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 per se, an “ethical hacking” tool like the famous Flipper Zero, or even a wall clock. But obviously, for an electronic device to be portable, it requires 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 newer models already have a slightly higher consumption. All in all, it is still a device that we can simply power via USB, and in fact older models can be powered by connecting them directly to the router’s USB, they do not need anything else. This means that, as we have already mentioned, the fundamental and primary requirement to ensure that you can have your Raspberry Pi working anywhere is to add a battery.
Before deciding how to power your device, you first need to 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 are going to use your Raspberry to be a wall clock, for which you could even power it with batteries, as a portable console, for which you would already need a much larger battery. In addition, it also influences, as we have already mentioned above, the Raspberry model that you are going to use. To give some examples:
- The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 requires 2.0 A of power.
- The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B requires 3.0 A to be input.
- The latest model, the Raspberry Pi 5, already requires 5 amps of current.
For this reason, the first thing you should take into account is this: the model you have and its power requirements. Now, once you are clear, 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 many, since as we have already said before, the Raspberry Pi are powered by USB, but we also have the option of powering them differently. In case you were wondering, yes, you can connect your device to a power bank and it will work without problems, as long as the powerbank is capable of delivering the amps that we have mentioned before.
However, there are many other ways to power one of these devices. Many, many, so we are going to keep a couple to use as examples that, personally, seem quite easy to use.
For example, Waveshare UPS Module 3Sa “hat” for the Raspberry that would allow us to use three 18650 format batteries (be careful, it is not the traditional AA format that we all know, but it is very easy to find this type of battery because it is the same one that many flashlights and vapers use) capable of providing 5A stably and for a long time, ideal for a Raspberry Pi 5. It connects internally to its I2C interface, by the way.
You have other alternatives, such as this one from GeeekPiwhich is the same but with two 18650 batteries.
Another option that would prevent 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 have to add other things such as a screen, something essential to be able to use the Raspberry Pi portablely, right? We leave you some options.
The first is the most obvious: official screen. It is 7 inches, touch-sensitive and has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It’s not a big deal, but depending on what you’re going to use it for, it’s usually more than enough. You can also go for one of the preferred options of many users, the ASUS ZenScreena 15.6-inch screen with Full HD resolution that works via USB.
Of course there are many 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 that it works quite well.
There are many options, and we have given you a couple that we consider interesting, but if you prefer something else, you just have to go to Amazon or similar and search for “Raspberry Pi screen” to browse through the options there are.
