The first-generation Raspberry Pi Model B was released in February 2012, followed by the simpler and cheaper Model A.

    In 2014, the Foundation released a board with an improved design, Raspberry Pi Model B+. These first generation boards feature ARM11 processors, are approximately credit-card sized and represent the standard mainline form-factor. Improved A+ and B models were released within a year. A "Compute Module" was released in April 2014 for embedded applications.

    The Raspberry Pi 2 was released in February 2015 and initially featured a 900 MHz 32-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor with 1 GB RAM. Revision 1.2 featured a 900 MHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor (the same as that in the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, but underclocked to 900 MHz).

    The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B was released in February 2016 with a 1.2 GHz 64-bit quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, on-board 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB boot capabilities.

    On Pi Day 2018, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ was launched with a faster 1.4 GHz processor, a three-times faster gigabit Ethernet (throughput limited to ca. 300 Mbit/s by the internal USB 2.0 connection), and 2.4 / 5 GHz dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi (100 Mbit/s). Other features are Power over Ethernet (PoE) (with the add-on PoE HAT), USB boot and network boot (an SD card is no longer required).

    The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B was released in June 2019 with a 1.5 GHz 64-bit quad core ARM Cortex-A72 processor, on-board 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, full gigabit Ethernet (throughput not limited), two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, 1–8 GB of RAM, and dual-monitor support via a pair of micro HDMI (HDMI Type D) ports for up to 4K resolution. The version with 1 GB RAM has been abandoned and the prices of the 2 GB version have been reduced. The 8 GB version has a revised circuit board. The Pi 4 is also powered via a USB-C port, enabling additional power to be provided to downstream peripherals, when used with an appropriate PSU. But the Pi can only be operated with 5 volts and not 9 or 12 volts like other mini computers of this class. The initial Raspberry Pi 4 board has a design flaw where third-party e-marked USB cables, such as those used on Apple MacBooks, incorrectly identify it and refuse to provide power. Tom's Hardware tested 14 different cables and found that 11 of them turned on and powered the Pi without issue. The design flaw was fixed in revision 1.2 of the board, released in late 2019. In mid-2021, Pi 4 B models appeared with the improved Broadcom BCM2711C0. The manufacturer is now using this chip for the Pi 4 B and Pi 400. However, the tack frequency of the Pi 4 B was not increased in the factory.

Raspberry Pi 400 Kit