Home Assistant Raspberry Pi 4 Bluetooth

Our Verdict

Bottom line: The Raspberry Pi 400 is zilch more than than a Raspberry Pi four Model B mounted inside a keyboard. It turns out that this pocket-sized, seemingly insignificant change makes all the deviation and this is the Raspberry Pi that almost everyone should buy.

For

Pure simplicity
Keyboard is fully functional
Integrated heatsink
Available equally a kit for less than the cost of buying each slice

Against

GPIO pin access requires an adapter
Tin exist harder to notice than regular Raspberry Pi 4

I actually didn't call up I could be more impressed past a Raspberry Pi than I was when Pi 4 Model B launched in 2019, simply here we are. I honey to tinker with gadgets, and e'er take a Raspberry Pi or two sitting on my messy workbench. They are just that versatile.

I was excited to see the Raspberry Pi 400 launch because information technology solved two very existent problems most people will face when they want to get started: the need for an enclosure of some sort, and a keyboard to get everything set up and running. Turns out that fifty-fifty if you already have a great Raspberry Pi case or two and a handful of extra keyboards, the Raspberry Pi 400 is however pretty darn awesome.

What is a Raspberry Pi and who is it for?

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ — Source: Jerry Hildenbrand / Android Central (Epitome credit: Source: Jerry Hildenbrand / Android Central)

A Raspberry Pi is what's known equally a unmarried-board computer, which is a fancy style of proverb information technology's basically everything you need to to make a calculator soldered into one PCB. In one case provided with a proper enclosure, an input method similar a mouse and keyboard, and a display of some sort it works merely similar the desktop or laptop computer you might already have.

The big deviation is the size. A Raspberry Pi is about the size of a credit card which means it can be placed just nearly anywhere or within of anything so it'south corking for electronic projects or IoT (Internet of Things) devices and prototyping. In fact, this was one of the main design goals when the first Raspberry Pi was beingness developed — it's a cheap manner to teach software and hardware development to hobbyists and students.

The Raspberry Pi has moved past this and you'll find plenty of people using one as a small desktop estimator, or a media server, or fifty-fifty a retro gaming console. Information technology'south extremely like shooting fish in a barrel to get started and there is a giant customs of developers and fellow hobbyists online so the listing of possibilities is still growing every day.

The Raspberry Pi 400 shines because it has everything you demand built into one of the other things y'all need — the enclosure is also a fully-functional keyboard. If yous're an enthusiast who wants to build a media server or a RetroPi game panel, or fifty-fifty have your own Linux-powered desktop PC, the Raspberry Pi 400 is perfect for yous.

Raspberry Pi 400 What I like

Category	Spec
Processor	Broadcom BCM2711
RAM	4GB LPDDR4-3200
Connectivity	Dual-band (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz) IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac wireless LAN Bluetooth v.0, BLE Gigabit Ethernet
Ports	ii × USB iii.0 and 1 × USB 2.0 ports 2x micro HDMI
I/O	Horizontal forty-pin GPIO header
Multimedia	H.265 (4Kp60 decode) H.264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode) OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics
Keyboard	78 or 79 (depending on region) fundamental meaty keyboard
Power	5V DC via USB connector

I really like the hardware choices fabricated for the Raspberry Pi 400. The smallish 78-key keyboard and the wired USB optical mouse are red and white considering official Raspberry Pi accessories similar cases have ever been ruby and white. Both are soft-touch plastic which means they feel good to touch on simply will get muddied eventually. Simply what I like a lot more than is the feel one time you plug in iii cables.

Really — you tin become a Raspberry Pi up and running by making sure the bundled SD carte (or if you lot've purchased one of the best SD cards for Raspberry Pi) is inserted, plugging in the mouse and a monitor, and so connecting the power supply. Fifteen seconds later, yous're greeted by a graphical desktop welcoming you to your new Raspberry Pi.

I'm sure that some folks don't need this sort of unproblematic introduction but I'thousand also pretty certain that a lot of people are buying a Raspberry Pi with the intent to utilize it as a low-cal and cheap desktop calculator. For those people, booting upwards a Raspberry Pi for the first time is a whole lot less of a headache than booting up a Windows or Mac computer. Seriously.

You'll click a single push button to connect to a network — either via Ethernet or Wi-Fi — then the onboarding process checks the software version of every program and the operating system itself and updates annihilation that needs it. If you're using whatsoever sort of HD monitor (the Raspberry Pi 400 easily supports any of the best 4K TVs or displays) yous'll then need to reboot then the correct resolution can exist applied.

And and so you're done setting it all upward and can brainstorm to use it equally a desktop PC. A surprisingly capable desktop PC based on the hardware within, too.

The hardware is beautiful and the software isn't and then bad either. Linux has come a long way.

We're not talking about some sort of nerdish ugly desktop environment you might be thinking of when yous find out the Raspberry Pi runs Linux, either. It's full of useful and functional software like a software "store" where you can choose from thousands and thousands of applications, games, and utilities. There is a full-featured (and in my opinion much better than offerings from Microsoft or Apple) file explorer. Fifty-fifty hot-plugging in something like a USB stick or hard drive is fully supported with no extra configuration. To employ the sometime platitude, information technology just works. Except that this fourth dimension it really does only work.

All in all, the feel is very much like your phone where everything is configured to be automatic and stay up to appointment while providing the best user experience possible. But because the Raspberry Pi 400 is a Linux PC you lot can branch out and install other software, change the operating system, or even write your ain software or operating system.

Information technology's not blazing fast but it is very capable. I usually set up a Raspberry Pi equally some sort of server or application service and was genuinely surprised how fluid and functional using the Raspberry Pi 400 every bit a lightweight desktop PC was.

Raspberry Pi 400 What I don't like

This section is short because there isn't much I don't like about the Raspberry Pi 400. Having said that, the one matter on my list hither makes the product a deal-breaker for many of my own projects: there is no easy admission to the onboard GPIO pins without an adapter.

If yous want to build an IoT project the Pi 400 probably isn't what y'all desire.

A Raspberry Pi comes with twoscore GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) pins that you tin hands turn on or off through programming. Permit's say I want to employ a Raspberry Pi as a lighting controller that would turn on a floodlight in the backyard (through the use of a low-voltage relay) if a motion sensor "sees" motility for more than i.five seconds. That'south really like shooting fish in a barrel to do using the programmable GPIO pins and that'due south the sort of project I like to use a Raspberry Pi for.

I tin can even so practise this, but I would need an adapter that attaches to the pins and then exposes forty pins outside of the keyboard case on the other cease. In a use case similar this, I don't need an attached keyboard nor do I want ane more betoken of failure, and using a "regular" Raspberry Pi inside a small weatherproof enclosure is a much amend way to go.

Granted, that's actually niche only you would be surprised at how many folks employ a Raspberry Pi to human activity as the brains of a like electronics project and for all of those people, the standard Raspberry Pi is a improve choice. So once again, the people nigh probable to exercise anything of this nature already know this and they are not who this review is written for.

Raspberry Pi 400 The competition

There are quite a few modest, cheap unmarried-lath computers on the market, and they range from complete overkill for whatsoever hobbyist to something as simple but applied equally an Arduino. I've used several of these products and if you lot have a dedicated demand they could exist a ameliorate fit.

The FriendlyElec NanoPi NEO3 (opens in new tab) works well for a small IoT project. It has a handful of I/O options, is on the pocket-size side, and is fairly piece of cake to use. Yous'll too love its low price simply probably won't like its modest programmer community if you hit a snag.

If yous want to apply a board that runs Android (besides as Android TV!) the ODROID-XU4 (opens in new tab) has you covered. If using Windows is more your manner, then you might want to await towards the LattePanda Delta (opens in new tab). Both are capable with sizable communities in identify where you can get answers to the inevitable questions that volition come.

Finally, if you want or demand complete overkill or want to build robots or self-driving cars, the NVIDIA Jetson Evolution Kit (opens in new tab) is there for you. It'south not piece of cake to employ and information technology'due south non inexpensive. But it has more power than you'll know what to exercise with.

Raspberry Pi 400 Should you lot purchase it?

Y'all should buy this if ...

You want a small merely cheap tiny PC
You're new to using a single-board computer or electronic projects in general
Yous want a Raspberry Pi and volition use it hands-on instead of stuffing it in a box where it just runs code
Yous want the best Raspberry Pi for well-nigh everyone

Y'all should not buy this if ...

Y'all won't demand to bear on your Raspberry Pi once it is in place and working
Y'all plan to do a lot of prototyping using the GPIO pins
Yous just don't need a keyboard or enclosure

v out of 5

I've never rated annihilation a full five stars before because something has to be perfect to get a perfect score. The Raspberry Pi 400 is perfect for well-nigh everyone.

It truly is plug and play which is important considering, and let's exist honest here, annihilation that runs Linux can be a pain to get running. Everything you need to become started is included in an cheap kit and if yous only demand the unit itself y'all can buy it, too. Information technology's never been this like shooting fish in a barrel to come across what all the Raspberry Pi fuss is about.

Once information technology's fix you'll be surprised at how well it works and what yous can do with information technology. It'due south a desktop PC, a media server, a game panel, and anything else you can dream up. I can't recommend the Raspberry Pi 400 enough to anyone who wants to check the earth of Raspberry Pi out, and I think it will get you hooked.

Jerry is an apprentice woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There'south nothing he can't take apart, but many things he tin can't reassemble. Y'all'll detect him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Cardinal and occasionally on Twitter.

5 Comments

For the i/10 cost of an apple tree monitor stand, or ane/ix cost of 4 niggling apple wheels, you get a fully functional small computer!;D And, with this litle reckoner, y'all can do things that most apple users dont do with a mac pro!;D
nice review, thank you.
for me, this competes with using a loftier-terminate Android Tv set box (there'due south a $xc one based on the core A7x S922X). This i is more hackable hardware and software-wise, has endless Os updates and an splendid support community. The Android box is more familiar and has a lot more native apps for regular users (incl. MS Role, Skype, plenty of adept games...). For me, I'd get a Pi. For most users, Android.
I've got a lot of little raspberry pi appliances I've put together. The old style DIY lath formfactor is great for that. If this makes a good enough desktop for younger kids or kiosk environments it more than justifies its existence.
Exactly. A Pi Zero controls a damper in the hvac duct coming into my office. A Pi 3 runs our Christmas tree lights. A rack of Pi 3s control my aquariums. But a Pi 400 is an out of the box 100% working desktop computer that is more than powerful than you lot would recollect and tin can teach yous how to do all those other things. It's one of the best tech products of 2020 IMO.
This Pi400 is my beginning Raspberry device. I'grand not into making or tinkering per se. I'thou looking at this as a desktop replacement suitable for the masses. Tin't wait till LineageOS (flashed onto an SSD) gets further developed. Then smartphone to computer will be seamless.