LOLIN S3 Mini Pro is a tiny ESP32-S3 WiFi and BLE board with a 0.85-inch display and it’s one of the first boards I’ve seen with a multi-color PCB that some PCB manufacturers have been offered recently.
The board features an ESP32-S3FH4R2 microcontroller with 4MB flash and a 2MP PSRAM, a 128×128 TFT display, a 6-axis motion/attitude sensor, and GPIO headers that make it compatible with LOLIN D1 mini shields for expansion.
LOLIN S3 Mini Pro specifications:
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FH4R2
- CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz
- Wireless – 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity
- Memory – 2MB PSRAM
- Storage – 4MB SPI flash
- Display – 0.85-inch 128×128 LCD TFT display with GC9107/GC9A01 driver
- Sensor – 6-axis MEMS IMU/attitude sensor (QMI8658C)
- Expansion
- 2x 8-pin headers with up to 12x GPIO, ADC, DAC, I2C, SPI, UART, USB OTG; compatible with LOLIN D1 mini shields
- 4-pin Grove I2C connector
- Misc
- Reset button, 3x user buttons (IO0, IO47, IO48)
- RGB LED (Data: IO8, Power: IO7)
- IR receiver (IO9)
- Power Supply – 5V via USB-C port
- Dimensions – 34.3 x 25.4 mm
- Weight – 5 grams
The LOLIN S3 Mini Pro board ships preloaded with MicroPython firmware but is also compatible with Arduino. You’ll find more details on the documentation website to get started and links to schematics, mechanical files, and ESP32-S3 datasheet. All documentation is basic meaning the user will need to have some programming knowledge to use the board.
The LOLIN S3 Mini Pro can be purchased on AliExpress for $7.09 with free shipping. It’s an update to the $5 LOLIN S3 Mini with the same form factor minus the display and colorful PCB. You’ll find compatible shields on the company’s AliExpress store.
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 believe, this board is quiet well balanced regarding the asked price / hw and design choices.
With display, some button, and a couple of additional featuress it’s a “ready to go” solution for many use casse, especially in education with the micropython environment already loaded in.
But, so far, it lacks, IMO, a battery powered mode and SMA connectors for antennas for better wireless operations.
It seems that there’s some room alvailable on the board,.so, maybe a new iteration will totaly fits my needs 😉
What a super cute board. about to buy one just to have on my desk for the kawaii. Looking forward to one with lipo management, the button layout really suits a small keyring case project.
humm, looks good but can’t find any code examples
https://github.com/CsErik2001/Lolin-S3-Mini-Pro
Lacking much documentation
anybody find examples to drive the display? The information here is confusing (says it uses the “ GC9107/GC9A01 driver”(sic). This is TWO drivers, neither of which seems to match the pinout of the LCD driver I see on the schematic.
You might want to try the samples for the LILYGO T-QT as the design looks similar. Check the schematics for both boards and make sure the code (pin assignment) matches the hardware.
While the docu is (beyond) sparse, they’ve added a s3 min pro board folder and micropython sample to their github which offers a lot of clues as to how everything is set up.
https://github.com/wemos/micropython/blob/master/ports/esp32/boards/LOLIN_S3_MINI_PRO/modules/_s3_mini_pro_test.py