Key findings
- The Raspberry Pi 5 was a big step forward for the series, but the next model can be even better.
- With features like 2.5G Ethernet, hardware encoding, and more RAM, a Raspberry Pi 6 could appeal to power users and versatile projects.
- Adding more USB Type-C ports and an M.2 port could improve connectivity options and make the Raspberry Pi 6 an amazing SBC.
The first version of the Raspberry Pi was released back in 2012, and each mainline RPi board since then has featured better hardware than its predecessor. The Raspberry Pi 5 was no exception to this trend, as the device added many new features to the classic Raspberry Pi formula.
Based on past data, Raspberry Pi releases a new mainline model every 2-4 years, which means that a Raspberry Pi 6 is not going to be making the rounds anytime soon. As someone who has spent months with the current flagship RPi board, I have to admit that the SBC has a fair number of drawbacks. But if Raspberry Pi 6 manages to bring these eight features to the table, it could become the best SBC to ever grace the DIY project landscape.
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8 Better Windows support
Hopefully the hype around Snapdragon X Elite will make the WoR project more popular
After years of stagnation, the Windows on Arm community has seen a huge boost in recent months, largely due to the upcoming Snapdragon Elite X laptops. While I doubt the company will ever release an ARM version for the Raspberry Pi boards, I hope the hype around Windows on Arm will give the WoR project more momentum.
Finally, despite all its shortcomings, the Raspberry Pi 5 is quite capable of performing light tasks under Windows 11. Sure, there are one ton Driver issues when trying to run WoR, but overall performance is really impressive on the latest member of the Raspberry Pi family. Provided that WoR is better ironed out and the successor to the RPi 5 armed With an even more powerful processor, the Raspberry Pi 6 has the potential to become the first SBC that can run Windows 11 (or whatever version of Windows is currently popular) without technical bugs or performance degradation.
7 A built-in NPU
It is almost indispensable for AI projects
If you've dabbled in the SBC market recently, you might have noticed that many of the Raspberry Pi's competitors now have built-in Neural Processing Units (NPUs). In fact, some of them, like the Orange Pi 5 Pro, can easily reach 6TOPS on their own. In contrast, the Raspberry Pi requires the support of a dedicated AI kit, meaning you'll have to spend another $70 just to get better AI processing capabilities built into the SBC.
When I ran some LLMs on the Raspberry Pi 5 before, the SBC could barely run the simpler models, let alone those with large parameter sizes. An integrated NPU would also be quite useful for non-generative AI tasks, like image recognition in automation projects. Plus, I wouldn't even have to spend more on another peripheral than I did on the base model of the Raspberry Pi 5.
6 2.5G Ethernet
For projects that rely on high-speed data transfer
Following the release of the Raspberry Pi 3 B+, both the Raspberry 4 and 5 feature 1G Ethernet. While this isn't a problem for most users, there are a handful of projects that can benefit from a faster Ethernet connection.
For example, a NAS with Raspberry Pi functionality may not be able to compete with the premium NAS enclosures on the market, but without the 1G Ethernet limitation on current RPi boards, it can achieve much better performance. The same goes for a media server built with a Raspberry Pi. And speaking of streaming videos with a media server…
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5 Hardware coding
The lack of this capability was my biggest problem with the Raspberry Pi
Having already ranted a lot about the lack of hardware encoding on the Raspberry Pi 5, this is clearly my biggest wish for the device's successor. I admit that software-based encoding has come a long way since the Raspberry Pi 4, but the fact that the RPi 5 occasionally drops frames when processing 1080p60fps videos on YouTube is quite a mood killer.
Ideally, I would like the Raspberry Pi 6 to support hardware-based VP9 and H.264 encoding. This way, I can finally fulfill my dream of running transcoding workloads on a Raspberry Pi-based media server.
4 PCIe interface with the newer standards
And more support for external GPUs, please!
With the PCIe slot being one of the most highly anticipated additions to the RPi lineup, the Raspberry Pi 5 has become a must-have for anyone looking to connect high-speed peripherals like AI kits and SSDs to the SBC. Unfortunately, the PCIe Gen 2 x1 interface on the latest and greatest Raspberry Pi is marred by slow bandwidth and limited data transfer speeds. Switching to the newer high-speed PCIe interfaces is a useful way to eliminate the bottlenecks. While this may be wishful thinking on my part, I really hope that the Raspberry Pi Foundation upgrades the PCIe slot to the Gen 5.0 standard. With some talented people managing to connect an external GPU to the SBC using this interface, the sky's the limit with a faster PCIe slot.
While we're on the subject, I would also like to see the Raspberry Pi 6 add more support for external GPUs. Currently, using a separate graphics card on the RPi5 requires a significant amount of time and effort to set everything up. When you consider the lack of compatibility with newer GPUs and the limited capacity of the PCIe Gen 2 x1 slot, there's a lot of room for improvement.
3 More RAM
A 16GB model with faster clock speeds would be perfect for power users
Before the latest version of our favorite SBC was released last year, the Raspberry Pi Foundation decided to discontinue the budget 2GB RAM variant of the board, leaving us with just the 4GB and 8GB RAM variants, and the maximum memory size has remained unchanged since the Raspberry Pi 4.
Given that the premium model of the Raspberry Pi 6 is more expensive, I hope we'll see more memory on the device. There are many projects, including retro gaming Raspberry Pi machines, RPi-powered Windows PCs, and running LLMs on the SBC, that can benefit from larger and faster RAM modules.
2 USB Type-C ports
And an AUX port as an accessory
Aside from my hatred of the finicky micro HDMI port, it would be great if the Raspberry Pi 6 had more USB Type-C ports besides the one used to charge the device. Even if the SBC doesn't offer Thunderbolt support for those ports (and let's be honest, it definitely won't), incorporating more Type-C sockets will allow high-speed peripherals like portable SSDs to reach their full potential.
Not to mention that we Raspberry Pi fans could also connect the SBC to the extremely versatile USB Type-C hubs and docking stations. Also, I would really appreciate it if the Raspberry Pi Foundation decided to reintroduce the audio jack. The lack of a dedicated audio jack means I either have to make do with my monitor's terrible speakers or occupy one of the four USB Type-A ports with a USB to AUX adapter.
1 M.2 connector
The PCIe connector was great, but a dedicated M.2 connector would be even better
While the Raspberry Pi 5's PCIe socket can be used to add multiple peripherals to the SBC, most RPi owners use it to pair an NVMe SSD with the device. Unfortunately, you can't insert these SSDs directly into the PCIe socket, so an expensive NVMe-to-PCIe HAT is a must for those looking for a faster alternative to the microSD cards.
Meanwhile, competitors like the Orange Pi 5 and Odroid H3 already ship with M.2 connectors, allowing you to connect your favorite NVMe drive directly to the device without spending more money on a HAT, so it's about time the Raspberry Pi Foundation started shipping its devices with an M.2 socket.
What would you like to see in the Raspberry Pi 6?
That's everything on my Raspberry Pi 6 wishlist. Earlier, I had planned to include better availability and affordable pricing in the list, but of course, that's just wishful thinking. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the Raspberry Pi Foundation raised the price of the high-end RPi 6 to $100.
Besides the lower price, a better processor is the last feature of my Raspberry Pi 6. But if the data from the past is anything to go by, the next mainline RPi board will definitely come with a better CPU. Still, I hope that by the end of its development cycle, the Raspberry Pi 6's CPU will not be obsolete by market standards, because that's more or less what happened with its predecessor's ARM Cortex A76 chip.