Waveshare has recently launched two new ESP32-S3 4G dev boards – the ESP32-S3-SIM7670G-4G and the ESP32-S3-A7670E-4G. These boards support 4G LTE Cat-1, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GNSS, and come with an OV2640 camera, and a battery holder for a 18650 battery. The main difference between the two is that the A7670E module also supports 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE at 900/1800MHz while the SIM7670G module does not.
The board has two rows of I/Os including GPIO, I2C, SPI, ADC, and USB 2.0. It also has a USB-C port for power and programming, a slot for a MicroSD card, and an option to connect an external speaker. There’s a USB switching IC and DIP switch for easily connecting the module to a PC for internet or debugging.
Waveshare ESP32-S3 4G Dev Boards Specification:
- Communication module
- Global coverage and band support
- A7670E 4G – Focuses on LTE-FDD bands more suitable for Europe, Southeast Asia, West Asia, Africa, China, and South Korea with additional GSM/GPRS/EDGE support.
- SIM7670G 4G – Offers global coverage with a broader range of LTE-FDD and LTE-TDD bands, making it applicable worldwide, but lacks GSM/GPRS/EDGE support.
- Wireless MCU – ESP32-S3 Xtensa 32-bit LX7 dual-core, up to 240MHz frequency, 512KB SRAM, 384KB ROM, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0
- Memory and storage
- 2MB PSRAM
- 16MB Flash storage
- Peripheral Interfaces
- OV2640 camera
- MicroSD card slot
- USB Type-C port used to AT commands, GNSS positioning, firmware upgrading, program burning, etc…
- 38-pin header
- Power Management
- Lithium battery support
- Solar charging (5V to 18V) via CN3791
- USB charging through ETA6098
- Battery voltage measurement using MAX17048G
- Security features
- Hardware encryption
- Random number generator
- HMAC
- Digital Signature
- Additional features
- RGB LED
- 18650 battery holder
- GNSS high-precision ceramic antenna and
- Antenna connector – IPEX 1
- Board Dimensions – 110 x 30.44 mm
The onboard OV2640 camera captures video at 1600×1200 resolution and 15 frames per second, offering decent quality. Additionally, the calling module features a microphone and a speaker to enable calling functionality.
The boards can be equipped with an 18650 lithium battery, which can be recharged using solar power. To safeguard the battery, the board incorporates an ETA6098 IC for battery charging, a CN3791 IC for solar charging, and a MAX17048G IC for measuring battery voltage.
Previously we have covered several other ESP32-based 4G modules like LILYGO T-SIMCAM ESP32-S3 and LILYGO T-SIM7080G-S3 feel free to check those out if you are interested in the topic.
Waveshare offers code samples and instructions using VSCode (ESP-IDF) and the Arduino IDE, and details about the AT commands for the A7670E and SIM7670G modules on their respective wiki page, where you’ll also find more technical information, documents, and drivers.
You can purchase the Waveshare’s ESP32-S3 Boards from both Amazon and AliExpress. The ESP32-S3 SIM7670G 4G is available on Amazon for $56.29 and on AliExpress for $56.48. Meanwhile, the ESP32-S3 A7670E 4G is priced at $49.29 on Amazon and $34.00 on AliExpress. Both boards can also be found on the Waveshare store.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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Good price and decent software support. Very interesting!
What are the usecases ?
Seems identical to the lilygo board. I wonder if it suffers from the same shortcomings, in particular the ones related to putting the modem to sleep. It would have been nice to support running on usb and having the battery as a backup power.