The Raspberry Pi 500+ is the desktop I didn’t expect but always wanted

DECODED: TECH, TRUTH, AND THREATS

By Art Samaniego

When the original Raspberry Pi was launched in 2012, it wasn’t intended to be anyone’s primary computer. It was built with a far more modest goal in mind: to teach kids how to code. A tiny, bare-bones board that cost just USD 35, the Pi was never supposed to compete with laptops or desktops. It was a teaching tool that’s cheap, flexible, and open-ended.

But something unexpected happened. Tinkerers, hobbyists, and developers started buying it. They built media centers, weather stations, arcade machines, and smart mirrors.

The Raspberry Pi evolved from a classroom experiment into a versatile tool for anyone who enjoys building devices that blink, boot, or broadcast.

In the years that followed, the Pi evolved. It became faster, added more memory, and gained support for Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. But even with the Raspberry Pi 4 and the more recent Pi 5, it still felt like a project box, something you used with a mess of wires trailing off the side of your desk. Versatile, yes. But never quite refined. The Raspberry Pi 500+ changes that.

This time, it’s packed with everything from processor, ports, to storage, housed in a compact mechanical keyboard. It’s not the first time Raspberry Pi has tried this form factor (the Raspberry Pi 400 took a similar shot), but this one lands differently.

With up to 16GB of RAM, a built-in 256GB NVMe SSD, and a quad-core ARM Cortex-A76 processor, it’s not just useful, but also incredibly fast.

I placed an order almost immediately after the announcement was made. No hesitation. And now, like many others in the Pi community, I’m waiting eagerly to see if this new iteration lives up to the promise it quietly makes: that a single device can balance hobbyist charm with professional-grade power.

The shift isn’t about raw performance alone. Yes, it uses the same quad-core Cortex-A76 processor found in the Pi 5. But with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB NVMe SSD pre-installed, it suddenly feels like an actual computer, not a toy disguised as one.

It still offers GPIO pins for those who build and tinker, but this isn’t just about the breadboards anymore. It’s about daily use, where you can code, browse, write, and even edit media without the usual clutter of cables and breakout boards.

Then there’s the form factor. Packing everything into a sleek mechanical keyboard feels like a nod to classic machines, such as the BBC Micro or Commodore 64. It’s retro-inspired, but not nostalgic for its own sake.

The Gateron low-profile switches are beautiful, tactile, and comfortable, demonstrating respect for the typing experience, not just the tech under the hood.

It also speaks to utility. With dual 4K-capable HDMI ports, USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, it easily supports a range of roles. Development machine? Check. Streaming hub? Sure. Lightweight workstation? Quite possibly. It’s the kind of machine that can fade into the background when needed, or anchor a whole setup if you let it.

What stands out most is that the 500+ feels like a bridge between the Pi’s hacker roots and its potential as a no-fuss desktop. It respects where the platform came from without being bound by it. And that’s what makes this more than just another update.

We’ll see how it performs in practice once I get it. But even before it reaches my desk, it shows something important, that the Raspberry Pi is growing up with me.