Raspberry Pi is difficult to obtain, is it due to production restrictions due to global parts shortage?



Engineer

Jeff Gering points out that Raspberry Pi , which is synonymous with single board computers, is out of stock and difficult to obtain.

You can't buy a Raspberry Pi right now | Jeff Geerling
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2022/you-cant-buy-raspberry-pi-right-now

According to Gehring, the Raspberry Pis in short supply are relatively newer models: the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and Raspberry Pi 400, which will be available from multiple vendors from early 2022. It seems that it was in short supply. In addition, models such as Raspberry Pi Pico and Raspberry Pi Pico W are said to be available as of October 2022.

The quickest way to purchase each model of Raspberry Pi, which is difficult to obtain, is to ``purchase a resale price on eBay, an internet auction site''. However, there are cases where models with a selling price of $ 35 (about 5100 yen) are sold for more than $ 100 (about 15,000 yen).

As for the reason for the shortage of Raspberry Pi, Mr. Gehring said, ``Raspberry Pi is one of the few single-board computer manufacturers (perhaps the only manufacturer) that continuously supports each model, and documentation is continuously available. , and focus on providing a great end-user experience for all users, from beginners to advanced users,' and 'production restrictions due to global parts shortages.'

Regarding 'production restrictions due to global shortage of parts', Mr. Gehring pointed out that Broadcom 's BCM2711 , which is used by Raspberry Pi 4 B, is particularly lacking. Not only Raspberry Pi suffers from this 'production limit due to global shortage of parts', but so do automakers and semiconductor makers such as NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD .



Raspberry Pi failed to increase production of each model due to worldwide parts shortage. Officially, the limited inventory was preferentially supplied to

OEM partners rather than retailers, resulting in a shortage. ``This is far from ideal. Many in the maker and hacker communities feel betrayed by the voluntary grassroots movement that has grown since the introduction of the Raspberry Pi in 2012,'' Goering said. I will.”

Mr. Goering directly asked Eben Upton, CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, about the shortage of Raspberry Pi, and Upton said, ``Supply is still limited,'' ``We are giving priority to OEM customers,'' and `` We are limiting supply to customers.' Upton also revealed that as of October 2022, the company is producing 400,000 Raspberry Pi units per month.

In addition to this, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has introduced a new process to check whether OEMs are reselling Raspberry Pi, and 'make sure that companies that rely on Raspberry Pi do not go bankrupt.' I am referring to



“Our approach to software support, maintenance and quality is paramount,” Upton continued. And we plan to continue to update it in the future.'

In response, Goering said, ``This is why used Raspberry Pis continue to sell for more than double the suggested retail price. It's much easier to use ', and pointed out that `` generous software support '', which is part of the supply shortage of Raspberry Pi, is also `` the reason for choosing Raspberry Pi ''.



Mr. Gering said that Raspberry Pi is in short supply, so ``users are starting to look for alternative single-board computers.'' If you want a single-board computer on par with the Raspberry Pi, he recommends manufacturers like Khadas , Radxa , and Orange Pi , and points out that these single-board computers can be purchased for less than $100. However, although Raspberry Pi officially publishes various documents and is easy to introduce even for beginners, Gehring points out that these manufacturers do not have as much support as Raspberry Pi.

In the case of single board computers other than Raspberry Pi, there are few cases where it can be used simply by ``downloading the ISO file, saving it in a USB memory and installing it'', and more work is required. Also, some single board computers lack basic structures such as HDMI ports and LAN adapters, and even Linux cannot be installed.

``It's not that you should avoid other single-board computers, but you shouldn't expect them to have the same level of user experience and support that you get with the Raspberry Pi,'' Gering said.

In addition, according to Mr. Gering, the shortage of Raspberry Pi is unlikely to subside during 2022, and he hopes that it will be alleviated in 2023.

in Hardware, Posted by logu_ii