New official Raspberry Pi accessories expand versatility of popular single-board computers

The Raspberry Pi 5 (curr. $69.99 - 4 GB on Amazon) remains the Raspberry Pi Foundation's most recent single-board computer (SBC). Unfortunately, the Foundation has not yet introduced more powerful alternatives yet. Nonetheless, it continues to expand the possibilities of existing models by releasing new accessories.

On the one hand, it now sells the Raspberry Pi SSD Kit, which comes with M.2 2230 SSDs and an accompanying HAT. As it stands, it remains possible to purchase the latter without the former from some retailers. However, many carry the kit with 256 GB and 512 GB drives, which cost roughly $40 and $55, respectively. For reference, the two drives offer different read and write speeds:

256GB NVMe

• 40k IOPS (4kB random reads)
• 70k IOPS (4kB random writes)

512GB NVMe

• 50k IOPS (4kB random reads)
• 90k IOPS (4kB random writes)

On the other hand, the Foundation has also launched the Raspberry Pi USB Hub. An inexpensive accessory at $14.25 in the US, the Raspberry Pi USB Hub features four USB Type-A ports that all conform to the USB 3.0 standard. As a result, each port can deliver up to 5 Gbps peak transfer speeds. Moreover, the hub supports an optional USB Type-C power input that can handle 5V at 3A.

As it stands, the Pi Foundation will keep the Raspberry Pi USB Hub in production until at least January 2030. By contrast, the Raspberry Pi SSD Kit should remain around for another two years. Please see the Pi Foundation's store listings linked below for more information.