Yeah the fact the M.2 slot is on the top of the motherboard means you can't get to it without opening up the Pi 500 case, which is not designed to be opened by the end user. That points to the same motherboard being reused in a rather different device - either one with a keyboard that can be easily removed, or one in which the motherboard is mounted in such a way as there isn't a keyboard blocking access on top - like building it into a monitor.too complicated, most probable IMO is that they will release some 500 model(s) with SSD preinstalledThe lack of easy physical access to the M.2 slot on the Pi 500 suggest that perhaps a future "Raspberry Pi 550" would have a different case which allows the keyboard to be removed from the top to access the M.2 slot
I could imagine a device like the Raspberry Pi Monitor, let's call it the "Raspberry Pi All in One 550", with a fully populated Pi 500 motherboard, i.e. with both POE+ and M.2 slot hardware, with the motherboard mounted so the SoC and M.2 slot were facing the back cover of the device, and a small plastic cover over the M.2 slot so the end user could easily access it. Such a device could be both powered and networked via a single cable - i.e. ethernet with POE+ (might need POE++ though). It would also have a USB-C power input like the Pi 500, only in this case it would be able to power the screen as well, and at full brightness, and the speakers at full volume. And it would obviously retain the wifi and bluetooth interfaces too.
Statistics: Posted by andrum99 — Wed Jan 01, 2025 1:58 am