricy-ish. Edit: I also found this article from before the original pi release https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/miniature-pc-packs-a-big-punch/ https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/miniature-pc-packs-a-big-pun... The comments in that thread are very focused on the price point (many doubting it could hit $25, which it actually did reach) so I stand corrected; it was clearly part of both the marketing and the attraction.
v9v 2y ago
I think most people buying RPis for the GPIO would be better served by a small microcontroller devboard like the Arduino Uno acting as the intermediary between the computer and the wires. This way if anything goes wrong (overvoltage, short) then the Arduino takes the impact and is much cheaper to replace.
swiftcoder 2y ago
I think the problem with your bullet points is that something like an ESP32 beats a Pi at all of these criteria (as well as on cost), and can be wired/wirelessly tethered to whatever PC you have handy if you actually need a bunch of compute. With the exception of the Zero, Pi has always been playing in the realm of "this is a real computer, except cheaper". And that's a pretty crowded space these days.
theshrike79 2y ago
All of these are true (even more so) for the Pi Zero. Why would someone buy a Pi5 when they can get more power for the same price?

jgalt212 2y ago

It's become a dual-use device, hence the obligatory comparisons.

p_ing 2y ago

"Low cost" is/was part of their mission. https://www.raspberrypi.org/files/about/RaspberryPiFoundationStrategy2016-18.pdf https://www.raspberrypi.org/files/about/RaspberryPiFoundatio...

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
dcminter 2y ago
That's very interesting. Incidentally that slide deck mentions the pi zero - which is still very cheap (the 2w is about $20 where I live), so I guess they're still honouring that even if their fancy one is pricy-ish. Edit: I also found this article from before the original pi release https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/miniature-pc-packs-a-big-punch/ https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/miniature-pc-packs-a-big-pun... The comments in that thread are very focused on the price point (many doubting it could hit $25, which it actually did reach) so I stand corrected; it was clearly part of both the marketing and the attraction.

v9v 2y ago

I think most people buying RPis for the GPIO would be better served by a small microcontroller devboard like the Arduino Uno acting as the intermediary between the computer and the wires. This way if anything goes wrong (overvoltage, short) then the Arduino takes the impact and is much cheaper to replace.

swiftcoder 2y ago

I think the problem with your bullet points is that something like an ESP32 beats a Pi at all of these criteria (as well as on cost), and can be wired/wirelessly tethered to whatever PC you have handy if you actually need a bunch of compute. With the exception of the Zero, Pi has always been playing in the realm of "this is a real computer, except cheaper". And that's a pretty crowded space these days.

theshrike79 2y ago

All of these are true (even more so) for the Pi Zero. Why would someone buy a Pi5 when they can get more power for the same price?