Raspberry Pi 500+
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The Raspberry Pi 500+ is a new all-in-one PC that integrates a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 into a keyboard, sparking discussion about its potential use cases, design, and performance.
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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.
I was going to object, but probably right to just skip the horror of the true Spectrum keyboard.
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.
> Maybe they meant the ZX Spectrum II
No. There was never never a "Spectrum II".
The second model after the original 16K and 48K was the ZX Spectrum Plus, in a keyboard derived from the 1984 Sinclair QL design.
http://www.retro8bitcomputers.co.uk/Sinclair/ZXSpectrumPlus
Then the 3rd model was the ZX Spectrum 128, in the same keyboard, but with more ports and a large external heatsink.
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/2584/sinclair-zx-spe...
> known to some as “The Toaster” for some reason.
Nope. The 128 was known as the "toastrack" for the heatsink.
> Rubber keyboard, I heard it referred to as dead-flesh.
Not since the Plus model, no.
After the 128, Amstrad bought the brand. It launched the ZX Spectrum +2 and +3.
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/3648/Sinclair-ZX-Spe...
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/509/Sinclair-ZX-Spec...
Those are the closest to the nonexistent model number "II" but they do not have the QL-derived keyboard.
* https://youtube.com/watch?v=mP7fiaync5E
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.
The whole device pegs my nostalgia meter. It's almost like a C64, but it has a decent OS and now it has a better keyboard than the C64 ever had.
If there are any computer shops you can go in person to try them out, I highly recommend it. They make a lot of different switches and the feel is a very tactile, personal thing. (Though I think I’d also be happy with yellow or brown switches after some time with them!)
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.
1. It would be very nice if there was anything in the box with a pointer to setup instructions (since it's obvious setting up the 500+ is different than setting up previous models.) A QR code, a URL, a printed manual. Anything. But I can use DuckDuckGo and found a couple of third-party sites and a few YouTube videos. I tried piecing together the process. It would be great if the Raspberry Pi team would make a simple web page that tells you things like:
a. Where do I download the image for the Pi 500+ (since the stock 2025-05-13 image doesn't work for the 500+.)
b. I only have one monitor, which HDMI port to I use?
c. Every other machine I've had, you can plug a mouse into the USB 3 port. I mean, you probably want to save that port for a peripheral that can use the extra speed, but it should work. Is this true for the 500+? Will I destroy the machine if I plug the mouse into the blue USB ports? I'm embarrassed I have to ask this since any other machine I wouldn't worry about it, but the out-of-the-box experience is so bad, I've lost faith in the Pi organization to make anything that works, much less performs well.
2. I needed a display so I figured I would buy a Pi branded monitor. At least this thing came with an insert that told me it wouldn't work without an external power supply. Could you have put that on the web site so I would have known to purchase an extra power supply? No problem, I have several around the house.
But... what does it mean when I plug everything together and the monitor power LED blinks red, then turns of and then nothing happens. I verified the monitor works by plugging it into a different machine, but shouldn't it work with the RasPi 500+??? I'm missing something here and it's not in the documentation.
3. I finally got the 500+ turned on and generating a picture. It stops on the "booting from SD card," the display flashes and then it says "waiting for network. connect ethernet cable." I have to connect via an ethernet cable to configure it? You mean the OS image on the SD card doesn't know how to configure the device?
This thing is NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME. I'm going to see if I can return this one cause after several hours of fiddling, I can't get the Pi to drive the Pi monitor (but the Pi will drive an Asus monitor I have in the lab and my "regular form factor" Pi 5 can drive the monitor. There's something screwy going on here and there's no documentation describing how to setup the 500+.)
Save your money. Wait several months for them to get the kinks out.
Turns out it was a pair of bad video cables. I swapped in the video cable from the "normal" form factor RasPi 5 I bought a few months ago and everything works fine.
I still think there should be a piece of paper in the box that says "plug the cable in THIS HDMI micro port," but everything else seems to work. The keyboard is quite nice. Not as good as my IBM Model M, but what is?
The CanaKit support guys were quick, polite and pointed me towards several decent debugging steps, but they are selling HDMI cables that don't work with the 500+ (or the RasPi 5 I have downstairs.) And I thought I was buying an official RasPi power supply, but I looked back at the order and sure enough it was the cut-rate CanaKit branded wall-wart. The power supply was on me, I didn't look closely enough when ordering. But the bad cables are on them. I can't really recommend purchasing from them when there are other options where you can buy working accessories.
But... moral of the story is... a bad video cable can make the system look like something weirder and worse is going on. I should have known to test the simplest thing first, but I had to trudge downstairs, move a bit of equipment to get to where the good cables were. So I guess there's an additional moral which is "always have a known good video cable handy."
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).
P.S. HN mods, consider fixing the submission name. It’s 500+, not 500, and that completely changes the meaning of the article.
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.
So I don't think they "backed out" rather just didn't have the 500+ ready to launch yet.
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-r...
[2] https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/09/23/raspberry-pi-cm0-cas...
Even low-midend mech keyboard like attackshark x75 will be better
Even the connection to the new keyboard was already present on the 500 even though it used another connector than the 500+
And I've posted benchmark data to my sbc-reviews repo here: https://github.com/geerlingguy/sbc-reviews/issues/81
Performance-wise it's pretty much the same as the Pi 5 16GB (and can be slightly faster than the regular Pi 500 depending on the task, if it benefits from faster storage or more RAM...)
Since this is the first Pi with built-in NVMe (I'm not counting the Compute Module Developer Kit), I plugged in an eGPU and tested a new 15-line patch for AMD GPU drivers, which seems to support practically all modern AMD graphics cards[1].
[1] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/full-egpu-acceleratio...
I really want to hope the name is a nod to the Amiga 500+ (which had twice the RAM of the A500 ..)
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.
/s
/s
/s
(joking, relax..)
https://isaac.lsu.edu/byte/issues/197710_Byte_Magazine_Vol_0...
A quick search doesn't find me pictures, but I did find a "Vector 1++”:
https://vintagecomputer.ca/vector-graphic-vector-1/
https://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/Computers/BBCB+6...
Did they? AFAIK, Apple always used “Plus”, not “+” (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_Plus, https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/ftp.apple.asimov.net/documenta...), and “+” is shorthand invented by the community.
The Macintosh Plus, similarly, wasn’t a Macintosh+ in Apple’s marketing, AFAIK.
And, looking at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_500#Amiga_500_Plus, it doesn’t look like Commodore stuck + on the end of their model names, either.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum#ZX_Spectrum
So with a nod to both the 500+ and Spectrum+, it's a pretty apt name.
The single board computer Pi naming scheme is based on the BBC Micro (Model A, Model B).
As for the 'plus' - Acorn A7000+ was the last of the Acorn desktop computers to be released.
There is a heavy Acorn influence with Raspberry Pi, for good reason.
Jack Lang was involved in the Pi, having also been involved in Netchannel, the STB company which used the Acorn technology and had funding from Hermann Hauser, co-founder of Acorn.
David Braben, co-author of Elite (and author of Zarch/Lander for the Acorn Archimedes) was an early Pi supporter.
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.
- 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.
This keyboard https://www.norbauer.co/products/the-seneca?variant=48640876...
is more expensive than Pro Display XDR with nanotexture and the 1k stand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FEv1qw4_w
It's clear from that it's a sincere hyper-obsession, shared by others within a small community. I can respect that more than just making something expensive for the sake of appealing to ultra-rich who wish to flaunt their wealth.
People gush over how it's built as if it actually improves the function of it.
I believe the idea is that you'd plug it into the TV you already have, like we did in the 1980s.
Too many people look at ads, see something that looks like a laptop, and assume it's just a "no thrill" machine that mostly works. I've heard so many "how bad can it be?" hot takes as they've never used anything at that price.
※refurbished is another story, here we're talking about a new and under guarantee device so that wouldn't compare.
I understand the value of second hand, and randomly bought a discarded corporate HP tower for my home server. But I see it more as a hobby as I can probably fix most issues, than as a purchasing strategy I'd recommend to non technical people for instance.
I've had an excellent experience using secondhand business-class laptops. Several nonprofits I'm involved have nothing but these sorts of laptops, and I've only used secondhand laptops since 2019.
With thinkpads, assuming you're buying used, you can pay the premium for a T or X series, and get a laptop with essentially the same parts, but maybe a better screen or chassis, or you can save money and go with the L or E series. NB, the T and X series oftentimes have soldered RAM, so if you're not satisfied with the amount of ram already in it, do your due diligence to ensure that the model support using SODIMM/replacing the ram.
* Dell Latitude (except the budget 3xxx models) and Precision * HP EliteBook and ProBook * Lenovo ThinkPad X, T, and P series (in order from small & light to big & powerful) * Panasonic ToughBook (rugged!) and Let’s Note * Fujitsu Lifebook * Acer TravelMate and Extensa * Asus ExpertBook * Toshibe Portege and Tecra * Epson Endeavor
Panasonic also has a stellar reputation in that regard.
Bear in mind they will break and you'll be hunting for parts, it's just a lot easier and viable than some other laptops.
https://youtu.be/FRNz-xakWB8
Still reasonably affordable, though. But it's not under $200.
It was great on paper. But the quality of the touchpad was awful. And paired with win8, which relied heavily on touchpad gestures, it was basically unusable.
You plug it into the family TV. Just like you did in the eighties when you were a kid learning to program with your Speccy or c64 or whatever. Mom or Dad or your siblings can hang out and comment on what you're doing with it. That's the experience Raspberry has been claiming to want to reproduce since they first came onto the scene in 2012, despite them not getting around to stuffing a Pi into this form factor until 2022.
This sounds really cozy. For those of us who never got to experience it - bring it back!
Writing this, I just realized that even at work, we only have a single monitor. And it's stored on a shelf not even plugged.
Sounds like a suitable candidate for one of these then? :)
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.
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.
Certainly something which could grow to support some Arduino work.
EDIT: Admittedly this would be a no brainer if there was an off-the-shelf Atari ST style thing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST purely for the sheer mass providing some protection.
It made sense when you did not have infra build for distributing things and things made were pretty simple. Now I feel like it would be just waste of time.
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?
It still is a more practical design than a flat keyboard, which only masochists would use willingly.
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.
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!!
That change would be to support display port alt-mode on a USB-C port, rather than only having mini-HDMI. If they'd done that, you could plug AR glasses like the XReal One straight into it, and not need a separate screen. Your entire compute becomes a keyboard+power, glasses, and wireless mouse. That would be really nice: two cables, total, one for power to the pi and one from the pi to the glasses.
As it is, you need an hdmi to usb-c converter, which also needs to be powered, another couple of cables, and more of a setup faff each time. It sounds minor, but it's a missed opportunity. For me it turns it from "take my money" to "eh... I can do better."
and tada, you made a laptop
Unfortunately it doesn't cover both. You do, in fact, need at minimum 2 cables connected to it - one for display & one for power. And one of those cables is, unfortunately, micro-HDMI. A super fragile port that you almost certainly don't have a cable lying around for as well.
I'm sure you meant bluetooth but just so we're all clear: Wireless USB isn't easy at all. Hardware availability for it is very limited and you'll need adapters on both ends. Frankly there's more hardware to wirelessly transfer HDMI than USB.
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.
this device would make a very practical workstation for developing Raspbery Pi software for little embedded RPi projects.
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.
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.
e.g. https://www.minix.com.hk/products/minix-z150-0db-fanless-min...
The ones with fans tend to be cheaper and have better sustained performance though.
They used to do an good-to-adequate job of linux support, but nowadays they seem rubbish at it. Nobody wants to be stuck on a downstream kernel full of cobbled-together device support that's too poorly-written to upstream.
Less software is good - it makes kludging up your own more appealing, and there's a guide to getting started with that right there in the manual.
(Or you could try plugging a goggle-mounted display into it and using it as your personal cyberdeck.)
Maybe get ITX-Llama and let parent and kid be tied to all the same platform? Have something common to discuss, something common to play. And MiniMig or Apollo A600 may do the trick. CheckMate Retro IPS display. It is past, but great past. Alive in our souls.
This is a very good question. The Pi 500+ is a beautiful product, but when compared in terms of price/value to the NUC and various other mini PCs, its value proposition is questionable.
Perhaps the target group are enthusiasts who had 8/16-bit "all-in-one" computers like Commodore64, Amiga, Atari, ZX Spectrum, Acorn etc., in their younger years and now want to buy something similar (non-x86) for themselves or force it on their kids. :)
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.
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