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April 28, 2026

What a difference two years make? Comparing SBC prices in 2024 and 2026

Looking back, 2024 feels like a golden year for single board computers, as the increasing price of RAM (and storage and other components) since late 2025 due to the AI demand has made those much less attractive, price/performance ratio-wise. We’ve already documented Raspberry Pi SBC price hikes, and after several increases, the Raspberry Pi 5 16GB went from $120 to $305, or a 154% change in price. Yesterday, I noticed the Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero had a new version with 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash, and a reader was quick to point out the $181 price tag to Europe was painful, bearing in mind it also includes VAT and shipping. Looking at the original December 2023 article, the BPI-M4 Zero 2GB/8GB sold for $28.90 plus shipping, and it now shows up at $115 before taxes. That’s a 297% hike, or about four times the price from a little over […]

LOONA DeskMate An iPhone Powered AI Desk Robot

April 20, 2026April 19, 2026

Loona Deskmate – An iPhone-powered AI desktop companion that doubles as a 165W GaN charging station (Crowdfunding)

Loona Deskmate is a screen-aware AI desktop companion for iPhone designed to act as a hands-free co-worker that understands your workflow, responds conversationally, and executes tasks directly across your apps. Instead of packing an expensive internal SoC and display into the robot, the Deskmate relies on a docked iPhone to act as its “brain” and face, while the base serves as a 165W GaN desktop charging station. It features real-time voice interaction (~0.5s response time), screen awareness, and a 3-DOF motorized head for lifelike motion and responsive behavior. The system relies on a smartphone (iPhone 12+) for computing and uses its camera and sensors for visual and contextual input. The base integrates a 165W GaN power hub with multiple ports (3× USB-C + 1× USB-A), allowing it to function as a desk charging station. Overall, the hardware combines a robotic form factor with a practical docking and power solution designed […]

Raspberry Pi SBC gets (analog and) digital radio HAT with AM, FM, DAB, DAB+, HD radio

Yesterday, I wrote about a 2-year-old open-source hardware ESP32-based DAB+ receiver project, but it turns out there’s also a digital radio project for the Raspberry Pi that was released about three weeks ago. Raspiaudio’s Digital Radio V1 HAT adds AM/FM, DAB/DAB+, and HD Radio support to any Raspberry Pi SBC with a 40-pin GPIO header and is supported by CLI or web-based software for configuration and control. Digital Radio V1 HAT specifications: Supported SBCs – Raspberry Pi Zero 1/2, Raspberry Pi 4/5, etc… Digital radio receiver chip – Skyworth Si4689-A10 (see product brief) Worldwide FM band support (76 to 108 MHz) Worldwide AM band support (520 to 1710 kHz) DAB, DAB+ Band III support (168 to 240 MHz) Advanced RDS/RBDS decoder FM HD Radio support with on-chip IBOC blend (note from Raspiaudio: subject to licensing. Please verify that you are legally allowed to use it in your country and […]

SupTronics X1208 Raspberry Pi 5 UPS + M.2 HAT

April 3, 2026

SupTronics X1208 – A UPS + M.2 NVMe SSD HAT for the Raspberry Pi 5

The SupTronics X1208 is a UPS and M.2 NVMe SSD HAT for Raspberry Pi 5 designed to offer fast storage and protect the system against data loss during power outages for Edge Computing, NAS, data logging, and other always-on applications. The HAT draws up to 5V/5A from the USB-C port, which charges a 21700 lithium-ion battery (1.5A) and powers the Raspberry Pi 5 directly through the 40-pin GPIO header, eliminating the need for extra cables. It also features an M.2 M-key NVMe slot supporting 2230/2242/2280 SSDs up to 4TB with PCIe 2.0/3.0 speeds. The UPS supports power switching, auto power-on, safe shutdown on low battery, and GPIO-based power/charging control, along with power loss detection. The X1208 board is also equipped with a Maxim fuel gauge I2C chip for battery voltage and capacity monitoring. SupTronics X1208 UPS + M.2 HAT specifications: Compatibility – Raspberry Pi 5 Model B Storage – M.2 M-key […]

AngstromIO ATtiny1616 tiny USB-C development board

March 26, 2026

AngstromIO – A tiny 9.0 x 8.9 mm ATtiny1616 board that fits on top of a USB-C connector

Dieu-de-l-elec’s AngstromIO is an incredibly tiny open-source development board based on Microchip’s ATtiny1616 MCU. Measuring just 9.0 x 8.9 mm, the board is barely larger than the edge-mounted USB Type-C connector that powers it, making it ideal for highly space-constrained embedded projects. Despite its tiny footprint, AngstromIO packs a QFN20-packaged ATtiny1616 MCU, two addressable SK6805-EC15 RGB LEDs, and includes access to various usable GPIOs, including I2C, UART, and UPDI for programming. AngstromIO specifications: MCU – Microchip ATtiny1616 8-bit AVR microcontroller @ up to 20 MHz with 16KB flash, 2KB SRAM, 256 bytes EEPROM USB – 1x USB Type-C port (power only, no data lines connected to the MCU) Expansion via solder pads UPDI pin for programming I2C (SDA, SCL) 2x GPIOs (PB2/TX, PA3) 5V and GND Misc – 2x SK6805-EC15 addressable RGB LEDs Power Supply 5V via USB-C port Ultra-low power consumption (down to 200nA in power-down mode) Dimensions – 9.0 […]

Industrial RS485 Modbus HAT for Raspberry Pi

March 19, 2026March 19, 2026

Industrial RS-485/Modbus Raspberry Pi HAT works with OpenPLC, supports 7V-32V DC input

We have previously written about various industrial Raspberry Pi systems and gateways that come with RS-485 built in, but we had yet to cover a dedicated RS-485 Raspberry Pi HAT. To fill this gap, EngineElectronicAccessories, a developer based in Sweden, has introduced the “Industrial RS485 / Modbus HAT” designed for industrial automation, monitoring, and the OpenPLC open-source PLC suite. The board features an onboard RS-485 transceiver with TVS diode protection and supports long-distance communication over the RS-485 standard. It uses the Pi’s hardware UART interface and includes Tx/Rx LEDs for diagnostics. The board also accepts 7V to 32V DC input, so you can power both the HAT and the Raspberry Pi directly from a standard 24V rail, eliminating the need for a separate USB power supply in a control cabinet. Industrial RS-485/ Modbus HAT specifications: Compatibility – All Raspberry Pi boards with 40-pin GPIO header (Pi 3, Pi 4, Pi […]

February 20, 2026

2.1-channel audio HAT for Raspberry Pi features Texas Instruments TAS5825M class-D amplifier

Previously, we wrote about the Louder Raspberry Pi, an open-source media center that integrates the Louder Raspberry Hat based on a 25W TAS5805M Class-D amplifier. Now, the developer has introduced the Louder Raspberry Hat Plus, upgrading from the TAS5805M amplifier to the more powerful TAS5825M, capable of driving up to 53W in mono (PBTL) mode while offering improved efficiency and thermal performance. The Louder Raspberry Hat Plus is compatible with all Raspberry Pi models and comes in 1X and 2X variants. The 1X version delivers up to 2×32W at 8Ω or 2×45W at 4Ω, the 2X version, on the other hand, supports 2×32W plus a dedicated 53W subwoofer channel, with bridge mode available for higher mono output. The board also integrates a DSP with 15-band parametric EQ per channel, 128-tap FIR filtering, 3-band DRC, selectable LF/HF crossovers, digital volume and gain control (32-step analog gain), selectable modulation schemes, adjustable switching […]

How TrustTunnerl AdGuard VPN protocol works

February 2, 2026

TrustTunnel is an open-source, high-performance VPN protocol that’s harder to detect and block

Adguard VPN is a commercial VPN solution, but the company has decided to open-source the VPN protocol and named it TrustTunnel. It’s described as a modern, secure, mobile-optimized VPN protocol. Since there are plenty of VPN protocols, including WireGuard and OpenVPN, it felt redundant at first. But AdGuard explains that those are easy to detect and block at the network level, and methods to conceal VPN traffic, such as wrapping VPN data in a TCP connection, often reduce speed. TrustTunnel relies on a different method and blends in with regular HTTPS traffic through TLS-based encryption, and HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 transport. Each connection runs on its own dedicated stream, which combines packets for more efficient transmission. The diagrams above and below illustrate this by showing that four hops are required for a standard concealed VPN, and only two hops with TrustTunnel. The company also says it is optimized for mobile platforms […]