Time to dump the Raspberry Pi? For us personally no, it is time to buy a Raspberry Pi 4

Last Updated on January 14, 2024 by pg@petergamma.org

In the comments below biblioman09 YouTube Review about the Orange Pi 5 Plus:

Which OS to choose for the Orange Pi 5 Plus?

user vladyrojas writes:

“Some time ago I tried to use an Orange Pi for a project, and it was a problem:

• the operating system was very poorly optimized and
• I tried almost all Android, Linux, etc., the system hung and was very unstable.
• Finally I did the project with a Raspberry Pi and I had no problems. «

The answer of YouTube video maker biblioman09

«Hello, now they have greatly improved the RK3588 SOC, it is also assembled by other manufacturers, so everyone collaborates in part in the development of the software even though the boards differ in their peripherals. Its community is growing and there is support for third-party operating systems such as ARMBIAN.

It remains to be seen if in the near future they maintain support for this board or dedicate themselves to creating new boards without maintaining the older ones as they have done in the past.

In my opinion, the Raspberries took the lead in sales and community, overtaking other already established ones such as the Beagleboard, but it stopped being a non-profit project dedicated to teaching and “hobbyists” at a reduced price, and is now a commercial board. But it has fallen behind in hardware for the price they have. We will have to see if the Pi 5 that should be released in 2024 is up to date or not.»

The comment of vladyrojas is a rare example of a user who reports about his user experience with an Orange Pi.

He had issues with the device. It reminds us of what we experienced with the Pinephone. Finally vladyrojas did the project with a Raspberry Pi and had no problems. Also here 10 years of development for Raspberry Pi OS is eventually something which is hard to beat:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi_OS

Isn’t the community of Orange Pi 5 users basically a community of SBC developers, which we are not. And our «golden rule»which says not to use the latest Rasbperry Pi model but an older one might be helpful also for other users who do not want to become developers against their will. And therefore the Raspberry Pi 4 with Raspberry Pi OS is currently the best choice for a SBC for us personally.