Summary
The Raspberry Pi 4, the top model in theRaspberry Pilineup for the past four years, is a great single-board computer now thatavailability has finally improved. However, it’s still budget 2019 hardware, which is starting to show its age for more demanding tasks. Raspberry Pi has launchedother typesof tiny computers since then, but none of them were designed to replace the Raspberry Pi 4. That is, at least, until now. The Raspberry Pi 5 is finally here to take the flagship Pi spot.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced the upcoming release of the Raspberry Pi 5. This latest iteration represents a notable advancement over its predecessor in hardware. The Raspberry Pi 5 has a powerful 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, a VideoCore VII GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.2, and dual 4Kp60 HDMI display outputs. In addition, it will be available in two configurations, with a version packing 4GB of RAM and an 8GB variant as well.
This model marks a significant milestone as it is the very first Raspberry Pi to feature a silicon chip designed in-house by the foundation’s team in Cambridge, UK. It’s not the CPU — that’s a Broadcom chip — but rather the RP1 I/O controller. This signals that Raspberry Pi is looking into making more and more of its hardware in house, and that might include its silicon in the long-term.
Key features of the Raspberry Pi 5 include a 4Kp60 HEVC decoder, dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Additionally, it boasts a high-speed microSD card interface, a complement of USB ports (including USB 3.0 and USB 2.0), Gigabit Ethernet with PoE+ support (requiring a separate PoE+ HAT), MIPI camera/display transceivers, PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for rapid peripherals, a standard 40-pin GPIO header, real-time clock, and best of all — a power button.
The Raspberry Pi 5 is now available for pre-order in the United States fromPiShop.usandThe Pi Hut, and other retailers should follow soon. The 4GB version is priced at $60, while the 8GB model is priced at $80. The first units should be shipping by the end of October, so make sure to place your order now if you want it fast.
