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Mosern microcontrollers are extremely capable, I agree. But they aren't running a recognizable OS yet. It seems like the only thing holding them back is the ram size generally. The processors on these things obliterate my first linux machine. Is there a reason we have the offerings we do? A kiosk could absolutely be run on a rp2040 if it had more memory.

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Probably from the RPI perspective it's just due to product segmentation. The Pi Zero 2 W is ~$15, has 512mb ram, and runs full linux with wireless compatibility, video output, etc. Easier to up-sell you on that rather than try to bridge the gap with a $10 product between the two.

I think the Pico/RP2040 works great for most basic electronics projects, and honestly you can get surprisingly far with its processor, up to even basic 3d graphics.[1]

[1] https://sites.google.com/site/tedrossin/home/electronics/ras...

The RP2040 doesn't have an MMU so it can't run full OS. The RP2040 is also really slow, 133MHz. The RP2040 doesn't have a display connector.

If you want to run kiosk, Pi Zero is a much better choice. It already has all that stuff. It is $10 vs $4. It runs normal OS.

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