Every now and then, a dev board shows up that makes you think, “Okay, that’s different.” The LILYGO T-Circle-S3 is one of those boards. Instead of the usual rectangular screen and plain design, this little guy comes with a 0.75-inch circular touch display, microphone, speaker support, and a splash of color thanks to an RGB LED.
If you’re into building wearables, IoT gadgets, or quirky smart devices, this might just be the dev kit you’ve been waiting for.
Here’s the good stuff that makes the T-Circle-S3 stand out:
- Brains: ESP32-S3R8 dual-core LX7 @ 240 MHz\
- Memory: 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM, 16MB flash (so you’re not short on space)\
- Display:
- 0.75-inch circular TFT LCD (160 × 160 pixels)
- Capacitive touch support (yes, you can swipe and tap)
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 4 + Bluetooth 5.0
- Audio:
- MAX98357A Class-D amp (3W output, that’s pretty loud for its size)
- MEMS microphone (Goertek MSM261, I²S)
- Extras:
- USB-C (charging + programming)
- 6 GPIO pins for expansion
- Qwiic connector (plug-and-play sensors anyone?)
- RGB LED, reset button
Size check: 32 mm base, 28 mm top, 17 mm tall → smaller than a coin stack.
If you’ve seen the Waveshare RP2350-LCD-1.28, this will feel familiar — but the T-Circle-S3 takes things further with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and audio. Compared to SB Components’ Dual Roundy, the T-Circle-S3 is more compact and adds mic + speaker support.
In short: if you want a round dev board that can talk, listen, and connect, this is the one.
No surprises here — it plays nicely with:
- Arduino IDE (quick prototyping)
- PlatformIO (for the serious devs)
- ESP-IDF (if you like full control)
LILYGO has uploaded code samples and Quick Start guides on GitHub, so you won’t be staring at a blank screen wondering what to do first.
- T-Circle → just the 0.75-inch display (needs an external controller) – around $13.
- T-Circle-S3 → full-featured board with ESP32-S3 + all the extras – around $29.
Available on AliExpress and Amazon, depending on your shopping style.
Honestly, the T-Circle-S3 feels like a mini smartwatch dev kit out of the box. A few project ideas:
- DIY smartwatch with custom UI
- Voice-enabled IoT badge
- Tiny smart home controller
- Fun little wearable gadget
For under $30, it’s one of those boards that makes you want to experiment just because it looks cool.
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