Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather (4MB Flash/2MB PSRAM)

by Adafruit

An ESP32-S3 Feather board with a built in IPS TFT color display. It's got all the features of a Feather main board, the comforting warmth of an ESP32-S3 WiFi+BLE microcontroller, and the crispness of a 240x135 pixel color TFT display.

All that and it will even plug in nicely into a breadboard, terminal block wing, or Feather Doubler or even just stack on top of another wing.

This Feather comes with native USB and 4 MB Flash + 2 MB of PSRAM, so it is perfect for use with CircuitPython or Arduino with low-cost WiFi. Native USB means it can act like a keyboard or a disk drive. WiFi means it's awesome for IoT projects. And Feather means it works with the large community of Feather Wings for expandability.

The ESP32-S3 is a highly-integrated, low-power, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi/BLE System-on-Chip (SoC) solution that has built-in native USB as well as some other interesting new technologies like Time of Flight distance measurements and AI acceleration. With its state-of-the-art power and RF performance, this SoC is an ideal choice for a wide variety of application scenarios relating to the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable electronics, and smart homes.

The Feather ESP32-S3 has a dual-core 240 MHz chip, so it is comparable to ESP32's dual-core. However, there is no Bluetooth Classic support, only Bluetooth LE. This chip is a great step up from the earlier ESP32-S2! This ESP32-S3 mini-module used on the Feather comes with 4 MB flash and 2 MB PSRAM, as well as lots of 512KB of SRAM so it's perfect for use with CircuitPython support or any time massive buffers are needed: for fast memory access use SRAM, for slower-but-roomier access use PSRAM. It's also great for use in ESP-IDF or with Arduino support.

The color TFT is connected to the SPI pins and uses additional pins for control that are not exposed to the breakout pads. It's the same display as you see here, with 240x135 pixels and is IPS so you get bright color at any angle. The backlight is also connected to a separate pin so you can PWM the backlight up and down as desired.

For low power usages, the Feather has a second low-dropout 3.3V regulator. The regulator is controlled with a GPIO pin on the enable line and can shut off power to the Stemma QT port and TFT. There is also a separate power pin for the NeoPixel that can be used to disable it for even lower quiescent power. With everything off and in deep sleep mode, the TFT feather uses about 100uA of current.

Features:

  • ESP32-S3 Dual Core 240MHz Tensilica processor - the next generation of ESP32-Sx, with native USB so it can act like a keyboard/mouse, MIDI device, disk drive, etc!
  • Mini module has FCC/CE certification and comes with 4 MByte of Flash and 2 MByte of PSRAM - you can have huge data buffers
  • Color 1.14" IPS TFT with 240x135 pixels - bright and colorful display with ST7789 chipset that can be viewed at any angle angle.
  • Power options - USB type C or Lipoly battery
  • Built-in battery charging when powered over USB-C
  • LiPoly battery monitor - LC709203 chip actively monitors your battery for voltage and state of charge / percentage reporting over I2C
  • Reset and DFU (BOOT0) buttons to get into the ROM bootloader (which is a USB serial port so you don't need a separate cable!)
  • Serial debug output pin (optional, for checking the hardware serial debug console)
  • STEMMA QT connector for I2C devices, with switchable power, so you can go into low power mode.
  • On/Charge/User LEDs + status NeoPixel with pin-controlled power for low power usage
  • Low Power friendly! In deep sleep mode, we can get down to 80~100uA of current draw from the Lipoly connection. Quiescent current is from the power regulator, ESP32-S2 chip, and Lipoly monitor. Turn off the NeoPixel and external I2C/TFT power for the lowest quiescent current draw.
  • Works with Arduino or CircuitPython

Technical Details

Product Dimensions: 52.5mm x 22.8mm x 9.5mm / 2.1" x 0.9" x 0.4"

Product Weight: 8.2g / 0.3oz

ESP32-S3 Series Datasheet

10 customer reviews

4 months ago
I already had an Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT. I bought the ESP32-S3 version because of the processors enhanced features. Initially I wrote the following: "What I less like is that when compiling/building and uploading a sketch using the Arduino IDE V2.3.4, I first have to put the Feather into download mode, then, in the IDE, I have to switch COM port (I'm building on a deskt op pc using MS Windows 11 Pro. This switching of COM-Port and putting into download mode isn't necessary with other ESP32-S3 boards that I use, for example: a M5Stack M5Dial.". Disregard this part of my review. The problem I described had been caused by a wrong setting. After correcting this I now am able to compile and build Arduino sketches on this Feather ESP32-S3 TFT as I was used to S2 version and other board. I like this product. I am happy that I bought this board!
by Paulus about Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather (4MB Flash/2MB PSRAM) via REVIEWS.io
2 years ago
The demo Arduino code for the ESP32-S3 TFT is a good place to start when receiving this board. Check out https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/main/Factory_Tests/Feather_ESP32S2_TFT_FactoryTest/Feather_ESP32S2_TFT_FactoryTest.ino for the S2 code (works on S3) and make sure you install all the libs listed at the start of the code listing. I deleted the BME280 section as I don't have one fitted. The battery code can be changed to suit the battery size, open the Arduino lib folder and Adafruit_LC709203F.h and add a new line value for your battery size. My battery is 1200ma/h so the hex value is 0x1D taken from and calculated from a table in the datasheet. Will try Platformio next as the Arduino IDE takes a long time to compile and upload. Just make sure your USB 3 cable has data connections as a power-only USB 3 lead will not communicate with your chosen IDE. It has a very nice display on a compact board including intelligent battery backup. Buy some JST-SH cables for easy integration with your existing sensors or add some Adafruit sensor modules. Overall an excellent hardware platform with fast MCU and display, highly recommended.
by Michael about Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather (4MB Flash/2MB PSRAM) via REVIEWS.io
2 years ago
A really neat little board, well made with plenty of connection possibilities. I was using it with CircuitPython and Adafruit provide an excellent getting started guide. Adding an i2c sensor such as a temperature and humidity board via a ‘no solder’ STEMMA/QT port is very easy. I used an AHT20 for temperature and humidity. The ADCs are more accurate than a Pi Pico, giving a reliable zero and far less ‘jitter’. I’ve posted some code to demonstrate how to make good use of the fast graphics on the bright and pixel packed screen. See here: https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?t=195478 At the moment the CircuitPython 8 is still in Beta and there is still a good deal of work to be done on the WiFi and BLE support. I’m sure it will come fairly soon. I’ve enjoyed ‘playing’ with this board which has plenty of easily available add-ons.
by Anonymous about Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather (4MB Flash/2MB PSRAM) via REVIEWS.io
3 years ago
Any potential purchasers should wait until Adafruit update the Arduino libraries and more: - Platformio only has 'adafruit_feather_esp32s3' which isn't the PSRAM variant. - The Arduino library repo which currently supports it is: 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_dev_index.json' which contains this TFT variant. Unfortunately this is another case of a device/chipmaker rushing out a device without the ecosystem support. Also, the development -> upload -> boot cycle is much better on the Raspberry Pico2040 (this ESP32 variant kludges the USB serial so you can't keep a monitor up like minicom like you can on Pi).
by Jose about Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather (4MB Flash/2MB PSRAM) via REVIEWS.io
3 years ago
This board has almost everything. Feather format let you use the Feather echo-system if you solder the pin, but you can already add many sensor over the Stemma QT connector (I2C) using displayio or simple print, you can display the value coming out of your sensor. The MCU does Wifi and Bluetooth LE so you have access to the Wifi workflow that Adafruit is working on, and the build-in screen show you the current IP. The only missing bit might be more input buttons. You can use the BOOT button, except during reset, but that limit your user interface to one single button. Except for that, this board is the perfect CircuitPython board because it is very flexible and fit many usecase.
by DAVID about Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather (4MB Flash/2MB PSRAM) via REVIEWS.io

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