The Raspberry Pi 7" Touch Display is an official accessory designed to enhance the functionality of your Raspberry Pi projects. It's a 7-inch touchscreen display that allows for interactive applications such as tablets, entertainment systems, and information dashboards. The display features a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels and supports ten-finger touch capability, which is a significant upgrade from single-touch or resistive touchscreens. This true multi-touch capacitive touch panel offers up to 10 points of absolution, providing a smooth and responsive user experience .
The display connects to the Raspberry Pi via a DSI port using a ribbon cable, and power can be supplied either through a 5V MicroUSB or via the GPIOs, making it versatile in terms of power supply options. The assembly module size is 192.96mm x 110.76mm, and the active area of the display is 154.08mm x 85.92mm. The LCD type is a TFT, normally white, transmissive, and the color configuration is RGB-stripe. It also features an anti-glare surface treatment and an LED backlight .
One of the key advantages of this display is the ease of use. There's no need for complicated driver loading or initialization; the display is ready to use once connected to a Raspberry Pi. This is due to the Raspberry Pi OS providing touchscreen drivers that support the display's functionality without the need for an external keyboard or mouse .
The display also comes with an adapter board that handles power and signal conversion, simplifying the connection process. Only two connections are required: power from the GPIO port and the ribbon cable connecting to the DSI port on all Raspberry Pi computers except for the Raspberry Pi Zero line .
In terms of applications, the 7" Touch Display is suitable for a wide range of projects. It can be used in car PCs, home automation panels, or as a tablet-Pi. The display's compact size and power efficiency make it an excellent choice for projects where a larger display is needed but power consumption and space are concerns .
However, there are a few considerations to keep in mind. The resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, while sufficient for many applications, might be a limitation for those looking for high-definition content. Additionally, the brightness is not adjustable, and the display has a wider border compared to other models. Despite these minor drawbacks, the 7" Touch Display offers a robust and user-friendly solution for adding a touchscreen interface to Raspberry Pi projects .