ESP32-S3 3.5" IPS Capacitive Touch Display Dev Board (B) - 320×480

Another day, another ESP-based touch display development board from our pals at Waveshare! This one comes in two version options - one with a case and camera module, and one without the case but with a speaker instead - choose wisely before adding to your cart!

The board uses the popular ESP32-S3R8, which includes 512KB SRAM, 384KB ROM, in-package 8MB PSRAM and external 16MB Flash memory. Being an ESP32-S3, it of course also offers 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 LE.

The display is a 3.5" IPS capacitive touch panel, with a 320x480 resolution, 262k colours and 178° viewing angles. Touch is controlled via I2C.

On the rear of the display is where all the fun stuff lives! You'll find a GPIO breakout, USB-C for power and programming, an MX1.25/PicoBlade-compatible LiPo port with charge & power management circuit, 6-axis IMU (3-axis gyro + 3-axis accelerometer), MicroSD slot, IPEX 1 antenna connector (requires fiddly SMD work to enable), onboard microphone, RTC with backup battery header (which can conveniently use the Raspberry Pi RTC battery), and BOOT, RESET and POWER buttons!

There are also some features that you may or may not use depending on the version you go for.

• A camera interface for OV5640/OV2640 camera modules -  however, a camera is only included in the cased version.
• An audio codec chip for driving a speaker via the MX1.25 speaker port - however, only the non-case version comes with a speaker (6Ω 1W).

Features

• ESP32-S3R8-based development board
  • Xtensa 32-bit LX7 dual-core processor up to 240MHz
  • 512KB SRAM and 384KB ROM
  • In-package 8MB PSRAM and external 16MB Flash memory
  • 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and Bluetooth 5 LE
• 3.5" IPS capacitive touch display
  • 320x480 resolution
  • 262K colours
  • 178° viewing angle
  • AXS15231B LCD and touch controller
  • QSPI for display and I2C for touch
• Onboard hardware
  • QMI8658 6-axis IMU with 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope
  • PCF85063 RTC with backup battery header
  • Onboard microphone
  • GPIO breakout
  • USB-C for power and programming
  • 3.7V MX1.25 Lithium battery recharge/discharge header
  • AXP2101 power management IC with battery charging and power management
  • MicroSD card slot
  • IPEX 1 antenna connector
  • PWR, BOOT, RESET and POWER buttons
  • I2C, UART, USB and multiple GPIO pins
• Version-dependent features
  • Cased version:
    • Camera interface compatible with OV5640 and OV2640
    • OV5640 Camera module
    • Case
  • Standard version:
    • 6Ω 1W Speaker
    • Audio codec chip with MX1.25 speaker port

What's onboard?

1. ESP32-S3R8
   • SoC with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, up to 240MHz operating frequency, with onboard 8MB PSRAM
2. Onboard antenna
3. W25Q128JVSIQ
   • 16MB NOR-Flash
4. Camera interface
   • Supports cameras such as OV5640 and OV2640
5. MicroSD card slot
6. IPEX 1 antenna connector
   • Reserved connector, enabled by resoldering an onboard resistor
7. MX1.25 speaker header
8. BOOT button
9. RESET button
10. PWR button
11. AXP2101
    • Highly integrated power management IC
12. Charge indicator
13. USB Type-C port
14. ES8311
    • Low-power audio codec chip
15. Power supply indicator
16. Microphone
17. SH1.0 RTC backup battery header
    • For connecting a rechargeable RTC battery
18. MX1.25 Lithium battery header
    • MX1.25 2P connector for a 3.7V Lithium battery, supports charging and discharging
19. 2.54mm pitch GPIO header
    • Available IO function pins for easy expansion
20. PCF85063
    • RTC chip
21. QMI8658
    • 6-axis IMU with a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer

LCD Specifications

Display panel	IPS
Display size	3.5"
Resolution	320 × 480 pixels
Display colours	262K
Brightness	210 cd/m²
Contrast ratio	1000:1
Driver IC	AXS15231B
Touch type	Capacitive
Display interface	QSPI
Touch interface	I2C

Resources

Demo code, schematics, datasheets and more are available over on the product wiki:

• Product Wiki

Package Contents

• Standard version
  • 1x ESP32-S3 3.5" IPS Capacitive Touch Display Dev Board (B) - 320×480
  • 1x 6Ω 1W Speaker
• Case + Camera version
  • 1x ESP32-S3 3.5" IPS Capacitive Touch Display Dev Board (B) - 320×480
  • 1x Case
  • 1x OV5640 Camera