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The ESP32-S3 is the new flagship MCU from Espressif

Packed in with amazing features and peripherals, wireless connectivity and support for an amazing amount of Flash and extra PSRAM.

We've put together a new range of new ESP32-S3 boards that offer powerful features for a broad range of applications.

Need something super Tiny with no compromises? Sure, we've got you covered! What about a board that has Pro features that you can use on your existing PCB design? Yup, we have that too!

The new FeatherS3 Neo - Hot off the assembly line!

Our ESP32-S3 lineup now includes the FeatherS3 Neo that packs in a 7x7 RGB LED matrix in only a 12x12mm space!

Now with optional u.FL connectors!

We now have a version of each of the NanoS3, TinyS3, FeatherS3 & ProS3, with a u.FL connector instead of an onboard antenna, for situations when you want to connect an external antenna for longer radio range, or for those putting their S3 boards inside a case/box.

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OMGS3 is our smallest board/module, featuring stacks of Flash & PSRAM, WiFi, Bluetooth 5 + more!

Click the OMGS3 for more...
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The NanoS3 is the successor to our TinyPICO Nano, featuring more Flash & PSRAM, WiFi, Bluetooth 5 + more!

Click the NanoS3 for more...
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The TinyS3 is the successor to our hugely popular TinyPICO, featuring more Flash & PSRAM, WiFi, Bluetooth 5 + more!

Click the TinyS3 for more...
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The FeatherS3 is a powerhouse of features in the super popular Feather format & huge ecosystem!

Click the FeatherS3 for more...
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The FeatherS3 Neo brings the RGB BLING in the super popular Feather format & huge ecosystem!

Click the FeatherS3 Neo for more...
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The ProS3 kicks it up a notch or three, with ESD protection, Castellated headers and TinyPICO compatibility!

Click the ProS3 for more...

Features

All of our ESP32-S3 boards include the following features:
  • Dual 32bit Xtensa LX7 cores running up to 240Mhz
  • RISC-V Ultra Low Power Co-processor
  • 2.4GHz Wifi - 802.11b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 5, BLE + Mesh
  • 2MB or 8MB of extra QSPI PSRAM
  • ULTRA LOW Deep Sleep Current
  • USB back-feed protection
  • Native USB + USB Serial JTAG + USB OTG
  • Low power RGB LED
  • LiPo Battery Charging
  • VBAT and 5V Sense Pins
  • 3D High Gain Antenna or u.FL connector

Board Comparison Matrix

 
OMGS3
NanoS3
TinyS3
FeatherS3
ProS3
MCU
ESP32-PICO
ESP32-S3FN8
ESP32-S3FN8
ESP32-S3
ESP32-S3
FLASH
8MB (Internal)
8MB (Internal)
8MB (Internal)
16MB (External)
16MB (External)
PSRAM
2MB (Internal)
8MB (External)
8MB (External)
8MB (External)
8MB (External)
GPIO
17
27
17
21
27
3V3 LDO Regulator
1
1
1
2
2
STEMMA QT
-
-
-
2 - One on each LDO
1 on LDO 1
Battery Connection
Pads
Header
Header + JST Pads on bottom
Header + JST PH on top
Header + Microblade on top
VBUS Sense
YES
YES
YES
YES
VBAT Sense
Fuel Guage
-
ADC Pin
ADC Pin
ADC Pin
JTAG
USB Serial JTAG
USB Serial JTAG
USB Serial JTAG
USB Serial JTAG
USB Serial JTAG + Header
ESD Protection
-
-
-
-
YES
IO Connection
Pads
Castellated
Pins
Pins
Pins & Castellated
Dimensions
25mm x 10mm
28mm x 12.7mm
35mm x 17.8mm
52.3mm x 22.9mm
53mm x 17.8mm

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the differences between the boards...

Shape

OMGS3

"The Smallest ESP32-S3 Development Board/Module - FULL STOP!"

The OMGS3 is NOW the smallest, fully featured ESP32-S3 based board/module on the market.

  • 8MB of QSPI Flash
  • 2MB of QSPI PSRAM
  • Massive 700mA 3.3V LDO Regulator
  • Battery Management
  • I2C Fuel Gauge
  • 17 GPIO
  • RGB LED
  • All in a 25mm x 10mm package!

NanoS3

"It's the TinyS3 in a Module, just add a USB connector, or not!"

The NanoS3 is the smallest, fully featured ESP32-S3 based module on the market.

  • 8MB of QSPI Flash
  • 8MB of QSPI PSRAM
  • Massive 700mA 3.3V LDO Regulator
  • Battery Management
  • 27 GPIO
  • RGB LED
  • TinyPICO Nano compatibility
  • All in a 28mm x 12.7mm package!

TinyS3

"The Tiny Mighty ESP32-S3 Development Board"

The TinyS3 is the ESP32-S3 variant to our mega popular TinyPICO.

  • 8MB of QSPI Flash
  • 8MB of QSPI PSRAM
  • Massive 700mA 3.3V LDO Regulator
  • Battery Management
  • 17 GPIO
  • RGB LED
  • TinyPICO compatibility
  • All in a 35mm x 17.8mm package!

FeatherS3

"The Pro ESP32-S3 Development Board in the Feather Format"

The FeatherS3 is the magnificent successor to our super popular FeatherS2!

  • 16MB of QSPI Flash
  • 2x 700mA 3.3V LDO Regulators
  • LDO2 is user controlled & auto-shuts down in deep sleep
  • 2x STEMMA QT connectors, 1 on LDO1 and 1 on LDO2 !
  • 21x GPIO
  • RGB LED
  • Feather Format compatibility

FeatherS3 Neo

"The RGB Bling ESP32-S3 Development Board in the Feather Format"

The FeatherS3 Neo is the magnificent successor to our super popular FeatherS2 Neo!

  • 8MB of QSPI Flash
  • 2MB of QSPI PSRAM
  • 2x 700mA 3.3V LDO Regulators
  • LDO2 is for the RGB Matrix and is user controlled & auto-shuts down in deep sleep
  • STEMMA QT connector powered by LDO1
  • 21x GPIO
  • RGB LED
  • Feather Format compatibility

ProS3

"The Ultimate Pro ESP32-S3 Development Board"

The ProS3 is the TinyS3 but on steroids!

  • 16MB of QSPI Flash
  • 2x 700mA 3.3V LDO Regulators
  • LDO2 is user controlled & auto-shuts down in deep sleep
  • USB ESD protection
  • STEMMA QT connector powered by LDO1
  • 27x GPIO including castellated headers
  • RGB LED
  • JTAG pins on the header
  • TinyPICO/TinyS3 compatibility

FAQ

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
The red power LED doesn't light up when running off battery

That is by design! The power and charge LEDs and corresponding resistors drain the battery, so they've been isolated to the 5V power domain so they will only light up and draw power when the board is either being powered by the USB connector, or by a 5V power source connected to the 5V header pin.

TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
The orange charge LED blinks when no battery is connected

That is the correct behaviour! The charge IC can’t tell the difference between a full battery and no battery, so it cycles between trying to charge and not charge.

If you are not using a battery on your project, or you don't need the use of the charge status LED, you can disconnect it by cutting the jumper on the back of the board, as indicated.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
On the pinout card some IO are listed as strapping pins. What does that mean?

A strapping pin is a pin/IO that is used by the ESP32 during it's boot up cycle to set certain modes. IO0 for instance is used to select if the ESP32 boots into download mode, or if it boots running your user code.

You are not allowed to alter it with a pullup/pulldown during boot, or it will not allow you to boot properly. You are only able to use that IO after your code is running.

For more information about strapping pins, please refer to the ESP32-S3 datasheet on the Espressif website.

TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
How do I read the battery voltage?

Each of the boards has an IO connected to a voltage divider on the battery to be able to read an approximation of the current voltage left in the battery. please check the Pinout card for the IO specific to your board. Note: Check the helper library for your board for a function that lets you read the state.

On the NanoS3, you have to add your own voltage divider to your carrier PCB to read the battery voltage, or you can also add a I2C fuel gauge if thats your preference.

TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
Can I check if there is 5V present? What is the VBUS sense?

Each of the boards has an IO connected to a voltage divider on the 5V power rail that you can read to determine if there is a 5V power source connected or not. This allows you to alter your code based on the source powering your board in your project. Note: Check the helper library for your board for a function that lets you read the state.

On the NanoS3, you have to add your own voltage divider to your carrier PCB to check if the 5V source is present.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
RX & TX pins are not coupled with the internal USB, what are they used for?

RX & TX are still connected to UART0, and still used with the USB when in CDC (download mode). Otherwise, you can use them as UART0 when connecting a module that uses serial, or use them as general IO, it's up to you.

TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
What voltage range can the 5V pin accept and is it an input and output?

The 5V pin on your board is an in and out pin. As an input, it will accept a voltage range between 4.8V and 5.2V. Please do not connect any power source over 5.2V to the 5V pin and please do not connect your battery to the 5V pin. It is for a 5V power source only.

When USB power is connected, you will get approximately 4.9V out of the 5V pin. The voltage drop is due to the reverse USB power diode that allows the USB and 5V pin to be power inputs at the same time, and prevents back feeding power into the USB.

The use case for having both connected is when you want to power your board from the 5V pin from an external 5V power source, but you also want to connect the USB to flash the board, or to get serial output.

If your board is being powered by any 5V source (USB or 5V pin) and a battery is connected to your board via the VBAT pin or connector, the battery will go into charge mode and the board will be powered via the 5V source.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
Can I connect my battery to the 5V pin?

Short answer? No. The 5V pin is for an external 5V supply input to the 5V power rail. The 5V rail has several additional connected components - such as the power LED - that will unnecessarily consume battery power.

Connect your battery to the VBAT pin or battery connector to minimise battery consumption.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
Can I connect my battery to the 3V3 pin?

Absolutely not! The 3V3 pin bypasses the onboard 3V3 LDO regulator, and if you connect a battery that can be as high as 4.2/4.3V, you could potentially damage components on the 3V3 rail that can't handle higher voltages than 3V3, including the ESP32-S3 chip itself.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
What WiFi and BLE range can I expect?

This is really a tough question to answer as there are so many external factors that can affect WiFi & BLE radio performance, including the construction of the building you are in, your network layout, power or RF noise in your area and where you are placing your board.

All we can say is we spent a great deal of time tuning the matching network and the antenna implementation, to ensure it’s the best it can be. The rest is up to you and your environment.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
How can I get my board into UF2 bootloader mode?

To get your board into UF2 bootloader mode (assuming you have not stomped your CircuitPython install with Arduino/IDF or MicroPython) you can simply click [RESET], then when the RGB LED is purple, click [BOOT] and you will enter UF2 bootloader mode. You will then see the RGB LED on your board turn green once the filesystem is mounted.

On the NanoS3, you have to add your own buttons for BOOT (IO0) and RESET to your carrier PCB.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
How can I re-install the UF2 bootloader if I stomped it?

You can re-flash the UF2 bootloader onto your boards by following these instructions.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
Can I switch between CircuitPython, MicroPython, IDF or even Arduino IDE?

You can switch between each development environment, but each time you will need to put your board into download mode by holding [BOOT], clicking [RESET] and then releasing [BOOT] and then flashing the respective firmware you require onto the board.

Hopefully soon MicroPython will have a version that you can load via the UF2 bootloader, stay tuned!

TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
How can I get my board into SAFE MODE using CircuitPython?

If you ever find you have gotten your board into a bad state with CircuitPython - Maybe you accidentally got it stuck in read-only mode or maybe it's stuck in a boot loop, you can put your board into safe mode which will boot the board, but not run any of the code. You can then fix your issue and reset the board.

To get into safe mode, follow these steps:

  • 1. Press the [RESET] button to reset the ESP32-S3 chip
  • 2. After the RGB LED has gone purple and then off, press and hold the [BOOT] button for a few seconds

Your board should now be in safe mode.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
Why don't I get 5V output on the 5V pin when running off battery?

The 5V pin can only produce 5V if there is a 5V source connected to the board via the USB connector. There is no boost/step-up converter on these boards to provide 5V from the VBAT input.

If you want to run off battery and require a 5V supply for an external module or sensor, you'll need to provide your own external boost converter. Something like the 5V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S7V7F5 from Pololu.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
I get an error when copying CircuitPython UF2 firmware onto my board

There is a known issue where the firmware is copied and then the board reboots itself before your OS thinks the file has completed copying. The file did copy, and the board should have rebooted itself and you should see the mounted CircuitPython drive.

ProS3FeatherS3
Devices powered from the 2nd LDO power down when the ESP32 goes into deep sleep

That's correct! LDO 2 is tied to both an IO and VDD for the Flash/PSRAM, so when the ESP32-S3 goes into deep sleep, it automatically shuts down LDO 2 for you, so you don't have to remember to do it yourself.

NanoS3TinyS3ProS3FeatherS3
I'm trying to use the RGB LED, but it's not lighting up

On the ProS3 and FeatherS3, the RGB LED is powered via LDO2, so you need to enabled LDO2 before you'll see output on the LED.

On the TinyS3 and NanoS3, the RGB LED is powered via an IO pin, so you need to set that to high before you'll see output on the LED.

Check the included pinout cards to find which IO you need to set for your specific board.

NanoS3
What do I need to use the NanoS3?

The NanoS3 includes everything you need other than a USB connector and buttons for IO0 and RESET. Depending on the design, some projects don't need a USB connector, or boot option buttons, so those need to be provided by you, if required.

NanoS3
Can I hand solder the NanoS3 to my carrier board?

Though it is possible to hand solder a NanoS3 to a carrier board, you need to ensure the thermal pad on the back of the NanoS3 is electrically connected to your GND, so that also requires soldering. Please check out the provided NanoS3 Carrier PCB design (KiCAD 7) for an example of a design that can be hand soldered.

ALL
Do you have a question that's not answered here?

We have an online knowledge base that covers a lot more help content, as well as a Discord server where you can ask UM and the comminity questions.

 

Buy an ESP32-S3 board!

You can currently buy your very own ESP32-S3 boards from the following official resellers!

Please note: Not every reseller stocks every item.

And of course, you can buy directly from Unexpected Maker!

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Unexpected Maker Shop