LOLIN S3 Pro is a WiFi & Bluetooth LE IoT board built around the ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 modules with various I/Os including a display port, a microSD card slot, and a LOLIN I2C connector.
The wireless module ships with 16MB QSPI flash and 8MB PSRAM, and the board also features two 16-pin headers with ADC, DAC, I2C, SPI, UART, etc…, a USB Type-C port, and support for a LiPo batteries with 500mA charging.
LOLIN S3 Pro specifications:
- Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module with:
- Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration, 512KB RAM, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE with support for long-range, up to 2Mbps data rate, mesh networking
- 16MB QSPI flash
- 8MB PSRAM
- PCB antenna
- Storage – MicroSD card socket
- Display I/F – Display port for “TFT and EPD” displays
- USB – 1x USB Type-C port
- Expansion
- 2x 16-pin headers with up to 25x GPIO, up to 17x ADC, DAC, SPI, UART, I2C, Reset, VIN, 3.3V, and GND
- 1x LOLIN I2C Port
- Misc – Reset button, user button (IO0), battery charging LED
- Power Supply
- 5V via USB Type-C port
- 2.0mm connector for LiPo battery plus battery charging circuit based on TP4054 chip.
- MicrOne ME6211 LDO
- Dimensions – 65.3 x 25.4 mm
- Weight – 7.2 grams
As its name implies, the “Pro” board is an adaption of the LOLIN S3 board released this summer with the same ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module, but only one USB port, and the addition of a display connector, a MicroSD card, and support for LiPo batteries with charging. The rest of the design is pretty similar except for fewer I/O on the headers and the RGB LED is gone.
You’ll find the schematics (PDF) and very basic instructions to get started with MicroPython and Arduino in the wiki, but there’s no sample code to use the new features such as the battery, the display, and MicroSD card, so you’d be on your own to figure that out. What’s even more surprising is that the company did not list any recommended display that works with their 10-pin display connector which appears to be the same as found on the Wemos LOLIN D32 Pro board introduced in 2018… That should mean the company’s 2.4-inch TFT display ($12) together with the 10-pin cable ($0.80) should work.
The LOLIN S3 Pro board itself is sold on Aliexpress for $9.50 plus shipping.
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.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
Nice board, with a few caveats: (a) You might want to wait for the next version. WEMOS/Lolin is known for board turns early on. (b) Ships from China only. Now estimating 27 days shipping to me in the U.S. But to be fair, sometimes I’ve experienced as little as 10 days to two weeks. (c) Getting mating connectors can be a pain.
As an alternative consider Espressif’s top-of-the-line S3 DevKitC board P/N ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1-N32R8V. It has twice as much Flash and PSRAM, but no on-board frills like battery charging, SD Card socket, LCD connector, etc.; that’s OK I can manually wire peripherals when prototyping. But at $18.00 the DevKitC board’s price is almost twice that of the Lolin board before shipping. Documentation is better with the Espressif board compared to the Lolin board. The really good news is the Espressif S3 DevKitC board drop-ships right now direct from distributors like Digi-Key and Mouser, and the board is usually in-stock.
When you are buying these boards from US vendors they’d had the 25% tariff applied which makes them more expensive.
@Jon Smirl said: “When you are buying these boards from US vendors they’d had the 25% tariff applied which makes them more expensive.”
Oh right. I presume you are referring to the 25% import tariff on certain goods from mainland China imposed by the Trump Administration which remains in-effect still today in an attempt to offset trade imbalances. Correct?
Yes, we’ve paid piles of it. Any large shipment will get hit with it. Most small packages mailed to individuals escape it, but not all.
I’d call it a display connector to avoid confusion with the real DisplayPort which it does not support.
yup, i was pretty shocked to read the title.