0.96" SPI Colour LCD (160x80) Breakout

by Pimoroni

A handy lil' LCD to add readouts to your projects. This 0.96" SPI LCD has a 2:1 widescreen aspect ratio, has great viewing angles (IPS), and works with Raspberry Pi or Arduino.

The display is great for displaying tidbits of information like timers, clocks, sensor readings, and more. Why not use it to display the IP address of a headless Raspberry Pi, so that you don't have to connect a full display or fiddle around with nmap?

Despite being so diminutive, this LCD is a gorgeous little display. It's bright, has great resolution and, because it's an IPS panel, it has wide viewing angles and looks great whichever way you look at it. It's driven by SPI and you should be able to run it at up to ~50FPS, although we've found that anywhere from 10FPS looks good for most uses.

You can use this breakout completely solder-free with Breakout Garden HAT with SPI!

Features

  • 0.96" colour LCD (160x80 pixels)
  • SPI interface
  • 3.3V or 5V compatible
  • Reverse polarity protection
  • Compatible with Arduino
  • Compatible with Raspberry Pi (Python library)
  • Compatible with Raspberry Pi Pico (C++/MicroPython libraries)

Display specifications

  • 160x80 pixels (~190 PPI)
  • 10.8x21.7mm active area
  • 400cd/m2 luminance
  • 800:1 contrast ratio
  • 160° viewing angle (horizontal and vertical)
  • ST7735S driver chip

    Software

    We've adapted an existing Python library to drive this display. The library makes it straightforward to display images, text or graphics, and even display animated GIFs! 

    You can also use this breakout with Raspberry Pi Pico and other RP2040 boards, using C++ or Pirate brand MicroPython.

    Connecting to a Raspberry Pi

    If you're not using our Breakout Garden HAT with SPI, then this is how to connect your LCD Breakout up to your Raspberry Pi.

    Our Python library is set up to use SPI 0 by default on the Pi (BCM 7 for CS, BCM 11 for SCK, and BCM 10 for MOSI), BCM 9 for DC, and BCM 19 for the backlight.

    Here's which pins to connect between your 0.96" LCD Breakout and your Pi's GPIO (note that it's BCM pin numbering):

    • 3-5V to any 5V or 3V pin
    • CS to BCM 7
    • SCK to BCM 11
    • MOSI to BCM 10
    • DC to BCM 9
    • BL to BCM 19
    • GND to any ground pin

    You can of course use other pins with your LCD Breakout, but you'll have to change them accordingly when you instantiate the display in your code.

    Connecting to a Raspberry Pi Pico

    The easiest way to use our SPI breakouts with a Raspberry Pi Pico is by plugging them into a Pico Breakout Garden Base or a Pico Breakout Garden Pack.

    If you'd rather wire them up to a Pico directly, here's how it goes!

    • 3-5V to any 5V or 3V pin
    • CS to GP17
    • SCK to GP18
    • MOSI to GP19
    • DC to GP16
    • BL to GP20
    • GND to any ground pin

    Notes

    Dimensions: 29.1x25.9x5.4mm