There have been rumors going around that it would be a while until the next major Raspberry Pi upgrade would happen. However, Raspberry Pi 4 is out now.
When it comes down to it, the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B looks very similar to the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. But though it is similar, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some changes. In fact, the Raspberry Pi Foundation says everything has been updated with the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B.
Raspberry Pi posted a video to mark the release of the Raspberry Pi 4:
What’s been upgraded?
This first aspect that’s been upgraded for the new Raspberry Pi is a faster system-on-a-chip. The processor uses the Cortex-A72 architecture (quad-core 64-bit ARMv8 at 1.5GHz). Additionally, it supports H.265 hardware video decoding.
While the Raspberry Pi has been stuck at 512MB or 1GB of RAM for years, now you can purchase more memory if you want it. The base model starts with 1GB of RAM. However, you can buy a model with 2GB RAM and a 4GB RAM version.
Memory transfer speeds also should be faster because the foundation has switched from LPDDR2 to LPDDR4.
Connectivity
There are changes to connectivity as well. There’s now support for true Gigabit Ethernet instead of Ethernet over USB 2.0. There’s also now two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports. Additionally, you can now get a USB-C port for the power brick and the Bluetooth’s been updated from Bluetooth 4.2 to Bluetooth 5.0.
Full-size HDMI port is gone
One of the big hardware changes is that the full-size HDMI port is gone. Instead, you get two micro-HDMI ports. It’ll allow you to plug in two 4K displays at 60 frames per second using one Raspberry Pi.
Pricing and availability
The Raspberry Pi 4 is out now. The base model costs just $35 dollars. The 2GB RAM model costs $45 and the 4GB RAM model costs $55.
You can learn more at raspberrypi.org.
Image courtesy Raspberry Pi Foundation
