The choice of cases available for the Raspberry Pi continues to grow, and Akasa just added another tempting option, which not only looks great, it adds a power button.
It’s called the Akasa Maze Pro and is compatible with the Raspberry Pi 4. This black anodized aluminum case features a maze design on top and passively cools the Pi using two embedded solid aluminum cores and thermal pads located on top of the Broadcom BCM2711 ARM processor and power management regulators. Akasa says the case will allow the hot-running Pi 4 to function without thermal throttling being triggered.
As the case is pure aluminum, there’s isn’t a lot that can break. One new and welcome addition that could eventually wear out, though, is a built-in power button with a “satisfying click.” Rather than having to remove the power cable from the board or turn it off at the socket, the power button allows you to leave it plugged in and cut the power in a safer, more convenient way. There’s also easy access to the 40-pin GPIO header, but keep in mind the power button uses Pin 5 and Pin 6 to function. The only other requirement for the power button to work is “one extra line of script.”
All of the other ports on the board remain accessible, and the case has been designed to optimize both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals. The price is easy to stomach, with the Maze Pro costing roughly $40. Akasa is also making a cheaper Maze version of the case available for around $35, which conceals both the GPIO panel and the microSD slot. It’s meant for commercial applications “where security and low maintenance are valuable qualities.” Expect the Maze Pro to start appearing anywhere that sells the Raspberry Pi 4 soon.
