CEO Raspberry Pi: stocks will increase again next year
After a period of shortages, stocks of Raspberry Pi single-board computers should increase next year. That writes Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton. Availability should also be better than before around the holidays. The Pi Zero is being increased in price.
Eben Upton reports in a blog post that “hundreds of thousands” of Raspberry Pi models will gradually become available through authorized resellers around the holiday season. These devices would have been put aside in recent months in the run-up to Christmas. These include the Raspberry Pi Zero W, 3A+, and the 2GB and 4GB models of the Raspberry Pi 4. The company recommends that users keep stocks via the rpilocator website to keep an eye on if they want to purchase such a model.
Next year, the chip supply chain should improve compared to 2022, the CEO writes. According to Upton, stock from the Raspberry Pi supply chain will still be “skinny” in Q1 2023, but should return to pre-coronavirus levels in Q2. In the second half of 2023, the stock must be ‘unlimited’, the CEO claims. In the past two years, Raspberry Pi’s have been difficult to deliver due to the corona pandemic.
Upton says the company continues to work on getting rid of its backlog for commercial and industrial customers. However, ramping up consumer newsstand sales will also be a priority in 2023. “The chip allocations we have received for next year mean that the channel will have reached its balanced inventory level by the end of the third quarter, with hundreds of thousands of units available at each available at any time,” the CEO wrote. This should apply to both commercial and private customers.
The company also indicates that the prices of certain models are being increased as a result of supply problems. This concerns the Pi Zero, which will receive a suggested retail price of $ 10. Previously, that model cost $5. The price of the Pi Zero W will increase from $10 to $15. Upton claims the company has had low margins on those devices to date, but would lose out on all Pi Zero sales at original prices.
The Raspberry Pi factory in Wales. Source: Raspberry Pi Foundation