The chip(s), to me (of this thread), look really suitable, to release/make a Linux RISC-V laptop/notebook/smartphone-size-not-functionality type of device.
Even if some (RISC-V) already exist. What I really mean is low cost, affordable ones. E.g. Final Amazon/Digi-Key/Etc price, is circa £100/$100 for the end customer.
But even $150 .. $250, might be ok.
Bear in mind that case / screen / battery / keyboard / trackpad have some significant cost if you want reasonable quality, even if the CPU costs zero.
The non-space chip they've announced runs at 650 MHz, so it's not a speed demon.
The K210 chip (dual core 64 bit, 400 MHz but they say easily overclocked to 800 MHz) has been around since 2019, and for example the MaixAmigo using it since 2021:
https://wiki.sipeed.com/soft/maixpy/en/develop_kit_board/maix_amigo.html
It's a cute little machine. The main limitation is the 8 MB of on-chip RAM. It's currently $9.60:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005002802675701.html
The next SiFive core generation after the U54 being used by Microchip in their "industrial" line, the U74, is similar to an Arm A55, but without NEON. You can get a quad core 1.5 GHz one with 2 GB RAM in the "Milk-V Mars Compute Module" for $30:
https://arace.tech/products/milk-v-mars-cm
Or in SBC form as the Milk-V Mars, StarFive VisionFive 2, Pine64 Star64.
Or as a tablet with keyboard cover as the Pine64 PineTab-V with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB eMMC for $160:
https://pine64.com/product/pinetab-v-10-1-4gb-64gb-risc-v-based-linux-tablet-with-detached-backlit-keyboard/
Or, you can get it in the DeepComputing "Roma" laptop for $299:
https://store.deepcomputing.io/products/dc-roma-risc-v-laptop
Or, recently announced, DeepComputing have it as a mainboard for the Framework 13 laptop for a not yet announced price.
Framework 13 itself starts from $779 with an i5-1340P CPU, no RAM, no storage. Perhaps they'll offer it without a CPU at all (or with the RISC-V one) for less later.
There also currently other laptops with the Chinese THead TH1520 SoC, which uses THead C910 cores similar to Arm A72, primarily the Sipeed Lichee Book 4A and Lichee Console 4A:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005007204555493.html
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005006174268912.html
So there's already quite some choices, but $100 is going to be hard to hit for a useful and robust portable device, even if the CPU costs zero.
I wish Raspberry PI, would release something like that, but so far, it has yet to materialize (at least as regards OFFICIAL ones). Although there have been some earlier kit laptop ones, which might have been official, I'm not 100% sure.
There's the Pi 400. Still BYO monitor, of course.
Actually, I've got a PI400. I really like it! My only real complaint, is that they never released a 8 GB ram version. The 4 GB ram it has (most people say), is enough for almost everything, one would do with a PI400. So, I suspect it is more a psychological want, or because I sometimes like to do more strenuous things, with them.
I'm sure you're right, and I'm just being completely unrealistic, with my laptop pricing.
The popular and well established laptop/tablet etc models, with Windows or Android as standard, sell in huge quantities. Which creates huge bulk buying, economies of scale, and somewhat predictable sales targets.
Hence they can be released, at not too unreasonable price points.
But a Linux device (which, sadly but realistically speaking), because it doesn't run WINDOWS, is already heading for a tiny percentage of the available market. Plus it being RISC-V, which doesn't directly run X86 or Arm code. Is significantly further, limiting the market, very much into a big downward spiral, as regards possible sales.
So such a laptop/device, with such (relatively) tiny possible sales. Would incur, massive component/assembly costs, not to mention NRE costs, for all the custom bits. Such as a neat case for it. The NRE costs, which instead of being divided down by millions of sales, to affordable amounts per sale.
Would instead (NRE) be divided down by a considerably smaller (order of magnitudes) number, probably meaning that, that alone would make it prohibitively expensive.
Just as you say, the CPU is only a relatively small percentage of the overall cost.
Then there is further (NRE) engineering costs, to develop the internal (possibly custom) battery, and all sorts of compliance issues, which can cost a small fortune to get right, especially if you want to be able to sell it, worldwide, using normal sales channels.
I've seen (on internet) and somewhat wanted the Pine64 laptop. But either encountered lack of availability and/or too tricky with it not being available to directly buy, from places such as Amazon. To go ahead and buy it.
(Olimex would have been ok), but in the past, Olimex, refused to sell to the UK, because of the UKs onerous import/export documentation, that the seller in a different country, had to obey. (To charge impart duties/VAT, related to Brexit leaving the EU).
I'm not sure of the latest situation with Olimex, or if they even sell the Pine64.
But maybe it helps you understand why I am so reluctant, to buy, outside of the usual/main UK distributors.
E.g. You can have to pay import duties, VAT, then excessive administration fees for the privilege of paying those fees. Making eye-watering totals. It can also cause extra time delays, before you receive the goods. In addition, the importing delivery company, can invoice you for all those extra charges (they even charge VAT, on top of the delivery charges, and maybe extra fees (i.e. the delivery company fees, gets further VAT added to them) as well, on top of the other taxes/VAT).
Until you pay the invoice (on top of already paying for the item, when you first bought it), you don't receive your item(s).
So it can appear, you are even paying extra VAT, on top of the VAT charge itself, as the delivery company charges for the VAT so far plus its own fees, that total might get its own VAT bill (I'm not sure, but there are many complaint threads about it, on the internet).
So in short, (hypothetically) a $50 thing, might really finally cost $80 .. $120, delivered.
Then there are the import duties (in addition to the VAT charges), which also get complicated, and added to the bill. If the item costs more than a certain threshold, which is something like $115, I'm not sure.
Also, there is VAT to pay, for the import duty tax!
Which to me, seems really silly.
How can you need to pay extra VAT (a tax) again/more, on the (import duties) tax bill part of the transaction.
So hopefully, you can understand some of my frustration, with the import tax systems.
I don't think I'd be complaining, if 20% VAT was added to the bill, then that was it. But all this nonsense, making it more like perhaps +100% or more, seems silly.
Also the system is so complicated, I'm not clear what the final price is going to be, or how it all works. With many companies refusing (I don't blame them) to deal with the UK, because they have to register (even just for one sale for say $0.99), with the UK Government, and fill out these somewhat long and complicated forms.
N.B. I could easily be confused (wrong) about any of the specific details I mentioned, as regards the import taxes/VAT/bills etc. As I don't do it often, and it seems very complicated, and to vary, depending on which courier imports the item(s).
But the basic concept is correct, so get your wallet ready.