What and When to Expect from the Raspberry Pi 5

Raspberry Pi boards remain one of the top choices for inexpensive, general-purpose, all-around, single-board computers. Linux-based Raspberry Pi kits have had several iterations since its launch in 2012. Almost a decade after, four generations have been released. Despite various enhancements and upgrades, the Raspberry Pi computer board maintains its affordability. The small board is a big hit not only for computer enthusiasts, but also for DIY makers, hobbyists, and project builders, as well.The fourth generation of Raspberry Pi received a full upgrade. With a faster CPU, more RAM options, faster Bluetooth, integration of the latest USB-C ports, and many other upgrades, the Raspberry Pi 4 could deliver a desktop performance, which is what most people had been waiting for. The next question is “Could it get any better?” Nothing is constant in technology, and upgrades and updates pop up like mushrooms every now and then. The better question is, “What can the new Raspberry Pi 5 bring to the table?”

Fans of the tiny computer can only speculate what the new board will be since there is not any news yet as to whether there will be a successor to the Raspberry Pi 4 B. The latest iteration is the Raspberry Pi 400, which is basically a Raspberry Pi 4 B enclosed in a casing that comes with a keyboard and has a fixed 4 GB of RAM. Since there is always a demand for better performance and new technology arises every so often, a fifth generation of Raspberry Pi board is just around the corner. But what can we expect from the newest Raspberry Pi version?

Raspberry Pi 5 Speculations

The Raspberry Pi Foundation seems to be keeping things under wraps when it comes to the latest version of Raspberry Pi. Since Raspberry Pi computer boards are still in high demand, many believe that the newest version is already in the works. We expect that this version will be an improved version of the Raspberry Pi 4 B, resolving issues that users encountered with this model, such as overheating and the design failure of the USB-C power port.

Performance

Since the very first release, Raspberry Pi devices have been equipped with Broadcom CPU, and there is no sign of the Raspberry Pi-Broadcom relationship breaking up. That being said, we can expect the new board to have better performance, with a higher-end Broadcom quad-core CPU and a higher clock speed of possibly 2 GHz. The RAM selections could go as high as 16 GB, employing the more power-efficient LPDDR5 SDRAM.

Display

It is great that the latest version of Raspberry Pi supports dual-display output, but the connection goes through micro-HDMI ports, which is not convenient for most users. Since most users still prefer the traditional HDMI port, there is much speculation that this port will be brought back on board, with not just one but two ports for dual-display output. We also expect the 4K video playback refresh rate to remain at 60 Hz, even with two monitors connected. Meanwhile, the Raspberry Pi 4 B reduces the refresh rate to 30Hz when powering two monitors.

Connectivity

The Raspberry Pi Foundation did a good job with integrating Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi for connectivity in the latest versions. We can expect the same high-speed connectivity features in the Raspberry Pi 5. When it comes to Bluetooth, we can also anticipate the latest Bluetooth 5.2 for faster speeds and greater ranges for your wireless devices.

Ports

Perhaps the biggest hiccup of the Raspberry Pi 4 is the USB-C power supply issue due to a design failure, though this was fixed by subsequent releases of revised boards. Learning from this mistake, we hope that no such issue will be encountered in the new Raspberry Pi. Additionally, since more devices are employing USB-C ports not just for power but also for faster data transfer, an additional USB-C port for this purpose is expected to be added to the new board to keep up with this trend. The USB 3.0 ports will still be part of the group of Raspberry Pi ports for easy compatibility, with devices still using the traditional port. The signature Raspberry Pi GPIO header should also be retained in the latest model.

Storage

Since the first Raspberry Pi, the microSD card cradles the operating system and also serves as the hard drive. It would be a big leap if this were changed to built-in storage, such as eMMC memory, which has faster read/write speeds than SD cards. This storage type is also more durable and has greater capacity than SD cards. Not to mention, there is zero chance of data getting lost or misplaced.

Cooling System

Better performance means more heat, which is what Raspberry Pi 4 users have experienced with the upgraded components. The Raspberry Pi 5 device is expected to grind at a higher performance, and to avoid overheating, an additional built-in cooling system would be more than necessary.

Operating System

The Raspberry Pi OS is the new and official operating system for Raspberry Pi boards, replacing the outdated Raspbian OS. Just like the old version, this new OS is based on Debian, but it can run on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. This is a significant improvement because this new version can now run 64-bit apps. Unless the developers deploy another change of OS, we can expect that the Raspberry Pi OS will run on Raspberry Pi 5, as well.

When to Expect the New Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has no clear date set for releasing the newest Raspberry Pi models. It took three years for Raspberry Pi to release the second generation of the single-board computer, and only one year longer to release the third generation. The fourth generation was released in 2019, three years after the release of the third generation. Developers remain quiet about the newest board model, though there is no rush yet since users are still enjoying the Raspberry Pi 4 B, as well as the recently released Raspberry Pi 400. Since there is no official statement regarding Raspberry 5, we cannot assume that the new generation will be released soon, but it may also come as a surprise, just like the release of the Raspberry Pi 4 B. Whatever the case may be, we can expect more enhancements and upgrades to the future Raspberry Pi 5.