I’ve been wanting to get a Zero 2 but they’re basically nonexistent. How likely do we think the Zero 1 to stay in supply? And are they worth getting or should I hold out for the Zero 2 to return? I kinda want to use it in a project but I don’t want em to go dead before I can make a couple of units. thoughts?
The Pi Zero made it’s debut in 2015, and it shares a 32bit processor with it’s big brother from 2012. It’s nearly antique at this point. As far as I am aware, the processor is no longer supported by Debian, and since Raspberry Pi OS is based on Debian you will likely see the end of OS updates very soon. (You are obviously free to install whatever compatible OS is available, but do realize Debian/RPiOS is what most of them are based on)
But… if you know what kind of project you are doing, know that it doesn’t take a lot of processing power, and it won’t be connected to the internet, go for it. I have one that runs a little samba server so I can quickly throw temp files on the network and pull them into other devices.
The Zero W has an official obsolescence statement that it will remain in production until 2030.
Yeah, thats sorta what I figured. It is marginally cheaper, and hopefully it won’t be as affected by the current market? either way it’ll probably be fun to play around with and similar enough to the zero 2W that i could experiment with it for a bit and switch over when the 2W comes back in stock. I certainly dont need the processing power, I basically just wanted to load some minimal linux OS, and try to play low spec games on it. thanks for the heads up
Any reason why it needs to be a zero? You can typically find the older pi models used for cheap on your local marketplaces.
The zero is a little cheaper, and I wanted to try making games that would run on it and eventually make a game console thing out of it. Part of the challenge is the lower spec i guess. If it’s got more power than the n64 its good enough for me!
if i remember from my time with a pi0, you can definitely run up to snes/gba games on it. think i played through ultima1 for the c64 on it during a cross country bus trip. you can also put a cheap usb wifi adapter in it to get it online.
If you want to use one, go ahead, it’s powerful enough for most non-media apps. You can also consider the PocketBeagle 2 which is more aimed at embedded use, with several a/d pins, a coprocessors, etc.
im interested in that too but ill probably end up going with the zero just cause raspberry pi seems a little more established. so many cool things to choose from!
