The Raspberry Pi Family has just grown with the launch of a new member – the Raspberry Pi 4. This new SBC has been upgraded to quad-core 64-bit CPU, and has wireless capabilities, which is pretty much a must-have these days. The question is should you upgrade to Raspberry Pi 4? If you’re looking for an excuse to learn programming or make some electronics projects, this is a good one. But are the upgrades worth it? In the end it comes down to what you intend to do with your Pi. These Pi 4 Vs. Pi 3 gives a complete details of internal differences and things you should know.
For most people, there is no need to upgrade from a Raspberry Pi 3 to the latest Raspberry Pi 4. If your system works well with the Raspberry Pi 3, why replace it?
If you already have a Raspberry Pi 3 or 3+ and do not need video streaming, I would save the $10 and get a Pi 3. It has the same CPU as the Pi 4. Personally, I would purchase a Pi 3 if I needed more Raspberry Pis because they cost less to begin with, and it has the same CPU power and that is enough for most projects. If you are getting started with Raspberry Pis or have used them in the past, this may not be of great importance.
For those of us who have used less expensive versions of other devices (i.e., Arduino), it could be a big deal to upgrade to something more powerful without making very large investments in time or money (the Pi 4 costs double what a Pi 3 does). The main difference here is the ease at which users can upgrade the microSD card (the storage for your operating system) unlike previous Pis which required an entire replacement of the SD card.
Raspberry Pi 4 is an improvement from previous models. It has better Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, a faster processor, and faster Ethernet connectivity. The signal range quality is improved when connected to a wireless access point, but that may be in part due to a change in the wireless chip used.
However, for most developers, Raspberry Pi 4 is the preferred choice. The hardware difference between the Raspberry Pi 3 and the Raspberry Pi 4 have become more important than collective upgrades including a faster, quad-core CPU processor, 5GHz Wi-Fi, enhanced radio support and Bluetooth 5.0. But i recommend to go with Raspberry Pi 3 as it will still be a great choice for many projects in 2019. Especially if you are an absolute beginner to the world of single board computers!
Conclusion
All in all, the Raspberry Pi 4 is a solid upgrade for owners of the Raspberry Pi 3. The higher clock speed and improved RAM specs might not put it ahead of the curve when compared to other single board computers like the Odroid-N2 or even the Pine64 board, but it’s still a decent option for anyone looking to get into embedded projects. The most innovative part of this new device is without a doubt the networking capability, which truly brings single board computer technology a step further towards the smart device era.
