Good Pi news and not so good

Build Hat. © Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Let’s start with Raspberry Pi Foundation’s bad news: the price of the Pi 4 with 2GB of RAM will jump up. In response to supply chain issues, especially with semiconductors, the Foundation had to increase the price by USD 10, from USD 35 to USD 45, which is not insignificant. For customers on a tighter budget, the Foundation will reintroduce the 1GB Pi 4, discontinued last year, at USD 35. “These changes in pricing are not here to stay,” writes co-founder Eben Upton. “As global supply chain issues moderate, we’ll keep revisiting this issue, and we want to get pricing back to where it was as fast as we can.”

The good news is the release of a new HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) module, which lets you control devices made from Lego Technic motors and sensors, and more particularly those designed with Spike Prime kits. Build HAT was created in partnership with the Lego Education team to awaken technical creativity in young people aged 11 to 14. Priced at USD 25, it plugs into the 40-pin GPIO and can be used to control up to four Lego Technic motors and sensors (list of compatible modules). It works with all 40-pin GPIO Raspberry Pi boards, including Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi Zero. To take advantage of the Build HAT, the Foundation is offering a new Python library.

⇨ The Verge, Jon Porter, “Raspberry Pi temporarily increases Pi 4 price in response to chip shortages.”

⇨ The Verge, Mitchell Clark, “This Raspberry Pi add-on lets you control Lego robots.”

2021-10-21