Raspberry Pi: Fifth model comes after “recovery year” 2023

After the availability of the Raspberry Pi computers is said to be on the rise in the coming months, the focus is on a potential Raspberry Pi 5, which, at least theoretically, should appear next year in view of the previous release cycle. However, nothing will come of it, as Raspberry CEO Eben Upton explains in an interview with the YouTube channel Explaining Computers.

When asked about the future direction of Raspberry Pi devices, Upton speaks of a “strange year” that lies behind us – the double blow from the corona pandemic and global chip shortages have affected the industry in general. Accordingly, Raspberry Pi must also distance itself from the previous processes in the publication of new models. Instead, the year 2023 is a “recovery year” so that everyone can gather new strength from the consequences of the past few years.

According to Upton, a release of a potential Raspberry Pi 5 in 2023 would be a “disaster”. As a comparison value, the CEO uses the Launch Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, which has been virtually unavailable since its release in the middle of the corona pandemic. In particular, Upton expresses concern about the potential consequences of a premature launch if production of a new model fails to ramp up or it somehow cannibalizes an element of the supply chain. Such a scenario could also have negative consequences for the recovering states of the Raspberry Pi 3 and 3+.

After all, Upton paints a not entirely bleak future scenario for the years that follow: The obstacles mentioned should ease at least in the second half of 2024, so that this is a possible time to think about a Raspberry Pi 5 platform. The last official release of a Raspberry model was in June 2019, which corresponded to the previous launch cycle of around three years. With the issues of the past few years addressed, a release of a Raspberry Pi 5 in 2024 would mean the longest wait for a new model.