Raspberry Pi has been selling tiny, inexpensive computers and accessories since 2012. But while Raspberry Pi hardware has become popular with enthusiasts and home users, the organization’s single-board computers were originally targeted at students, educators, and makers.

The new Raspberry Pi 400 is something different: a full-fledged computer stuffed inside a keyboard. It’s basically a modern take on the Commodore 64 and similar personal computers from decades past.

A key difference? The Raspberry Pi 400 is incredibly affordable, with prices starting at just $70.

That’s how much you pay to get a Raspberry Pi 400 PC-in-a-keyboard case. Or you can pay $100 for a Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit that bundles the PC with:

  • Official USB mouse
  • Official USB-C power supply
  • 16GB microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS pre-installed (although Ubuntu and other operating systems should be supported as well)
  • micro HDMI to HDMI cable

The only thing that’s not included is a display, but you should be able to hook up just about any HDMI monitor or TV.

Under the hood, the Raspberry Pi 400 has the same basic hardware as a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with 4GB of RAM. The memory, storage, wireless capabilities, and ports are the same – but the board has been redesigned so that all the ports are on one side so that they can all be accessed from the back of the keyboard/computer.

Raspberry Pi also equipped this model with a slightly faster processor clocked at 1.8 GHz rather than 1.5 GHz.

That means Raspberry Pi HATs and other accessories probably won’t fit. But it would have been tough to cram them inside the Raspberry Pi 400’s custom case anyway.

Here’s a run-down of the new computer’s key specs:

  • Processor: Broadcom BCM2711 processor (4 x ARM Cortex-A72 CPU cores @ 1.8GHz
  • Memory: 4GB LPDDR4-3200
  • Wireless: Dual-band WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0
  • Ports: Gigabit Ethernet, 2 × USB 3.0 and 1 × USB 2.0,  2 × micro HDMI ports (up to 4Kp60)
  • GPIO: Horizontal 40-pin GPIO header
  • Storage: MicroSD card slot for OS and data storage
  • Power: 5V DC via USB connector
  • Keyboard: 78- or 79-key compact keyboard (UK and US English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish layouts available at launch)
  • Dimensions: 286 mm × 122 mm × 23 mm

CNX-Software also has a teardown that gives you a look at the new motherboard and the computer’s large heat spreader (which allows for fanless performance).

via Raspberry Pi

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9 replies on “Raspberry Pi 400 is a PC-in-a-keyboard for $70 and up”

  3. Looks like they implemented a power button on the F10 key (it’s red so the raspberry key also needs to be pressed). One step closer to real PC (instead of a SBC).

    1. Looks like they had space on the back to have at least one HDMI port to be full-sized. That is a missed opportunity.

  4. Why did they not use their newly announced CM4? That way you could leave room for future upgrades. Oh well I still pre-ordered one.

  5. Looks very retro (I can see how it will appeal to many people). I wish that they had included a touch pad, which also could eliminate the need for a mouse. I most likely will not buy one as I like the touch and feel of my present keyboard and mouse.

    1. Using this with a built in touch pad seems kinda like you’d be missing the point of this thing, since there’s no battery and you kinda have to put it on a desk to use it anyway.
      …Actually what is the point of this thing? You have to use it on a desk, so you need a monitor, which has plenty of surface on the back to stick a raspberry pi onto, and there are assuredly plenty of ways to extend the GPIO headers so they’re in reach. The one novel use case I can think of for this is using it as a really sophisticated keyboard for another computer, with extra functionality from HATs you stick in the back. (per the newspost comments, you CAN do this although it may take a month or two before you see a downloadable .img that’ll do this for you).
      But if I’m going to do that, I’d prefer some nicer key switches.

      1. I actually designed something similar a while ago using a Raspberry Pi 3, and Cherry MX key switches. I also designed a hinge and clamshell laptop screen lid.

        I didn’t get past the CAD design and the PCB design phase, I got stuck with the MIPI DSI display implementation, the datasheets on this are private and only available to companies that are members of the MIPI Alliance 🙁

        A agree that the appeal of this Keyboard + RPi combo is very limited. Maybe for someone who wants a headless computer, but they want a dedicated keyboard connected?

        1. I have several RPi’s that are basically headless, and can be brought up on a connected monitor if need be by an HDMI switch. This would almost work for that, except the value in the units I have is that they also connect to the same wireless keyboards when I need to fix things or do other tasks and SSH isn’t working for whatever reason.

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