Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 is the new member of the company XIAO family with an ESP32-S3 dual-core wireless microcontroller with WiFi 4 and BLE 5.0 designed for Smart Home, IoT, wearables, and Robotics applications.
It succeeds the single-core ESP32-C3-based XIAO ESP32C3 board with the same form factor, but the new XIAO ESP32S3 offers more performance, vector extension for machine learning, more flash, and improved power consumption in deep sleep mode.
Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 specifications:
- Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz with 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM, Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (Classic + BLE) connectivity
- Storage – 8MB SPI flash
- Antenna – External u.FL antenna
- USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming
- Expansion I/Os
- 2x 7-pin headers with 1x UART, 1x I2C, 1x SPI, 11x GPIO (PWM), 9x ADC
- 3.3V I/O voltage (not 5V tolerant)
- Debugging – JTAG pads
- Misc – Reset button, Boot button, 1x User LED, charging LED
- Power Supply
- 5V via USB Type-C port
- Support for LiPo batteries with battery charging chip, charging current: 50mA
- Power consumption @ 5 V
- 14 μA in deep sleep mode
- WiFi – 100 mA in active mode, 25mA in modem-sleep mode, 2.0mA in light sleep mode
- BLE – 85 mA in modem-sleep mode
- Dimensions – 21 x 17.5mm
- Temperature Range – -40°C to 65°C
While the new board’s deep sleep power consumption is indeed better (14 vs 44 uA), the power consumption is higher both with WiFi Tx (100 vs 75 mA) and Bluetooth LE modem sleep-mode (85 vs 27 mA) based on the numbers released by Seeed Studio. Target applications include IoT devices, wearables, Smart Home appliances, robotics, health monitoring, education, Low-Power networking, and rapid prototyping.
There’s no information specific to the XIAO ESP32S3 module/board in the Wiki, but I’d expect it to be programmable with the Arduino IDE like the ESP32-C3 model. Seeed Studio told CNX Software the documentation will be published after the back order is finished, and they also mentioned that a small LCD display will be released next week for the XIAO family.
The XIAO ESP32S3 board can be pre-ordered for $7.49 plus shipping with deliveries scheduled to start on March 31. For reference, the XIAO ESP32C3 module sells for $4.99.
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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I’ve been following the launch of the xiao esp32s3 and one thing I haven’t seen is any mention of the camera or extra connector on the top of the board next to the antenna. Maybe I’m missing it, any idea?
It is a bord-to-board connector for an expansion board with a camera and microphone. The upcoming XIAO ESP32S3 SENSE has this connector.
Board-to-board connector on the other side.
I just finished ordering 2 of the Xiao ESP32S3 Sense units as it seems they’re now available for pre-order/backorder. Thanks for the info!
Seeed is expected to release the XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense Smart Camera Dev Board in the next week for $13.99 as per reporting.
The XIAO ESP32-S3 comes with 30 Pin, (L8.7*W3.6*H2.45mm, Pin distance of 0.4mm）Micro Board-to-board Connector next to the antenna connector.
https://www.seeedstudio.com/blog/2023/02/16/tiny-size-brings-big-challenges-the-inside-story-of-xiao-esp32s3-designing-discover-the-hard-work-passion-and-innovation-behind-the-scenes/
Excellent development.
What about security issues when I connect the xiao USB to a laptop? It appears to have a WIFI, should one take any additional measures to prevent any undesired security issues?