Raspberry PI 5 OS version?

But this is the point, no-one is actually guessing, nor do they need to know, because for everyone commenting so far, it doesn't seem to be a requirement that makes sense. Just as a data point, I must have gone through a couple of dozen Pi's purchased at various points over the years, and never once been interested in what release of OS was shipped, nor have I ever assumed that two Pi's purchased simultaneously would have the same version either.

There is no additional hardware with the kit, it's just the Pi itself, a power supply, and the microSD card, plus a few minor ancillaries. There's no reason to assume that combination has been tested any more than the later releases, each of which will have a level of testing (perhaps more for major releases) by raspberrypi.com, not Farnell/element14. A slip of paper with the version would in reality barely help anyone in the slightest, because there's no warranty nor should there be any assumption that the combination was tested on a sample bundle by Farnell any more than confirming it was sufficient to boot up the Pi and allow a user to update..

It's a cheap consumer product, I doubt the distributors wish to support or document it in any way beyond providing the community advise you're getting, a basic datasheet or link to raspberrypi.com, and a replacement if it's DOA.

There has been at least one Product Change Notice issued on that starter kit, which states that the bundled microSD card has been changed.

Pi OS runs on Pi hardware. It is not like Ubuntu OS will on all computer hardware.

I have attempted to install a specific Pi OS release on a Pi5 (it is faster) and then move the SD card to a Pi3B+ to discover it won't work. If I take that same OS release and install directly on the Pi3B+ hardware it works. The OS installs to the hardware and runs.

Let's say for discussion there was a piece of paper with the package that said

as the OS on the card. You would not run the OS without a update/upgrade. It may be that release but it is definitely not the software in that release.

Are you trying to determine what release Trixie, Bookworm, Bullseye, Buster or Stretch was provided initially provided? 

Trixie (Based on Debian 13, released in Aug 2025)
Bookworm (Based on Debian 12, released Oct 2023)
Bullseye (Based on Debian 11, released Aug 2021)
Buster (Based on Debian 10, released July 2019)
Stretch (Based on Debian 9, released June 2017)

I have tried to install Stretch on new hardware ie. Pi4 and had it failed. Stands to reason if the OS was available before the hardware was made.

I have had to freeze release upgrades on specific Pi installs only because software available in the Stretch release is deprecated in the Bullseye release. The application was written to use that specific software. Upgrading to another release removes the software.

Are you thinking I need to have a specific application available or a specific version of say Python. It can't change for the life of the install. 

Break...Break

I see by your profile points you are new to our community. Welcome. E14 is associated with Farrell and Newark but is in no way a support resource. Occasionally people ask product questions here and the admin will intercept them because this is not a support sight.

You are playing in a sandbox where there is much experience. The question why would you.... comes up often. Some of that experience will tell you, the answer is immaterial in the end. Been there with T-shirts to prove it.

We're all end-users, who run updates shortly after the first bootup. 

I think Raspbian ask you to update immidiately after first boot.

Thanks to beacon_dave and colporteur each contributing pieces to the puzzle, the version is either Bookworm or Trixie, depending on the date the kit was produced. 

You may consider this thread closed. 

It's always well to remember the camel driver when using open forums:

"The camel driver has his plans, and the camel has his."

Many questions are answered, but not always the one you intended.

MK