For months now, we’ve been reporting on the rising prices of memory and storage, which has led several tech companies to increase the prices of their computers, tablets, and smartphones. The latest news here is that the Raspberry Pi microcomputer is also becoming significantly more expensive, reports The Verge.
When the Raspberry Pi 5 16GB first launched, it was priced at $120. Now, thanks to the AI-driven RAM shortage, that model is getting a price bump of $100, according to a blog post announcement. Other models are also getting price bumps, including Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 models with 4GB or more memory; Raspberry Pi 500 and 500+; and all variants of Compute Module 4, Compute Module 4S, and Compute Module 5.
Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Ltd., ended the blog post with a small reassurance: “We’ve said a number of times now that memory prices won’t remain at their current very high level indefinitely… [When circumstances abate], we will reverse our price increases.”
In that same announcement, Upton led with what could be considered a consolation: a cheaper version of the Raspberry Pi 4 that only has 3 GB of memory and is priced at $83.75 (compared to the 4GB model now at $110 and the 8GB model now at $165).