The T-Display P4 Is a Hacker’s Dream
The LILYGO T-Display P4 is a pocketable, phone-shaped ESP32-based device with LoRa, GPS, and sensors for hacking on the go.
Little black rectangles may not be very visually interesting, but phones have proven this form factor to be very useful for mobile computing. Unfortunately, phones tend to be locked down tightly, with walled gardens that heavily restrict what users and developers can do. That is bad news for hobbyists that want to do some hacking on the go. If you want the perfect platform for mobile experimentation, then you will have to build your own cyberdeck.
But now, there is a new device that may help fill this gap. LILYGO has just released the T-Display P4, which is an ESP32-based platform that is perfect for electronics or wireless hacking and has the form factor of a traditional phone. What you can see from the outside is a large touchscreen and a thin case (although not as thin as a phone), but it is what's on the inside that counts when it comes to the T-Display P4.
The device comes equipped with both an ESP32-P4 and an ESP32-C6 microcontroller, with 32MB and 4MB of PSRAM respectively. These can be programmed to do whatever you want with the rest of the hardware. This includes a LoRa transceiver for long-range communication, a GPS receiver, a 1080p camera, a 9-axis IMU, a speaker, microphone, Ethernet, an X-axis linear motor, and a real-time clock. The touchscreen can be either a 4.1-inch AMOLED display, or a TFT.
The T-Display P4 looks like a very nice pocketable tool for field work. It’s well equipped for everything from listening in on wireless communications to running edge AI applications. Starting at under $100, this device is sure to be on a lot of hardware hackers’ Christmas lists this year.