There hasn’t been a lot of good news about Raspberry Pis lately, at least not for those looking to buy. But the manufacturer of single-board systems advises not to lose heart. Individual units are on their way, and more will be coming soon.
In a Supply Chain Update blog post (“That’s good news!”), CEO Eben Upton wrote that the Raspberry Pi “postponed just over a hundred thousand units, divided into Zero W, 3A+, and 2GB and 4GB variants. Raspberry Pi 4 for sale by the piece. During the component shortage caused by the pandemic, most of the Pis produced each month went to factories, leaving those who needed one or two to update the rpilocator project and curse their time. Zeros will start appearing first, then 3A+, then different 4 patterns.
Upton acknowledged this reality (and even linked the locator) and asked that people only buy from approved resellers and consider the Pico and Pico W lines for projects that might fit as those lines remain strong. As of this morning, several 3A+ and CM4 models showed upbeat green on the rpilocator spreadsheet.
Upton wrote that the Raspberry Pi will continue to serve its commercial and industrial customers, but will “ensure that stockpiling behavior that would otherwise prolong shortages for everyone else cannot take place.”Meanwhile, the Raspberry Pi will increase the percentage of boards sold individually. With this change and future chip distribution, Upton expects things to be back to pre-Great Pi Shortage by the end of Q3 2023, with “hundreds of thousands of units available at any given time.”
Stock, but also a slight price increase
The Raspberry Pi models have largely maintained their prices during the global chip shortage, at least at suggested retail prices. The Pi 4 with less memory has been increased, and each CM model has gone up $5 in price. But as components continue to rise in price, Upton writes, Zero models should also rise in price – from $5 to $10 for the Zero and from $10 to $15 for the Zero W (wireless). On the other hand, customers should be able to order multiple Zero models again if inventory increases as planned in the third quarter of 2023.
In comments on the post, communications executive Liz Upton responded to a commenter’s question about Zero 2’s inventory by saying, “Not yet, but it’s not far off.”Upton also noted in response to another request for a Pi 4 with 8GB of memory: “Chip distributions are coming in one by one. We know when we’re getting them, so we can be sure the shipment will be there,”but the Raspberry Pi “isn’t all in our hands yet.”
Recovery from a deficit
The Raspberry Pi business may have been busy with larger customers during the pandemic chip shortage, but its reputation with individual customers has likely suffered. Having to search, overpay, or compromise for a tiny computer you might like to tinker with for a moment of inspiration definitely dampens the enthusiasm. Some have switched to mini PCs and used corporate thick/thin clients.
The hobby company itself suggested that the shortage was partly caused by a recent dispute over the hiring of a former police officer as a domicile manufacturer. British officer Toby Roberts noted in a company blog post that he had worked in the surveillance industry for 15 years, “creating devices to conceal video, audio and other sensitive equipment”and “using the Raspberry Pi extensively in various police tactics.”over the years”. As you can imagine, there has been some pushback from segments of the Pi community and others.
Liz Upton told Buzzfeed News that she thought some of the vitriol directed at Roberts and company was due to the lack of Pi and the fact that people were “already angry.”