14 ms·

Raspberry Pi 500+

421 points by sohkamyung 1y ago

ndxndn 1y 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.
rbanffy 1y 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.
- shellac 1y ago
  > QL-looking for the Spectrum I was going to object, but probably right to just skip the horror of the true Spectrum keyboard.
  - zeristor 1y ago
    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.
    - lproven 1y ago
      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 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-spectrum-128/ 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-Spectrum-2/ https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/3648/Sinclair-ZX-Spe... https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/509/Sinclair-ZX-Spectrum-3/ 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.
- JdeBP 1y 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. * https://youtube.com/watch?v=mP7fiaync5E https://youtube.com/watch?v=mP7fiaync5E
  - Findecanor 1y ago
    Some newly made replacement cases for the Amiga have even incorporated screw mounts for Raspberry Pi.
OhMeadhbh 1y ago
Oh man! It has a REAL keyboard! TAKE MY MONEY!
- geerlingguy 1y 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).
  - TacticalCoder 1y ago
    [dead]
- Kim_Bruning 1y ago
  Is it ... is it worth buying for the keyboard alone?
  - geerlingguy 1y 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.
  - boneitis 1y 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.
amluto 1y 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.
- jsheard 1y 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.
  - ndxndn 1y 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+
  - dave78 1y 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.
    - geerlingguy 1y ago
      Note that the mechanical keyboard is probably one of the major reasons the Pi 500+ took a lot longer to release than the regular 500. According to an interview on the Pi blog[1], it was "years", with prototypes being built through 2023. I know the design lifecycle for a product like this is in the 3-5 year range, and adding on a custom mechanical keyboard in a mass-market product like this is a tall order. Honestly I'm not put off by the $200 price tag. If you use one in person (like at a Micro Center here in the US), you'll feel it's a decent midrange mechanical keyboard. It won't compete on the high end (IMO $200+), but to strap that onto a decent low-end PC in a fanless design isn't cheap, even at the scales Raspberry Pi operates. They have some margin, for sure, but that's also how they turn profit, which is especially useful since then went public. At least they're still putting out products like this, that don't really have any industrial/commercial appeal, compared to specialized compute modules for individual customers[2]. [1] https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-raspberry-pi-500-plus/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-r... [2] https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/09/23/raspberry-pi-cm0-castellated-module-features-raspberry-pi-rp3a0-system-in-package/ https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/09/23/raspberry-pi-cm0-cas...
HelloUsername 1y ago
Nice Tenacious D quote
- stavros 1y ago
  I wish you were there.
geerlingguy 1y ago
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 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-acceleration-on-pi-500-15-line-patch https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/full-egpu-acceleratio...
- soneil 1y ago
  > 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 ..)
  - lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 1y ago
    This made me do some research and I'd say it appears so. https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-500-and-raspberry-pi-monitor-on-sale-now/ 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.
    - deater 1y 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.
chrismorgan 1y 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.
- geerlingguy 1y 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!
  - musicale 1y ago
    I'd prefer more honest marketing: - ARM system that fits inside a decent compact keyboard - acceptable performance for basic computing tasks - mostly as usable as a mini PC running Linux - 5-10 years of software support - easy access to GPIO pins etc.
- TiredOfLife 1y ago
  > screens are more expensive than keyboards This keyboard https://www.norbauer.co/products/the-seneca?variant=48640876151092 https://www.norbauer.co/products/the-seneca?variant=48640876... is more expensive than Pro Display XDR with nanotexture and the 1k stand
  - pdpi 1y 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FEv1qw4_w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FEv1qw4_w
close04 1y 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.
wewewedxfgdf 1y 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.
- rs186 1y 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.
  - jacquesm 1y 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.
    - rs186 1y ago
      But I assume that's not the pi 500? I mean, this series has/is a keyboard, and if you are just running it as a server, you save some money by buying a regular version
      - jacquesm 1y ago
        Yes, a Pi 500.
- XorNot 1y 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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST purely for the sheer mass providing some protection.
JonChesterfield 1y 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?
- indigo945 1y 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.
  - lvturner 1y ago
    It gives me somewhat more Amiga A500 and A500+ vibes... ;) I see it as a spiritual successor to my much loved childhood Amiga A500 which partially spurred my life long love of computing. The GPU pins on the back are nice, as is the fact that all IO is cleanly at the back of the device. That being said, my only real desk is almost entirely consumed by workstation/gaming PC and it's associate monitors that ironically this more convenient form-factor is less convenient for my use cases. I have a bunch of Pi4s at home they work well as I can power them over PoE, don't spit out too much heat, have a well supported stable OS and are great for running small personal projects and workloads. (Home assistant, DNS, a few other docker containers that power things internal to my network) - sure a NUC would be more powerful, but then I have to find a way to route power in to it, and I'm running out of wall sockets!!
  - JonChesterfield 1y ago
    I think this is a wrist geometry thing. A macbook dock that lifted the back, putting the keyboard on a slant, did serious damage to my wrists over the period of a year or so. That was the better part of a decade ago. They've slowly partially healed since changing to a keyboard parallel to the desk surface. There are climbing moves I still cannot do because of it. Ymmv.
thomassmith65 1y ago
I keep waiting and waiting for a revival of beige plastic in the tech industry. This would be a perfect candidate.
- sosborn 1y ago
  https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/flp02/ https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chas...
threatofrain 1y 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_caetano 1y 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.
  - fsckboy 1y 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.
  - threatofrain 1y ago
    I was also thinking for children and education, since the all-in-one setup ditches the strengths of the RPi, such as form factor and power draw.
- pjmlp 1y ago
  Sure, where can I get a new one at comparable Pi prices?
  - threatofrain 1y 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.
kotaKat 1y ago
STILL no full size HDMI port? Did they let Officer Mayonnaise spec the port on this one?
LiamPowell 1y ago
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.
- omnimus 1y ago
  Software support could be one if N150 wasnt x86 from intel.
- hyperbovine 1y 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.
  - binary132 1y ago
    It is fundamentally just a novelty product at this point.
  - mrandish 1y ago
    I hadn't looked lately but you're right. Intel N150 @3.6Ghz mini-PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB M.2 SSD, 3 USB 3.2 ports (10gbps) and dual 2.5 Gbps Ethernet all for $199 delivered tomorrow. https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Lake-N100-Mini-Computer-Supports-Home-Server/dp/B0C339KVH9 https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Lake-N100-Mini-Computer-Suppo....
- regularfry 1y 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.
- boredhedgehog 1y 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.
rs186 1y ago
Where's the plus sign in the original title? The current one (with "Raspberry Pi 500") does not make any sense.
glimshe 1y 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_64738 1y ago
  That's fine if you want a PC which is totally orthogonal to what the Pi is originally for.
  - glimshe 1y ago
    The 500+ doesn't deliver on the original RPi scenarios either.
- ed_mercer 1y ago
  I have seen this comment a few times, why do people hate micro hdmi?
  - mrheosuper 1y ago
    because it's not popular and less durable. I can forgive the use of micro hdmi on limited size product. But this computer 100% has enough space for full size hdmi.
  - Blahagun 1y ago
    Micro HDMI is basically a non working connector. It baffles me how it was even approved. One of the requirements of a connector is to work. Micro HDMI doesn't work. Sure, it might look like it's working (if you take a picture of a connected device) but in practice it doesn't work. Just a slight touch and you're losing signal. Immediately one might think that their connector, cable or device are broken. And this is a very valid guess. But the connector is not broken by accident, it was broken by design. A consumer connector should not require an additional exoskeleton to work. It means it's broken by design if it does.
- Findecanor 1y ago
rs186 1y 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.
pjmlp 1y ago
Looks quite alright and as someone from the 8 bits generation I get the idea, added to my possible gadgets list.
tiniuclx 1y ago
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.
- 72deluxe 1y 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.
ceayo 1y 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.
- XorNot 1y ago
  By the inflation calculator that's dead on the money though: https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1960?amount=1 https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1960?amount=1 > $1 in 1960 is worth $10.95 today $20 * 10 = $200
  - LiamPowell 1y ago
    The first Raspberry Pi was not released in 1960.
    - XorNot 1y ago
      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.
      - duskwuff 1y ago
        > I read minicomputer and assumed we were talking about the first home computers, which that was about their epoch. The minicomputers of the 1960s were only "mini" compared to earlier mainframes; they were still far too large and expensive for home users to even consider. Home computers didn't really come about until the late 1970s.
  - Ekaros 1y ago
    I thought that computers were supposed to get cheaper over time?
birdalbrocum 1y 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".
- j45 1y 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.
- sys_64738 1y ago
  The power of the Pi comes from the standardized 40 pin GPIO for hooking other devices up to.
  - lproven 1y 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_64738 1y ago
      I connect various devices over I2C and SPI bus for evaluation.
    - bsoles 1y ago
      A lot of hardware startups/projects use Raspberry Pis. You program in a real Linux environment and still have access to I2C, SPI, and serial ports, which lets you talk to all kinds of chips out there.
      - lproven 1y ago
        I am aware. But I don't program, I have no interest in hardware hackery like this, and one of the things I most like about the Pi range is that I can run OSes that are not Linux. I think two of my Pis currently run RISC OS. I could also run NetBSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Plan 9, Windows IoT, or Inferno. I do not know of any other SBC with so many options. I am not saying these things are not valid, but they are not unique selling points -- other Pi-style SBCs offer them too. However, the Pi has other merits that other SBCs don't: price, range of OSes, long-term OS support, a vast range of special-purpose distros for everything from server to dedicated special-purpose client stuff.
fatihkocnet 1y ago
Why they keep raising prices? They are going for laptop prices with this pace
BoredPositron 1y ago
Nice I make good money repairing high end cameras by replacing micro HDMI ports. I hope it becomes standard lol.
bluelightning2k 1y 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.
florianist 1y ago
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.
- egorfine 1y ago
  PRi 5 is miles faster than 4. So you'll be happy once you upgrade.
- Narishma 1y ago
  I've noticed Raspberry Pi posts here always attract tons of negative comments, regardless of what the article is about.
  - kllrnohj 1y ago
    I think that's a combination of things: 1) The company "sold out". That is, in times of limited supply they prioritized fulfilling large compute module orders instead of the hobbyist market that initially supported them. To be fair if I was running that company I'd have done the exact same thing, it's obviously the right financial choice. Just, you know, it'll sting for the market that was shunned. 2) They got expensive. Especially for the Pi 4 which was still dreadfully slow. That slowness was excusable at $25. Not great but okay at $35. But when suddenly it was near enough to $100+ by the time you got all the required "accessories"? Or like the Pi 5 16gb is $132 like what on earth. 3) They got 'flaky'. It used to be the pi was the rock-solid option in the space. But now they keep making weird low-reliability decisions. Like the Pi 5 "expects" a rather uniquely high amp USB-C charger. 5A @ 5V is not a common USB-C charger feature. So whatever you happen to grab is probably not sufficient, and you'll have those annoying low power warnings randomly. They chose to have dual 4k HDMI ports and went with micro-HDMI. Which is a flaky connector you probably don't have cables for (and also dual 4K? on a pi?). They kept using microSD cards. The CPU power draw increased significantly, which for the performance delta is more than justified, except it still ships without any cooling.
apexalpha 1y 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_ire 1y 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.
maratc 1y 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.)
- Findecanor 1y ago
  > 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. I'd think that people who prefer mechanical keyboards already have the muscle memory so that that isn't a problem. Personally, I depend on Delete and Home/End/Page Up/Page Down for my text/code editing and find any keyboard without them to be deficient.
  - maratc 1y ago
    > people who prefer mechanical keyboards already have the muscle memory The problem with that is that every mechanical keyboard is different, so that muscle memory needs a refresh with each new keyboard. More importantly, people who are used to Pi 400 or Pi 500 (non-plus) have a different muscle memory. > I depend on Delete and Home/End/Page Up/Page Down For me, Fn-⌫, Fn-←, Fn-→, Fn-↑ and Fn-↓, respectively, do the job. On my keyboard, Fn is the button in the lower left corner, so it's easy to find by feel, ⌫ is in top right corner so it's easy to find by feel, and the negative space above half-height arrows makes it easy to find the arrows too.
JdeBP 1y ago
Earliest post: * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370021 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370021 Other duplicates: * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45375782 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45375782 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372608 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372608 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372319 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372319 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370260 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370260 And yes, the plus sign was omitted in all of them. (-:
KolmogorovComp 1y ago
Why are Rpis still bothering with SD cards? Who did not get their pi card corrupted while used as a server?
- dave78 1y 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.
- kelipso 1y 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.
  - scoopdewoop 1y ago
    This has an nvme with the OS pre-installed.
- Scramblejams 1y 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.
- cypherpunks01 1y 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?
  - Rohansi 1y 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.
drnick1 1y 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.
- pcdoodle 1y 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.
- dheera 1y 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
gorgoiler 1y 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?
- georgemcbay 1y 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.
- bsoles 1y ago
  I used a Raspberry Pi 400 for couple years as my home computer and embedded software projects. It worked surprisingly well for my needs: internet browsing, C++ development, web development.
- kllrnohj 1y ago
  The Pi 5 finally upgraded to an out-of-order CPU, so it's ~3x faster than a Pi 4. It's a huge jump. The caveat being it definitely needs a cooling solution now. Pi 4: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/976221 https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/976221 Pi 5: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/9348462 https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/9348462 but for funsies, an N150 (same price as a Pi 5 - arguably cheaper since it comes with a case, cooling, power supply, etc...): https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/10304384 https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/10304384
kimmygraham 1y 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.
- ramses0 1y ago
  Kindof same... but for me it's frustrating that they don't include any sort of mouse device, which negates the "all in one" of it. Too much on Linux (and websites!) expect mouse-style input, so.... you have to have a mouse, the stupid HDMI adapter, etc... It's almost a better form factor to use a regular pi paired with the Logitech keyboard + trackpad setups. You can almost treat the pi as if it were an inline power brick. The alternative (that I haven't quite gotten around to trying yet) is to use one of the "use your phone as a mouse" apps, basically it installs a mouse-listener-over-WiFi and then at least you can emergency-browse with the "just a computer in a keyboard" setup.
vegancap 1y 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_9a83c 1y 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]. [0]: https://assets.raspberrypi.com/static/25912715ba437c32c56757dd7395322d/c72a2/exploded.webp https://assets.raspberrypi.com/static/25912715ba437c32c56757...
  - vegancap 1y ago
    That's incredible!
    - thw_9a83c 1y ago
      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 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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_Tezro
  - zamalek 1y ago
    I'll be hanging around until someone mods more PIs into it.
    - wishfish 1y ago
      Thinking of the old Slashdot joke but with a twist. Imagine a Beowulf Cluster inside your keyboard.
      - sprinkly-dust 1y ago
segmondy 1y ago
We are going to see a $1,000 Raspberry pi in the next decade, won't we?
- kennywinker 1y ago
  Their original premise, a super low cost linux system for hardware exploration, is constantly being undermined by their price, imo. For most projects, as long as you don’t need GPIOs or super low power consumption, you should probably use an old mini pc that’s destined for scrap and cost less.
  - pinkmuffinere 1y ago
    Is it really? If you want super low cost, they have the zero w2, the rpi2, the rpi3, etc. I feel they've already mostly perfected the products for that purpose. But of course they don't want to just 'stop building', so now they're moving up to more premium options. I feel there's nothing wrong with this. If you want the low cost exploration, stick with the things they designed forever ago, which fit that purpose.
    - adgjlsfhk1 1y ago
      The problem is that their high end options kind of suck from a performance/$ perspective. For $200, you can just get a $140 mini pc that will be 10x faster than a Pi and a keyboard to plug into it. I don't think the lower end pi's are perfected (or anywhere near) either. The actual products are pretty good, but all the peripherals are pretty expensive and make the value a lot worse. A Rhasberry Pi zero only costs $15, but the case and SD cost $5 each, so the most basic config ends up costing way more than it should. If they wanted to expand their offerings, IMO they should have focused on delivering sensible bundles (e.g. Pi+SD+case+power adapter) that aren't huge markups over the board alone (or maybe making variants custom tailored to specific use cases, e.g. a Pi-zero with emmc storage and insulated so that it doesn't need a case for long term use).
    - zamalek 1y ago
      A $80 x86 mini PC is wildly more powerful than prior Pis - at least so far as my home assistant use-case goes (Pi 4). Of course, the Pi is still king of power consumption (where x86 has improved, somewhat) and form-factor. - $200 PC: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266099800893 https://www.ebay.com/itm/266099800893 - Core i5 @ 3GHz - $80 PC: https://www.ebay.com/itm/135697152406 https://www.ebay.com/itm/135697152406 - Core i3 @ 3.5GHz So Pi is really filling a niche where you want form-factor, perf, and power consumption - but not necessarily price. This keyboard is firmly in that niche.
renewiltord 1y 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.
forsakenharmony 1y ago
clicky switches are a crime
Computer0 1y 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.
pinkmuffinere 1y 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)
- sugarkjube 1y ago
  just get a foldable keyboard with your ar glasses https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43985513 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43985513
  - pinkmuffinere 1y ago
    Wow this is great, didn't realize this had become affordable! I'm going to google around, but do you know if any of the glasses would be "plug an play" with my (windows 10) laptop? I regularly work on my laptop to coffee shops, so if I can just add the glasses to my setup and eliminate posture issues, that would be amazing!
lsch1033 1y 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.
- Findecanor 1y ago
  It is wedge-shaped, not a box. And a lot of the thickness is because it has a mechanical keyboard. You should really compare it to a "gaming laptop" that also has a mechanical keyboard — and those tend to be quite thick as well.
watersb 1y 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. (fancy example https://www.callapple.org/vintage-apple-computers/apple-ii/heres-an-oops-fixer/ https://www.callapple.org/vintage-apple-computers/apple-ii/h... )
keernan 1y 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...
sockbot 1y ago
The Pi is already a module. I'd love to see the Pi "hundred" series start to incorporate modular designs between the keyboard and compute so they can be updated independently.
- Findecanor 1y ago
  I've seen a couple examples on the forums of people building their own keyboards for the RPi 500. With the RPi 500+ the RP2040 keyboard controller was moved from the motherboard to the keyboard's PCB. The narrower ribbon cable has lines for USB and power control, not the full keyboard matrix like on the RPi 500. But the new keyboard would still have to handle power control. Even on the RPi 500 the RP2040 is programmable, so a replacement keyboard wouldn't necessarily be limited to Raspberry Pi's keyboard matrix if you alter the firmware.
anotheronelost 1y ago
I've bought pretty much all of the pis over the years, and was shocked at how capable the pi5 is at doing everything I need from a computer, including programming in a heavy IDE. Unfortunately, it's a non starter for doing anything serious on though as there's still AFAIK no support for full disk encryption in the installer, even if installing to SSD. Such a lost opportunity to be a 'PC' replacement.
- hedora 1y ago
  Can't you just run a normal Linux distribution if you want that, or does that not work any more?
al_be_back 1y ago
Finally, a complete modular portable desktop, made in Europe, for about $350 usd (keyboard, mouse, camera, mic, display, power supply). I'm impressed. Although, a little late in the race to compete with US or Chinese PC makers. However, they've a good chance to influence drone and robotic computing, same goes for Arduino.
- ruperthair 1y ago
  Sorry to say that I don't think any of it is made in Europe. From https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-raspberry-pi-500-plus/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-r...: Hardware engineers Simon Martin and Chris Martin have been beavering away on Raspberry Pi 500+ for years, through a process of iteration that’s seen a total of ten factory trips to China, six PCB revisions...
  - al_be_back 1y ago
    You're correct actually, I missed that. With Raspberry Pi they moved production to the UK (Wales) in 2012 - (Factory tour article in 2023 - https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/how-raspberry-pis-are-made-factory-tour https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/how-raspberry-pis-are... ). I wouldn't be surprised if they move production back to the UK assuming Pi 500+ starts doing well.
dartharva 1y ago
I wish C64-like PC-in-keyboard models came back in general. I was born too late to ever see them and they all look so cool..
ferCats99 1y ago
I'm waiting for another mayor manufacturer to release their keyboard PC
keyle 1y ago
I think the future of computing is Arm, or at least not Intel. Once you've experienced completely silent computers, there is no going back. I used to be that kid with a spectrum from Sinclair back in the 80s. Seeing a product like this without subscription, without forced updates, without windows or iOS, gives me hope for the future of computing. This is maybe what looks like a hacky little thing to some, to me, it looks like the future of linux desktop.
VerifiedReports 1y ago
Incredible that, once again, they've crippled this thing with insulting micro-HDMI ports.
kkaske 1y ago
As a tech toy, it’s lovable. But for it to feel like a real “desktop in a keyboard” it needs more performance. I would love for something like this to be a breakout product that is real-world useful.
PhilipRoman 1y ago
I realize I'm probably in the 0.001% by having this opinion (so don't take this as criticism or request for change or even a suggestion), but the reason I'm not buying this is the mechanical keyboard. Strongly prefer chiclet keyboards.
- soapdog 1y ago
  You can get the Pi 400 or 500 then. :-)
  - PhilipRoman 1y ago
    Ugh that's what I get for reading in a hurry... Didn't know these existed, thanks for the heads-up! Already ordered one
fifticon 1y ago
do I need one? will I buy one? how can I not. :-/
Peteragain 1y ago
Having followed rpi from the start, I suspect the choice of "200" is a marketing ploy to make the potential customers compare it to a refurb laptop. The company has a good product with a massive peripheral market, and you can open it up and add bells and whistles (literally). And a mechanical keyboard! I'd get one in an instant except my pi 5 with a Bluetooth keyboard is still going strong.
wiz21c 1y ago
That's a nice gadget. But now: raspeberry's company has tons of money and demonstrated its ability to deliver good quality, inexpensive computers. So WHY don't they make a linux mobile PHONE ? That would change a lot of things
- gsliepen 1y ago
  The problem of a Linux phone is not the hardware, it's the software. Are you doing to run a desktop OS on it? No. And if you want something like Android but not Android itself, how are you getting enough quality apps made? What about things like banking apps, who is going to port those? While I would like a pure Linux phone, I think the only reasonable course of action is Android with something like Samsung's DeX on top. Maybe that is something they could do, but I don't see this happening any time soon.
  - pjerem 1y ago
    You may be interested in this : https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Category:Interface https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Category:Interface Those interfaces exists and are pretty mature compared to their current marketshare which is near zero. What is missing though is a real developer/hacker community around Linux on mobile because even installing Linux on a smartphone is a huge PITA starting by being lucky enough to own or find a compatible terminal. Something from the Raspberry PI foundation with official support, clear and easy to buy would be absolutely groundbreaking and could became THE platform to develop Linux on smartphones. Linux is really not that far behind, it just lacks a real community.
  - d--b 1y ago
    Idk, it's not obvious that you shouldn't run a desktop OS on a phone. What's yourr main issue with that? You could run android apps in a Android container as needed. I personally would very much like a device that's a pocketable desktop-OSed computer that can make phone calls and 2FA.
  - mirekrusin 1y ago
    They just need to add slot for sim and 4g/5g support, you leave the rest to the community to play with, there is Ubuntu Touch, LineageOS, SailfishOS, postmarketOS, Plasma Mobile, Tizen, KaiOS, Mobian, PureOS, GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, /e/OS, Replicant, Droidian, Maemo Leste etc. - if there would be hardware available, people would play with it.
mmmnnn 1y ago
is it with or without a cooling fan?
- gholling 1y ago
  Without, there's a big heatsink inside meaning a fan isn't required.
samuelec 1y ago
From 5$ to 200$
hamburgererror 1y ago
On the product page [1] they mention > 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions What is "cryptography extensions"? [1] https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-500-plus/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-500-plus/
- tjohns 1y ago
  Accelerated hardware instructions for cryptographic primitives, like AES or SHA-256. See: https://developer.arm.com/documentation/101754/0624/armclang-Reference/Other-Compiler-specific-Features/Supported-architecture-features/Cryptographic-extensions https://developer.arm.com/documentation/101754/0624/armclang...
wryun 1y ago
If this is like the RPI4 with a single global model I'm wondering how it passes FCC regs, in that presumably the Wi-Fi is flexible enough to transmit on illegal US channels (i.e. Ch 12-14 on 2.4). Am I missing something?
- roryirvine 1y ago
  The usual way to do it is to use the same regdomain as the current access point, with a fallback to a default country code of '00' (which allows only the minimal set of frequencies which are acceptable globally).
  - wryun 1y ago
    But what if you're using mesh or running an AP? Won't the software out of the box allow you to set the regdomain to AU?
Paianni 1y ago
If they implement DisplayPort (or USB-C DP Alt Mode), I'm in.
meribold 1y ago
This seems like it would be great together with a pair of display glasses (like those from XREAL, for example). But I wish it had a TrackPoint.
egorfine 1y ago
Already benchmarked by Phoronix: https://www.phoronix.com/review/raspberry-pi-500-plus https://www.phoronix.com/review/raspberry-pi-500-plus
trundle-drit 1y ago
I really wish Raspberry Pi (or someone) would make something like this but with a decently sized portable display. $100-$200 machine with a 10-14 inch 720p or 1080p screen would be really beneficial for access to computer education. Closest thing I've seen is the now-discontinued "PiTop", but even that was too expensive for the performance level.
simgt 1y ago
Nice! I hope keyboard computers will find their niche market. I've been looking for one that I could carry around, mostly in-between home and my coworking where I already have displays. My MacBook works just fine but I've grown to dislike carrying around a laptop. It's a bit heavy, there's the temptation of using it everywhere, and it's just average on comfort when sitting in front of a bigger display. The RPI computers aren't a good fit for software dev, the closest thing I found is Project CJ64 [0] that relies on a Framework board, but that's not a finished product. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQEN17L84jg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQEN17L84jg

421 points by sohkamyung 1y 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.

rbanffy 1y 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.

shellac 1y ago
> QL-looking for the Spectrum I was going to object, but probably right to just skip the horror of the true Spectrum keyboard.
- zeristor 1y ago
  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.
  - lproven 1y ago
    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 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-spectrum-128/ 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-Spectrum-2/ https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/3648/Sinclair-ZX-Spe... https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/509/Sinclair-ZX-Spectrum-3/ 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.
JdeBP 1y 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. * https://youtube.com/watch?v=mP7fiaync5E https://youtube.com/watch?v=mP7fiaync5E
- Findecanor 1y ago
  Some newly made replacement cases for the Amiga have even incorporated screw mounts for Raspberry Pi.

OhMeadhbh 1y ago

Oh man! It has a REAL keyboard! TAKE MY MONEY!

geerlingguy 1y 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).
- TacticalCoder 1y ago
  [dead]
Kim_Bruning 1y ago
Is it ... is it worth buying for the keyboard alone?
- geerlingguy 1y 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.
- boneitis 1y 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.

amluto 1y 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.

jsheard 1y 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.
- ndxndn 1y 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+
- dave78 1y 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.
  - geerlingguy 1y ago
    Note that the mechanical keyboard is probably one of the major reasons the Pi 500+ took a lot longer to release than the regular 500. According to an interview on the Pi blog[1], it was "years", with prototypes being built through 2023. I know the design lifecycle for a product like this is in the 3-5 year range, and adding on a custom mechanical keyboard in a mass-market product like this is a tall order. Honestly I'm not put off by the $200 price tag. If you use one in person (like at a Micro Center here in the US), you'll feel it's a decent midrange mechanical keyboard. It won't compete on the high end (IMO $200+), but to strap that onto a decent low-end PC in a fanless design isn't cheap, even at the scales Raspberry Pi operates. They have some margin, for sure, but that's also how they turn profit, which is especially useful since then went public. At least they're still putting out products like this, that don't really have any industrial/commercial appeal, compared to specialized compute modules for individual customers[2]. [1] https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-raspberry-pi-500-plus/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-r... [2] https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/09/23/raspberry-pi-cm0-castellated-module-features-raspberry-pi-rp3a0-system-in-package/ https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/09/23/raspberry-pi-cm0-cas...

HelloUsername 1y ago

Nice Tenacious D quote

stavros 1y ago
I wish you were there.

geerlingguy 1y ago

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 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-acceleration-on-pi-500-15-line-patch https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/full-egpu-acceleratio...

soneil 1y ago
> 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 ..)
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 1y ago
  This made me do some research and I'd say it appears so. https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-500-and-raspberry-pi-monitor-on-sale-now/ 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.
  - deater 1y 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.

chrismorgan 1y 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.

geerlingguy 1y 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!
- musicale 1y ago
  I'd prefer more honest marketing: - ARM system that fits inside a decent compact keyboard - acceptable performance for basic computing tasks - mostly as usable as a mini PC running Linux - 5-10 years of software support - easy access to GPIO pins etc.
TiredOfLife 1y ago
> screens are more expensive than keyboards This keyboard https://www.norbauer.co/products/the-seneca?variant=48640876151092 https://www.norbauer.co/products/the-seneca?variant=48640876... is more expensive than Pro Display XDR with nanotexture and the 1k stand
- pdpi 1y 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FEv1qw4_w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FEv1qw4_w

close04 1y 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.

wewewedxfgdf 1y 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.

rs186 1y 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.
- jacquesm 1y 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.
  - rs186 1y ago
    But I assume that's not the pi 500? I mean, this series has/is a keyboard, and if you are just running it as a server, you save some money by buying a regular version
    - jacquesm 1y ago
      Yes, a Pi 500.
XorNot 1y 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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST purely for the sheer mass providing some protection.

JonChesterfield 1y 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?

indigo945 1y 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.
- lvturner 1y ago
  It gives me somewhat more Amiga A500 and A500+ vibes... ;) I see it as a spiritual successor to my much loved childhood Amiga A500 which partially spurred my life long love of computing. The GPU pins on the back are nice, as is the fact that all IO is cleanly at the back of the device. That being said, my only real desk is almost entirely consumed by workstation/gaming PC and it's associate monitors that ironically this more convenient form-factor is less convenient for my use cases. I have a bunch of Pi4s at home they work well as I can power them over PoE, don't spit out too much heat, have a well supported stable OS and are great for running small personal projects and workloads. (Home assistant, DNS, a few other docker containers that power things internal to my network) - sure a NUC would be more powerful, but then I have to find a way to route power in to it, and I'm running out of wall sockets!!
- JonChesterfield 1y ago
  I think this is a wrist geometry thing. A macbook dock that lifted the back, putting the keyboard on a slant, did serious damage to my wrists over the period of a year or so. That was the better part of a decade ago. They've slowly partially healed since changing to a keyboard parallel to the desk surface. There are climbing moves I still cannot do because of it. Ymmv.

thomassmith65 1y ago

I keep waiting and waiting for a revival of beige plastic in the tech industry. This would be a perfect candidate.

sosborn 1y ago
https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/flp02/ https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chas...

threatofrain 1y 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_caetano 1y 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.
- fsckboy 1y 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.
- threatofrain 1y ago
  I was also thinking for children and education, since the all-in-one setup ditches the strengths of the RPi, such as form factor and power draw.
pjmlp 1y ago
Sure, where can I get a new one at comparable Pi prices?
- threatofrain 1y 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.

kotaKat 1y ago

STILL no full size HDMI port? Did they let Officer Mayonnaise spec the port on this one?

LiamPowell 1y ago

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.

omnimus 1y ago
Software support could be one if N150 wasnt x86 from intel.
hyperbovine 1y 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.
- binary132 1y ago
  It is fundamentally just a novelty product at this point.
- mrandish 1y ago
  I hadn't looked lately but you're right. Intel N150 @3.6Ghz mini-PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB M.2 SSD, 3 USB 3.2 ports (10gbps) and dual 2.5 Gbps Ethernet all for $199 delivered tomorrow. https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Lake-N100-Mini-Computer-Supports-Home-Server/dp/B0C339KVH9 https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Lake-N100-Mini-Computer-Suppo....
regularfry 1y 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.
boredhedgehog 1y 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.

rs186 1y ago

Where's the plus sign in the original title? The current one (with "Raspberry Pi 500") does not make any sense.

glimshe 1y 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_64738 1y ago
That's fine if you want a PC which is totally orthogonal to what the Pi is originally for.
- glimshe 1y ago
  The 500+ doesn't deliver on the original RPi scenarios either.
ed_mercer 1y ago
I have seen this comment a few times, why do people hate micro hdmi?
- mrheosuper 1y ago
  because it's not popular and less durable. I can forgive the use of micro hdmi on limited size product. But this computer 100% has enough space for full size hdmi.
- Blahagun 1y ago
  Micro HDMI is basically a non working connector. It baffles me how it was even approved. One of the requirements of a connector is to work. Micro HDMI doesn't work. Sure, it might look like it's working (if you take a picture of a connected device) but in practice it doesn't work. Just a slight touch and you're losing signal. Immediately one might think that their connector, cable or device are broken. And this is a very valid guess. But the connector is not broken by accident, it was broken by design. A consumer connector should not require an additional exoskeleton to work. It means it's broken by design if it does.
Findecanor 1y ago

rs186 1y 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.

pjmlp 1y ago

Looks quite alright and as someone from the 8 bits generation I get the idea, added to my possible gadgets list.

tiniuclx 1y ago

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.

72deluxe 1y 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.

ceayo 1y 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.

XorNot 1y ago
By the inflation calculator that's dead on the money though: https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1960?amount=1 https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1960?amount=1 > $1 in 1960 is worth $10.95 today $20 * 10 = $200
- LiamPowell 1y ago
  The first Raspberry Pi was not released in 1960.
  - XorNot 1y ago
    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.
    - duskwuff 1y ago
      > I read minicomputer and assumed we were talking about the first home computers, which that was about their epoch. The minicomputers of the 1960s were only "mini" compared to earlier mainframes; they were still far too large and expensive for home users to even consider. Home computers didn't really come about until the late 1970s.
- Ekaros 1y ago
  I thought that computers were supposed to get cheaper over time?

birdalbrocum 1y 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".

j45 1y 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.
sys_64738 1y ago
The power of the Pi comes from the standardized 40 pin GPIO for hooking other devices up to.
- lproven 1y 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_64738 1y ago
    I connect various devices over I2C and SPI bus for evaluation.
  - bsoles 1y ago
    A lot of hardware startups/projects use Raspberry Pis. You program in a real Linux environment and still have access to I2C, SPI, and serial ports, which lets you talk to all kinds of chips out there.
    - lproven 1y ago
      I am aware. But I don't program, I have no interest in hardware hackery like this, and one of the things I most like about the Pi range is that I can run OSes that are not Linux. I think two of my Pis currently run RISC OS. I could also run NetBSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Plan 9, Windows IoT, or Inferno. I do not know of any other SBC with so many options. I am not saying these things are not valid, but they are not unique selling points -- other Pi-style SBCs offer them too. However, the Pi has other merits that other SBCs don't: price, range of OSes, long-term OS support, a vast range of special-purpose distros for everything from server to dedicated special-purpose client stuff.

fatihkocnet 1y ago

Why they keep raising prices? They are going for laptop prices with this pace

BoredPositron 1y ago

Nice I make good money repairing high end cameras by replacing micro HDMI ports. I hope it becomes standard lol.

bluelightning2k 1y 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.

florianist 1y ago

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.

egorfine 1y ago
PRi 5 is miles faster than 4. So you'll be happy once you upgrade.
Narishma 1y ago
I've noticed Raspberry Pi posts here always attract tons of negative comments, regardless of what the article is about.
- kllrnohj 1y ago
  I think that's a combination of things: 1) The company "sold out". That is, in times of limited supply they prioritized fulfilling large compute module orders instead of the hobbyist market that initially supported them. To be fair if I was running that company I'd have done the exact same thing, it's obviously the right financial choice. Just, you know, it'll sting for the market that was shunned. 2) They got expensive. Especially for the Pi 4 which was still dreadfully slow. That slowness was excusable at $25. Not great but okay at $35. But when suddenly it was near enough to $100+ by the time you got all the required "accessories"? Or like the Pi 5 16gb is $132 like what on earth. 3) They got 'flaky'. It used to be the pi was the rock-solid option in the space. But now they keep making weird low-reliability decisions. Like the Pi 5 "expects" a rather uniquely high amp USB-C charger. 5A @ 5V is not a common USB-C charger feature. So whatever you happen to grab is probably not sufficient, and you'll have those annoying low power warnings randomly. They chose to have dual 4k HDMI ports and went with micro-HDMI. Which is a flaky connector you probably don't have cables for (and also dual 4K? on a pi?). They kept using microSD cards. The CPU power draw increased significantly, which for the performance delta is more than justified, except it still ships without any cooling.

apexalpha 1y 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_ire 1y 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.

maratc 1y 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.)

Findecanor 1y ago
> 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. I'd think that people who prefer mechanical keyboards already have the muscle memory so that that isn't a problem. Personally, I depend on Delete and Home/End/Page Up/Page Down for my text/code editing and find any keyboard without them to be deficient.
- maratc 1y ago
  > people who prefer mechanical keyboards already have the muscle memory The problem with that is that every mechanical keyboard is different, so that muscle memory needs a refresh with each new keyboard. More importantly, people who are used to Pi 400 or Pi 500 (non-plus) have a different muscle memory. > I depend on Delete and Home/End/Page Up/Page Down For me, Fn-⌫, Fn-←, Fn-→, Fn-↑ and Fn-↓, respectively, do the job. On my keyboard, Fn is the button in the lower left corner, so it's easy to find by feel, ⌫ is in top right corner so it's easy to find by feel, and the negative space above half-height arrows makes it easy to find the arrows too.

JdeBP 1y ago

Earliest post: * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370021 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370021 Other duplicates: * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45375782 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45375782 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372608 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372608 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372319 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372319 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370260 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45370260 And yes, the plus sign was omitted in all of them. (-:

KolmogorovComp 1y ago

Why are Rpis still bothering with SD cards? Who did not get their pi card corrupted while used as a server?

dave78 1y 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.
kelipso 1y 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.
- scoopdewoop 1y ago
  This has an nvme with the OS pre-installed.
Scramblejams 1y 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.
cypherpunks01 1y 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?
- Rohansi 1y 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.

drnick1 1y 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.

pcdoodle 1y 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.
dheera 1y 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

gorgoiler 1y 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?

georgemcbay 1y 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.
bsoles 1y ago
I used a Raspberry Pi 400 for couple years as my home computer and embedded software projects. It worked surprisingly well for my needs: internet browsing, C++ development, web development.
kllrnohj 1y ago
The Pi 5 finally upgraded to an out-of-order CPU, so it's ~3x faster than a Pi 4. It's a huge jump. The caveat being it definitely needs a cooling solution now. Pi 4: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/976221 https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/976221 Pi 5: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/9348462 https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/9348462 but for funsies, an N150 (same price as a Pi 5 - arguably cheaper since it comes with a case, cooling, power supply, etc...): https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/10304384 https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/10304384

kimmygraham 1y 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.

ramses0 1y ago
Kindof same... but for me it's frustrating that they don't include any sort of mouse device, which negates the "all in one" of it. Too much on Linux (and websites!) expect mouse-style input, so.... you have to have a mouse, the stupid HDMI adapter, etc... It's almost a better form factor to use a regular pi paired with the Logitech keyboard + trackpad setups. You can almost treat the pi as if it were an inline power brick. The alternative (that I haven't quite gotten around to trying yet) is to use one of the "use your phone as a mouse" apps, basically it installs a mouse-listener-over-WiFi and then at least you can emergency-browse with the "just a computer in a keyboard" setup.

vegancap 1y 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_9a83c 1y 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]. [0]: https://assets.raspberrypi.com/static/25912715ba437c32c56757dd7395322d/c72a2/exploded.webp https://assets.raspberrypi.com/static/25912715ba437c32c56757...
- vegancap 1y ago
  That's incredible!
  - thw_9a83c 1y ago
    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 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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_Tezro
- zamalek 1y ago
  I'll be hanging around until someone mods more PIs into it.
  - wishfish 1y ago
    Thinking of the old Slashdot joke but with a twist. Imagine a Beowulf Cluster inside your keyboard.
    - sprinkly-dust 1y ago

segmondy 1y ago

We are going to see a $1,000 Raspberry pi in the next decade, won't we?

kennywinker 1y 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.
- pinkmuffinere 1y 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.
  - adgjlsfhk1 1y ago
    The problem is that their high end options kind of suck from a performance/$ perspective. For $200, you can just get a $140 mini pc that will be 10x faster than a Pi and a keyboard to plug into it. I don't think the lower end pi's are perfected (or anywhere near) either. The actual products are pretty good, but all the peripherals are pretty expensive and make the value a lot worse. A Rhasberry Pi zero only costs $15, but the case and SD cost $5 each, so the most basic config ends up costing way more than it should. If they wanted to expand their offerings, IMO they should have focused on delivering sensible bundles (e.g. Pi+SD+case+power adapter) that aren't huge markups over the board alone (or maybe making variants custom tailored to specific use cases, e.g. a Pi-zero with emmc storage and insulated so that it doesn't need a case for long term use).
  - zamalek 1y ago
    A $80 x86 mini PC is wildly more powerful than prior Pis - at least so far as my home assistant use-case goes (Pi 4). Of course, the Pi is still king of power consumption (where x86 has improved, somewhat) and form-factor. - $200 PC: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266099800893 https://www.ebay.com/itm/266099800893 - Core i5 @ 3GHz - $80 PC: https://www.ebay.com/itm/135697152406 https://www.ebay.com/itm/135697152406 - Core i3 @ 3.5GHz So Pi is really filling a niche where you want form-factor, perf, and power consumption - but not necessarily price. This keyboard is firmly in that niche.

renewiltord 1y 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.

forsakenharmony 1y ago

clicky switches are a crime

Computer0 1y 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.

pinkmuffinere 1y 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)

sugarkjube 1y ago
just get a foldable keyboard with your ar glasses https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43985513 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43985513
- pinkmuffinere 1y ago
  Wow this is great, didn't realize this had become affordable! I'm going to google around, but do you know if any of the glasses would be "plug an play" with my (windows 10) laptop? I regularly work on my laptop to coffee shops, so if I can just add the glasses to my setup and eliminate posture issues, that would be amazing!

lsch1033 1y 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.

Findecanor 1y ago
It is wedge-shaped, not a box. And a lot of the thickness is because it has a mechanical keyboard. You should really compare it to a "gaming laptop" that also has a mechanical keyboard — and those tend to be quite thick as well.

watersb 1y 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. (fancy example https://www.callapple.org/vintage-apple-computers/apple-ii/heres-an-oops-fixer/ https://www.callapple.org/vintage-apple-computers/apple-ii/h... )

keernan 1y 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...

sockbot 1y ago

The Pi is already a module. I'd love to see the Pi "hundred" series start to incorporate modular designs between the keyboard and compute so they can be updated independently.

Findecanor 1y ago
I've seen a couple examples on the forums of people building their own keyboards for the RPi 500. With the RPi 500+ the RP2040 keyboard controller was moved from the motherboard to the keyboard's PCB. The narrower ribbon cable has lines for USB and power control, not the full keyboard matrix like on the RPi 500. But the new keyboard would still have to handle power control. Even on the RPi 500 the RP2040 is programmable, so a replacement keyboard wouldn't necessarily be limited to Raspberry Pi's keyboard matrix if you alter the firmware.

anotheronelost 1y ago

I've bought pretty much all of the pis over the years, and was shocked at how capable the pi5 is at doing everything I need from a computer, including programming in a heavy IDE. Unfortunately, it's a non starter for doing anything serious on though as there's still AFAIK no support for full disk encryption in the installer, even if installing to SSD. Such a lost opportunity to be a 'PC' replacement.

hedora 1y ago
Can't you just run a normal Linux distribution if you want that, or does that not work any more?

al_be_back 1y ago

Finally, a complete modular portable desktop, made in Europe, for about $350 usd (keyboard, mouse, camera, mic, display, power supply). I'm impressed. Although, a little late in the race to compete with US or Chinese PC makers. However, they've a good chance to influence drone and robotic computing, same goes for Arduino.

ruperthair 1y ago
Sorry to say that I don't think any of it is made in Europe. From https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-raspberry-pi-500-plus/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-the-engineers-behind-r...: Hardware engineers Simon Martin and Chris Martin have been beavering away on Raspberry Pi 500+ for years, through a process of iteration that’s seen a total of ten factory trips to China, six PCB revisions...
- al_be_back 1y ago
  You're correct actually, I missed that. With Raspberry Pi they moved production to the UK (Wales) in 2012 - (Factory tour article in 2023 - https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/how-raspberry-pis-are-made-factory-tour https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/how-raspberry-pis-are... ). I wouldn't be surprised if they move production back to the UK assuming Pi 500+ starts doing well.

dartharva 1y ago

I wish C64-like PC-in-keyboard models came back in general. I was born too late to ever see them and they all look so cool..

ferCats99 1y ago

I'm waiting for another mayor manufacturer to release their keyboard PC

keyle 1y ago

I think the future of computing is Arm, or at least not Intel. Once you've experienced completely silent computers, there is no going back. I used to be that kid with a spectrum from Sinclair back in the 80s. Seeing a product like this without subscription, without forced updates, without windows or iOS, gives me hope for the future of computing. This is maybe what looks like a hacky little thing to some, to me, it looks like the future of linux desktop.

VerifiedReports 1y ago

Incredible that, once again, they've crippled this thing with insulting micro-HDMI ports.

kkaske 1y ago

As a tech toy, it’s lovable. But for it to feel like a real “desktop in a keyboard” it needs more performance. I would love for something like this to be a breakout product that is real-world useful.

PhilipRoman 1y ago

I realize I'm probably in the 0.001% by having this opinion (so don't take this as criticism or request for change or even a suggestion), but the reason I'm not buying this is the mechanical keyboard. Strongly prefer chiclet keyboards.

soapdog 1y ago
You can get the Pi 400 or 500 then. :-)
- PhilipRoman 1y ago
  Ugh that's what I get for reading in a hurry... Didn't know these existed, thanks for the heads-up! Already ordered one

fifticon 1y ago

do I need one? will I buy one? how can I not. :-/

Peteragain 1y ago

Having followed rpi from the start, I suspect the choice of "200" is a marketing ploy to make the potential customers compare it to a refurb laptop. The company has a good product with a massive peripheral market, and you can open it up and add bells and whistles (literally). And a mechanical keyboard! I'd get one in an instant except my pi 5 with a Bluetooth keyboard is still going strong.

wiz21c 1y ago

That's a nice gadget. But now: raspeberry's company has tons of money and demonstrated its ability to deliver good quality, inexpensive computers. So WHY don't they make a linux mobile PHONE ? That would change a lot of things

gsliepen 1y ago
The problem of a Linux phone is not the hardware, it's the software. Are you doing to run a desktop OS on it? No. And if you want something like Android but not Android itself, how are you getting enough quality apps made? What about things like banking apps, who is going to port those? While I would like a pure Linux phone, I think the only reasonable course of action is Android with something like Samsung's DeX on top. Maybe that is something they could do, but I don't see this happening any time soon.
- pjerem 1y ago
  You may be interested in this : https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Category:Interface https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Category:Interface Those interfaces exists and are pretty mature compared to their current marketshare which is near zero. What is missing though is a real developer/hacker community around Linux on mobile because even installing Linux on a smartphone is a huge PITA starting by being lucky enough to own or find a compatible terminal. Something from the Raspberry PI foundation with official support, clear and easy to buy would be absolutely groundbreaking and could became THE platform to develop Linux on smartphones. Linux is really not that far behind, it just lacks a real community.
- d--b 1y ago
  Idk, it's not obvious that you shouldn't run a desktop OS on a phone. What's yourr main issue with that? You could run android apps in a Android container as needed. I personally would very much like a device that's a pocketable desktop-OSed computer that can make phone calls and 2FA.
- mirekrusin 1y ago
  They just need to add slot for sim and 4g/5g support, you leave the rest to the community to play with, there is Ubuntu Touch, LineageOS, SailfishOS, postmarketOS, Plasma Mobile, Tizen, KaiOS, Mobian, PureOS, GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, /e/OS, Replicant, Droidian, Maemo Leste etc. - if there would be hardware available, people would play with it.

mmmnnn 1y ago

is it with or without a cooling fan?

gholling 1y ago
Without, there's a big heatsink inside meaning a fan isn't required.

samuelec 1y ago

From 5$ to 200$

hamburgererror 1y ago

On the product page [1] they mention > 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions What is "cryptography extensions"? [1] https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-500-plus/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-500-plus/

tjohns 1y ago
Accelerated hardware instructions for cryptographic primitives, like AES or SHA-256. See: https://developer.arm.com/documentation/101754/0624/armclang-Reference/Other-Compiler-specific-Features/Supported-architecture-features/Cryptographic-extensions https://developer.arm.com/documentation/101754/0624/armclang...

wryun 1y ago

If this is like the RPI4 with a single global model I'm wondering how it passes FCC regs, in that presumably the Wi-Fi is flexible enough to transmit on illegal US channels (i.e. Ch 12-14 on 2.4). Am I missing something?

roryirvine 1y ago
The usual way to do it is to use the same regdomain as the current access point, with a fallback to a default country code of '00' (which allows only the minimal set of frequencies which are acceptable globally).
- wryun 1y ago
  But what if you're using mesh or running an AP? Won't the software out of the box allow you to set the regdomain to AU?

Paianni 1y ago

If they implement DisplayPort (or USB-C DP Alt Mode), I'm in.

meribold 1y ago

This seems like it would be great together with a pair of display glasses (like those from XREAL, for example). But I wish it had a TrackPoint.

egorfine 1y ago

Already benchmarked by Phoronix: https://www.phoronix.com/review/raspberry-pi-500-plus https://www.phoronix.com/review/raspberry-pi-500-plus

trundle-drit 1y ago

I really wish Raspberry Pi (or someone) would make something like this but with a decently sized portable display. $100-$200 machine with a 10-14 inch 720p or 1080p screen would be really beneficial for access to computer education. Closest thing I've seen is the now-discontinued "PiTop", but even that was too expensive for the performance level.

simgt 1y ago

Nice! I hope keyboard computers will find their niche market. I've been looking for one that I could carry around, mostly in-between home and my coworking where I already have displays. My MacBook works just fine but I've grown to dislike carrying around a laptop. It's a bit heavy, there's the temptation of using it everywhere, and it's just average on comfort when sitting in front of a bigger display. The RPI computers aren't a good fit for software dev, the closest thing I found is Project CJ64 [0] that relies on a Framework board, but that's not a finished product. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQEN17L84jg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQEN17L84jg