Update: June 20, 2019
Well, as we now know, the Raspberry Pi 4 did in fact come out in 2019. Despite indications, and even a statement from the CEO of Raspberry Pi Trading, that there would be no Raspberry Pi 4 in 2019, it did in fact happen! We are pleased to be wrong about the previous prediction!
Original article:
Since the inception of the Raspberry Pi board in 2012, the little board has become the most popular small computer board for experimenters, hobbyists, educators and technology enthusiasts. As the board became more powerful with subsequent releases, it even found its way into scientific and industrial applications.
We can thank the Raspberry Pi Foundation for its vision and initiative to make this happen. Originally created to promote teaching of basic computer science and programming, it has gone well beyond its creators' expectations.
Seven years later, Raspberry Pi has made six releases of its primary "model B" board (not including the A and Zero models). Following are the B models and their release dates.
| Model | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Pi 1 B | April, 2012 |
| Pi 1 B+ | July, 2014 |
| Pi 2 B | February, 2015 |
| Pi 2 B V1.2 | October, 2016 |
| Pi 3 B | February, 2016 |
| Pi 3 B+ | March, 2018 |
From the table, it is clear that releases are not made every year. However, it has been over a year since the last incremental release from the 3 B to 3 B+ and almost 3 years since the more significant release from the 2 B to the 3 B. Many of us have grown eager in anticipation of a new board - the Raspberry Pi 4! Speculation suggested that perhaps we might see a Pi 4 on Pi Day - March 14 (3.14), but this did not happen.
So, what is the likelihood that Raspberry Pi will release a new board in 2019? From a recent interview by Avram Piltch from Tom's Hardware with Eben Upton, the CEO of Raspberry Pi Trading, it was clear that it will not happen in 2019. According to this interview, Mr. Upton stated:
"I don't have a route to do something this year," he told us. "I think we kind of understand what feature set we want [and] what would be involved in getting that feature set. I don't think we have a defined plan for turning that into a product yet."
So for now, it looks like we will continue to put our focus and energies into the very respectable Raspberry Pi 3 and 3 B+. Of course, we will continue to dream about the upcoming Raspberry Pi 4 and what it might (or should) include as new specifications.
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