There are dozens of projects published on the Internet that turn a Raspberry Pi into a portable device for one purpose or another: it can be a portable console, as we have already mentioned, but also a laptop in itself, an “ethical hacking” tool. like the famous Flipper Zero, or even a wall clock. But obviously, for an electronic device to be portable, you need at least one battery.
What does it take to turn a Raspberry Pi into a laptop?
One of the biggest advantages of the Raspberry Pi is that it consumes very little energy, although it is true that the most recent models already have a slightly higher consumption. Overall, it’s still a device that can simply be powered via USB, and in fact older models can be powered by connecting them directly to the router’s USB, they don’t need anything extra. other. This means that, as we have already mentioned, the basic and main requirement to ensure that your Raspberry Pi can work anywhere is to add a battery.
Before you decide how to power your device, you must first be clear about what you are going to use it for or what its purpose will be. In other words, you don’t need the same power source if you plan to use your Raspberry as a wall clock, for which you could even power it with batteries, or as a handheld console, for which you would have already need much bigger battery. In addition, this also influences, as we have already mentioned above, the Raspberry model that you will use. To give a few examples:
- The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 requires 2.0A of power.
- The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B requires 3.0A to be input.
- The latest model, the Raspberry Pi 5, already requires 5 amps of current.
For this reason, the first thing to consider is: the model you have and its power requirements. Now, once you understand, let’s move on to the next section: how to power a Raspberry Pi to turn it into a laptop?
Battery Options for Raspberry Pi
The options are numerous, since as we have already said, the Raspberry Pis are powered by USB, but we also have the possibility of powering them differently. In case you are wondering, yes, you can connect your device to a power bank and it will work without problem, provided that the powerbank is capable of providing the amps we mentioned before.
However, there are many other ways to power one of these devices. Lots and lots, so we’ll keep a few as examples that I personally think are pretty easy to use.
For example, Waveshare 3S UPS modulea “hat” for the Raspberry which would allow us to use three 18650 format batteries (be careful, this is not the traditional AA format that we all know, but it is very easy to find this type of battery because it’s the same one that many flashlights and vapes use) capable of providing 5A in a stable and long-lasting manner, ideal for a Raspberry Pi 5. It connects internally to its I2C interface, by the way.
You have other alternatives, like this one from GeekPiwhich is the same but with two 18650 batteries.
Another option that would save you from using batteries because it already comes with its built-in 5000 mAh battery is Pisugar 3 Plus.
And the screen?
Then it depends on what you are going to use your project for, you will need to add other things like a screen, something essential to be able to use the Raspberry Pi portablely, right? We leave you with a few options.
The first is the most obvious: the official screen. It measures 7 inches, is touch sensitive and has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It’s not a big deal, but depending on what you plan to use it for, it’s usually more than enough. You can also opt for one of the favorite options of many users, the ASUS ZenScreena 15.6-inch screen with Full HD resolution that works via USB.
Of course, there are plenty of other alternatives, like this 3.5-inch screen from a Chinese brand that comes with an integrated case for the Raspberry Pi 5. It’s not a big deal, but we know it works pretty well. GOOD.
There are many options, and we have presented you with a few that we consider interesting, but if you prefer something else, simply go to Amazon or similar and search for “Raspberry Pi display” to browse the available options .
