Wemos Launches LOLIN S3 Pro, Packing MicroSD Expansion and Easy Display Connectivity

Feature-packed alternative to the LOLIN S3 Pro brings an impressive array of features for its compact breadboard-friendly size.

Wemos has launched a new entry in its LOLIN family of compact development boards, this time based around the Espressif ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module and cramming a microSD card slot into its breadboard-friendly footprint: the LOLIN S3 Pro.

The new Wemos LOLIN S3 Pro is, as the name implies, a successor to the earlier LOLIN S3. Like its predecessor, the LOLIN S3 Pro features a breadboard-friendly form factor with general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins brought out to both sides and an Espressif ESP32-S3 dual-core 240MHz Tensilica LX7 microcontroller module at its heart — offering vector instructions for on-board TinyML work, 512kB of static RAM (SRAM), and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (BLE) radios.

Elsewhere on the board, which was brought to our attention by CNX Software, the LOLIN S3 Pro includes 16MB of QSPI flash, 8MB of pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM), and a USB Type-C port for data and power. For those who find 16MB of storage a little limiting, the board also boasts a microSD socket for additional capacity — though labelled as "TransFlash," as it is lacking official SD Card certification.

Other features include up to 25 GPIO pins with 17 offering analog to digital conversion (ADC), a digital to analog converter (DAC), UART, SPI, I2C buses, a Qwiic-style "LOLIN I2C" port for solderless expansion, a lithium-polymer battery connector with charging circuit, and a connector compatible with TFT and ePaper displays. Software compatibility matches that of the ESP32-S3 itself, with Wemos shipping the part with MicroPython firmware pre-loaded but also offering support for the Arduino IDE and Espressif's own ESP-IDF.

More information on the board is available on the Wemos wiki, while the company is selling the LOLIN S3 Pro via AliExpress for $9.50 excluding shipping.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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