When Raspberry Pi first folded a full computer into a slim keyboard last year, it felt like a clever remix of the company’s ethos: tiny hardware, big curiosity. The original Raspberry Pi 500 repackaged the Pi 5’s brain into something you could slide under your monitor and type on. The new Raspberry Pi 500 Plus, announced and available this month, isn’t just a performance bump — it’s the version that says the keyboard itself matters. It comes with a built-in M.2 2280 SSD (256GB installed and user-swappable), more RAM, mechanical switches, RGB lighting that’s actually programmable, and a little microcontroller that runs QMK. In short, the keyboard and the machine have been designed as a single product, not an afterthought.

What changed

The headline feature is the addition of an M.2 NVMe socket and a 256GB Raspberry Pi SSD preinstalled — a meaningful upgrade from microSD-only storage for anyone who’s ever cursed slow I/O or flaky cards. The drive is accessible through an included tool, so if you want to swap in a bigger SSD later, you can. That change alone moves the device from “cute demo” to “useful desktop for daily tasks.”

Under the hood, the Pi 500 Plus keeps the same quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 CPU lineage from the Pi 5 family but now offers 16GB of LPDDR4x-4267 RAM, doubling last year’s 8GB — a welcome upgrade for multitasking, heavier web pages, and light desktop workloads. The combined NVMe + extra RAM makes this keyboard computer feel far less like a toy and more like a pocketable workstation.

But the most tangible changes are where your fingers meet the machine. Raspberry Pi outfitted the 500 Plus with Gateron KS-33 Blue low-profile mechanical switches and custom low-profile keycaps that are replaceable. The keycaps are spray-painted and laser-etched so individually addressable RGB LEDs beneath each key can shine through — and the keyboard’s lighting and behavior are driven by an onboard RP2040 microcontroller running QMK firmware, opening up real customization for enthusiasts. If you care about feel and feedback, these aren’t throwaway details.

Ports, kit options, and pricing

The physical I/O is essentially unchanged from the standard 500: Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet, two micro HDMI ports, three USB-A ports, and a single USB-C power port. Raspberry Pi sells the 500 Plus unit alone for $200; if you want the extras (a 27W USB-C power supply, micro HDMI-to-HDMI cable, mouse, and the Beginner’s Guide), there’s a Desktop Kit for $220. That price positions the 500 Plus well above the $90 vanilla 500, and that gap is the clearest sign that Raspberry Pi is aiming the Plus at buyers who value the keyboard and built-in storage as part of their purchase decision.

Who is this for?

There are three overlapping audiences who will notice the difference.

First, makers and hobbyists who treat the Pi as a platform will appreciate the NVMe slot and the RP2040/QMK combo. The M.2 slot opens up a cleaner, supported path for faster storage and, as we’ll get to below, some imaginative tinkering. The RP2040 running QMK means users can remap keys, create macros, and program lighting without needing to hack together microcontroller bridges.

Second, keyboard aficionados. The market for thin-profile mechanical keyboards has exploded in recent years; a lot of people are willing to pay for a satisfying typing experience. By shipping with Gateron KS-33 Blues and replaceable low-profile caps, Raspberry Pi is signaling that it wants the 500 Plus to live on a desk long-term, not just as a novelty. Reviewers who spend serious time typing have been positive about the feel and build — it’s a keyboard that could double as your daily driver.

Third, the curious who want a compact desktop that doesn’t require a separate tower. With reasonable web performance, dual 4K output, and far better storage than the microSD route, the 500 Plus can be a secondary machine, an educational tool, or the hub for niche setups where space and noise matter.

Tinkering and limits

If Raspberry Pi products have a predictable trajectory, it’s this: someone will mod them. Within a couple of days of the launch, a modder managed to route the M.2 slot into an external-GPU setup and run much bigger silicon than the Pi itself could ever host — a clever demonstration of possibility, not practical gaming. The point is that opening a proper PCIe-connected M.2 socket invites experimentation (and, for some, elbow grease and creative adapters). For makers, that’s thrilling; for buyers expecting a desktop-level graphics experience straight out of the box, it’s not.

Even with the NVMe slot, you’re working with a single Gen-3 PCIe lane and a modest quad-core CPU; the 500 Plus will never replace a gaming PC or a workhorse workstation. Think of it as a fast, compact desktop for productivity, coding, media, and tinkering — not a GPU-laden beast.

A few trade-offs to consider

The $200 price is the sharpest trade-off here. Many people bought the $90 Raspberry Pi 500 precisely because it offered competent desktop computing at an affordable price. The Plus’s premium is justified if you value the mechanical keyboard, the built-in SSD, and the extra RAM; if you don’t, the original 500 remains a better value. Additionally, Raspberry Pi doesn’t bundle video cables, a power supply, or a mouse with the unit-only purchase, nudging some buyers toward the $220 Desktop Kit.

From an environmental and longevity angle, the user-replaceable SSD and the replaceable keycaps are nice: they make repairing or upgrading the device feasible without desoldering or gutting the keyboard. That’s a small but meaningful nod toward longer product life in a market where cheap peripherals are often disposable.

Final thoughts

The Raspberry Pi 500 Plus is the kind of product that tells you two things at once: first, Raspberry Pi is listening to its community (the lack of proper storage on the original 500 was a recurring gripe); second, the company thinks there’s a market for a keyboard-first mini desktop that people will happily live with. It won’t replace a full PC under your desk, and it’s not priced for impulse buys — but for the right person (a keyboard lover who likes to tinker, or someone who wants a compact, upgradeable Pi desktop) it’s a tidy, satisfying package.

If you’re drawn to gadget-led curiosity and the idea of a full desktop that lives under your monitor and doubles as a mechanical keyboard, the 500 Plus is the model that takes that idea seriously. If you’re mostly price-conscious and already happy with microSD storage, the $90 500 still does plenty. Either way, the Plus marks a clear step toward treating the Pi as a platform for everyday computing experiences — with better storage and a keyboard that wants to be used.