element 14 7 pi touchscreen lcd display made in china

Raspberry Pi OS provides touchscreen drivers with support for ten-finger touch and an on-screen keyboard, giving you full functionality without the need to connect a keyboard or mouse.

The 800 x 480 display connects to Raspberry Pi via an adapter board that handles power and signal conversion. Only two connections to your Raspberry Pi are required: power from the GPIO port, and a ribbon cable that connects to the DSI port on all Raspberry Pi computers except for the Raspberry Pi Zero line.

I recently acquired an official Raspberry Pi 7″ touchscreen display from my pals over at Element 14. These screens have been out for a long time and are already well documented, so I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of the screen itself today.

If you haven’t seen one of these screens in the flesh then you won’t know that they feel VERY delicate! I’ve also heard multiple reports of the glass layers on the front of the screen slipping off – so wrapping this thing in a lovely chunk of plastic is my first priority.

Unlike cases designed just for the Pi itself, there aren’t many touchscreen display case options for the official screen. For some reason the touchscreen case market hasn’t taken off in the same way.

It follows the theme of the Pibow line of cases, slapping layers of well-designed and well-cut acrylic together to create a good looking see-through casing. I believe you can also fit a Pibow case to the back of this stand, for ‘pibowey’ harmony (and a bit more protection).

This was one of the cheapest cases available at £12 and comes in 6 colour options, however it wasn’t an option for me as I was after something that covered up the Pi.

Another option popping its head up on my search was this rugged looking number from ModMyPi (no longer available). This case rocks up at £14.99 which is middle of the road for the selection I’m covering here.

It certainly ticked the protection box, but was a little too chunky for my liking. It also appears to leave the Pi open to dust – which really isn’t a massive deal – but others at the same price offered a more sealed back end.

It actually doesn’t look too bad at all. From what I can see in the product pictures, it has nice smooth lines, is reasonably low profile and looks to offer that flush front that I desire.

However, the product shots don’t show you around the case so I couldn’t really see what I would be buying. I’m also not a fan of the ‘badger’ stripe through the middle either – and above all – that £27 price tag is way beyond my average wallet!

Tom’s case is low profile, has an adjustable angle and LEGO compatible sections. The Pi is easily removed thanks to a little door at the back, works well with HATs, and the screw mount options make it a great shout for attaching to your wall.

Unfortunately it isn’t out for Retail purchase just yet, but pre-order is open starting at around £18. As I needed protection fast, I had to skip this option. Update: Tom’s been busy! After releasing the successful Touch 2 case, the new SmartiPi Touch Pro is now out!

The PiggiPi stand is the only metal offering in this list, coming as a 2-piece kit that you can assemble yourself in 5 minutes. It’s obviously tough as nails due to the material it’s made of, but as PiggiPi opted for rear port/pin access, there isn’t any protection of the Pi at the rear.

It may not technically be a ‘case’, and it may offer pretty much zero protection to your delicate screen, but there’s no denying how slick it makes your display look on a desk. It makes your Pi display looks like a floating tablet PC – no bulky case edges or excess, just pure glass at a nice viewing angle.

We’ve all seen wooden cases for the Raspberry Pi itself (check out my C4Labs post), but this is the first one I’ve seen for the official touchscreen. It looks a lot like some of the other options here, however the bamboo really sets it apart. They’ve got a proper smart hipster-desk-thing going on here!

It’s currently going to cost you around £14 (Update: no longer available