Comment by Aurornis

> they're developer kits for manufacturers that need a CPU running a well supported mainline Linux in their products.

Raspberry Pi 5 isn’t as well supported in mainline. You’re still going to be using their kernel if you want all the features, just like many other module these days.

> The only reason they don't cost $500 or more

$500 is a huge exaggeration. There are numerous modules and small boards well under that price that come with good support, including many with full x86-64 CPUs.

I think it’s more correct to say that the boards are approaching equilibrium with other boards and modules in price, not that they’re secretly some premium $500 product sold at a discount for reasons. Nobody would be buying Raspberry Pi anything at $250, let alone $500.