ESP32-PICO-KIT v4 Board Based on ESP32-PICO-D4 SiP Now Available for $10

A little while ago, I received a bunch of ESP32 PICO Core development boards which were based on Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with ESP32, 4MB SPI Flash, and other components. The advantage of such chip is that is requires less external component, and allows for smaller designs. For example, the boards I received would leave two row of pin on each side of the board, while most other ESP32 boards will only expose one row on each side.

I used the board to play with Micropython ESP32 port, and later-on when I launched a giveaway of 8 of the boards, I found out the name had changed to ESP32-PICO Kit, with the documentation listing v3 with all pins connected to male headers, and v4 with 6-pin not connected to a male header as shown in the photo below. Both versions of the board also have a different pin layout. But you don’t need to care since AFAIK v3 was never up for sale.

ESP32-PICO-KIT v4 however has now just launched, and Electrodragon offers it for $10 plus shipping.

Board specifications:

• SiP – ESP32-PICO-D4 802.11 b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth LE system-in-package
• 3D antenna
• USB – 1x micro USB port for power and programming;  CP2102 USB-TTL Serial Bridge
• Expansion – 2x 20-pin headers with I/O and power signals. 2x 17-pin male headers soldered
• Misc – EN and Boot buttons, on board power indicator LED.
• Power regulator – AMS1117 3.3V regulator
• Auto reset circuit
• Dimensions – 51 x 20 mm

This board can be used like any other ESP32 board with ESP32 IDF SDK, Arduino Core, Micropython, and so on, it’s just narrower than most.

Other ESP32-PICO-D4 based boards have been launched such ESP32-PICO motherboard sold for $16 on Tindie, or TTGO T7, recently discovered by Time4EE, that can be purchased for $8.50 plus shipping on Aliexpress. The latter is however quite wider than the official Espressif devkit (estimated dimensions: 50×30 mm), but does provide a battery connector

Standard ESP32 boards can now be purchased for as low as $5, so boards based on the SiP are currently a little bit more expensive, but I’d expect the price difference to come down overtime.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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