In many ways, the Raspberry Pi falls short as a complete personal computer. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has tried to change that with its latest addition, the Raspberry Pi 400.
Launched in November 2020, the Raspberry Pi 400 is a keyboard-shaped single-board computer that sells for $70 per unit or $100 as a kit. The kit includes a mouse, microSD card, power supply, connection cables and a beginner's guide.
The pros
Since its inception, the Raspberry Pi has always been known as a credit card-sized computer without the feel of a desktop computer.
The RPi has become, without a doubt, one of the most popular microcomputers, earning high praise as an affordable computing platform in the electronics and computer engineering communities.
However, the Raspberry Pi 400 offers a completely new form factor, closer to a portable desktop computer. It is similar to the 4GB Raspberry Pi 4 model, but with a slightly higher clock frequency and thermal tolerance. Below the new form factor is simply an updated version of the Raspberry Pi 4.
The heart of the Raspberry Pi 400 is a 64-bit quad-core Cortex-A72 Broadcom BCM2711 SoC clocked at 1.8 GHz – 300 MHz more than the Raspberry Pi 4. It has the same 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. 3200 of the RPi 4. Likewise, it also has two micro-HDMI ports that support up to 4K resolution and OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics.
The RPi 400 can also connect to two displays at the same time using HDMI cables. On the back of the keyboard, users will find available ports, including:
- Two USB 3.0 ports
- One USB 2.0 port
- A gigabit Ethernet
- A MicroSD card slot
- A 40-pin horizontal GPIO header
For wireless connectivity, the RPi 400 offers an integrated dual-band IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac wireless LAN, Bluetooth 5.0, and BLE.
Additionally, the RPi 400 houses a large heatsink between the motherboard and the keyboard, which acts as a shield. As a result, this model can tolerate much higher temperatures and works comparatively well when overclocked.
The cons
Raspberry Pi 400 is designed to be used as a portable microcomputer, so it does not offer CSI or DSI connectors. This means that you cannot connect the official RPi camera and touchscreen with this new model. This is a significant loss for anyone interested in creating different types of projects.
True, the lack of a touchscreen can be overcome with a screen. But the lack of a CSI port means you can only use USB webcams. The RPi 400's horizontal GPIO header can be accessed using jumper wires, but a breakout board is required to connect a HAT or pHAT.
It's worth repeating: the RPi 400 is simply a portable computer with a keyboard. It is not intended for use as a test platform for embedded computing.
Unfortunately, the Raspberry Pi 400 has not yet overcome the platform's disadvantages as a desktop computer. For example, despite superior thermal performance, this model sometimes suffers from overheating issues compared to typical desktop computers.
The card still relies on a MicroSD card for secondary memory and does not have a GPU. Therefore, the Raspberry Pi 400 is more of a cosmetic upgrade than a complete replacement for a typical desktop computer.
The verdict
The Raspberry Pi 400 offers a new keyboard format that is unique and convenient to use. Just connect it to any monitor with an HDMI port and a USB mouse and you have a desktop computer.
However, the new design lacks certain capabilities as an embedded systems platform, including CSI and DSI ports. It also requires breakout boards to connect HAT and pHAT.
Raspberry Pi 400 was designed to be a portable and affordable microcomputer. Just don't expect a complete desktop in terms of memory and performance. But, given the cost, the RPi 400 is still the ideal choice for those who are new to computing and want to improve their studies for a low price.