Raspberry Pi Desktop is Finally Back for PC and Mac with Debian Trixie and Pi Connect

If you have an old PC or Intel Mac sitting around, Raspberry Pi has just given it a new lease on life. Raspberry Pi Desktop is finally back for PC and Mac, bringing the latest Debian Trixie release after years of waiting.

Raspberry Pi Desktop finally gets its long-awaited comeback

The new release is based on 64-bit Debian Trixie and uses the amd64 architecture. Raspberry Pi says most PCs from the last 15 years should run it comfortably. Most Intel-based Macs should also work with the new release. However, Apple Silicon Macs are currently out of luck because Debian support remains experimental.

Interestingly, this is not simply an old Raspberry Pi interface slapped onto Debian. The release includes the company’s latest desktop changes, including the updated Control Centre and new dock. Raspberry Pi has also included its Connect client. That means users can remotely control their PC or Mac alongside their Raspberry Pi computers.

You can run it from USB or install it properly

Raspberry Pi Desktop comes as a downloadable live Debian image. Users can flash the ISO to a USB drive and boot their computer directly. There is also a persistence option that saves changes to the USB drive. Users can reset that persistence whenever they want a clean installation again.

If you prefer something more permanent, Raspberry Pi also provides the Calamares installer. It can install the desktop directly onto your computer’s hard drive or SSD. The comeback is particularly notable because Raspberry Pi stopped regularly updating the PC version. The company says it continued receiving several requests every week for a new release.

Now, that wait is finally over. Raspberry Pi Desktop is available right now through the company’s operating-system download page, giving older PCs and Intel Macs another way to experience the Raspberry Pi desktop. Also, let’s not forget that Raspberry Pi has increased the prices of its 2GB Pi 4 and Pi 5 models as the memory crisis gets worse.