Raspberry Pi Foundation
Shortages for many technical components, including things like DDR5 and GPUs, have abated quite a bit since early 2022, and prices have managed to drop as availability improves. But that reprieve hasn’t come for hobbyists hoping to get a Raspberry Pi, which is as hard to buy today as it was a year ago.
The most recent update on the situation comes from Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton via YouTuber Jeff Geerling – Upton told Geerling that Pi boards are subject to the same supply restrictions as they were in April, the last time he wrote a post about the situation. About 400,000 Pi boards are produced per month, some of which are destined for shipment to consumer stores. But Upton says most of these are still reserved for and sold to commercial customers who rely on Pi boards to run their businesses.
Basically, the update is that there is no update. Upton said in April (and nearly a year ago, when the company raised the price for a Pi board for the first time) that the Broadcom processors at the heart of older Pi boards were particularly hard to find, but big question was just as big a problem. Demand for Pi boards increased during the pandemic and production capacity was no longer available to meet this demand. Upton said a year ago that there were “early signs that the supply chain situation is starting to ease,” but backup demand could still explain the shortfall, even as the Pi’s components have become easier to buy.
If you’re trying to buy a Raspberry Pi in the US or other regions, the rpilocator spreadsheet can be a valuable resource, letting you know when different models are in stock to order from the most common Pi retailers. However, according to the tracker, there were very few Pi 4 boards of any kind available to buy until September, and if you’re looking for a specific RAM capacity, you’ll have to wait even longer. Companies seeking information on how to buy Piss are still encouraged to contact the email address [email protected] to defend their case.
