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Raspberry Pi 500 rumors: The next big leap for the Pi family?

Written by Teresa Reidt | Oct 7, 2024

Recently, rumors have surfaced about a possible new addition to the Raspberry Pi family – the Raspberry Pi 500. While not officially confirmed, these rumors have generated speculations across the community.

So, what can we expect?

What we know so far about Raspberry Pi 500

While official details have yet to be released by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, some public information suggests that the Raspberry Pi 500 is currently in development or at least planned.

Here's what's known so far:

  • A device tree overlay for "Raspberry Pi 500" was spotted by Hackaday in the Raspberry Pi GitHub repository for arm64 OS. Specifically, a file named bcm2712-rpi-500.dts was found, the first device tree overlay mentioning a Raspberry Pi 500.
  • The overlay hints that Pi 500 would use the same Broadcom BCM 2712 SoC as the Raspberry Pi 5.

This file strongly suggests that Raspberry Pi may be working on a successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 all-in-one computer, likely based on Raspberry Pi 5 hardware.

Speculation and expected features

Without official confirmation, more or less all the information surrounding the Raspberry Pi 500 remains speculative. However, based on the theory that the Raspberry Pi 500 is going to be based on the Raspberry Pi 5 points at a more powerful processor, enhanced RAM options, and improved GPU capabilities.

Les Pounder at tom's Hardware speculates that the Pi 500 will come with at least "4 GB of RAM, two USB 3.0 ports, dual micro HDMI, a microSD slot, Gigabit Ethernet, and a USB type-C port for power". Looking like a keyboard, the board comes with a GPIO breakout to connect peripherals and the likely PCIe connection and M.2 SSDs call for an easy-to-open case to extend the Pi 500 with add-ons.

With the new Raspberry Pi AI Camera release a camera port might be an added feature we did not have with the Pi 400.

Community improvement wishlist for Raspberry Pi 500

Naturally, there is a whole improvement wishlist for the Raspberry Pi 500 out there if you ask the Raspberry Pi community, common requests include:

  1. Internal M.2 SSD slot: Many users would appreciate built-in support for faster storage options.
  2. Full-sized HDMI port: This would improve connectivity options compared to the micro HDMI on the Pi 400.
  3. Improved cooling solution: Given the Pi 5's need for active cooling, an efficient thermal management system would be helpful.
  4. Increased RAM: A step-up to 8 GB of RAM would be highly appreciated to improve multitasking performance.
  5. Dedicated audio input: Adding a 3.5 mm audio jack is a great way to improve for more use cases.
  6. Camera connectivity: As already mentioned, given Raspberry Pi's push towards AI and computer vision, adding a camera port could be valuable.

Others in the community are also hoping for improved software support. Great news: emteria already provides support for the Raspberry Pi 400 running Android (currently on Android 14, with Android 15 in development) and intends to extend this support to the Raspberry Pi 500 upon its official launch.

Release date and pricing

For now, the Raspberry Pi 500 release day remains a mystery, an announcement could be made in the coming months, with a potential release by the end of the year. However, without official confirmation, it remains uncertain.

As for pricing, the Raspberry Pi Foundation always does its best to keep its products affordable. Hence, it is anticipated that the Pi 500 will continue this trend, though a slight price increase is expected due to likely hardware upgrades.

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