Your ESP32-based DIY electronics projects could soon integrate more smoothly into your smart home. Espressif's ESP32-S31 board is now available with major upgrades in performance, wireless tech, and input.
The new microcontroller revolves around a dual-core, 320MHz RISC-V processor with a 128-bit data path, a 40MHz co-processor, 512KGB of on-chip SRAM (with support for 250MHz DDR PSRAM expansion), and as many as 60 GPIOs. You'll find hardware accelerators for 2D graphics and JPEG image processing.
More importantly, it supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 (including LE Audio), and smart home networking through Thread and Zigbee. There's a gigabit Ethernet MAC for wired networks, and you can connect to Matter devices through Wi-Fi or Thread.
Input is richer, too. The ESP32-S31 has a 14-channel interface for touchscreens, support for multiple LCD display formats, and connections to DVP cameras.
Espressif sees this as useful not just for custom projects, but for smart speakers, connected appliances, and any Internet of Things (IotT) device that needs more processing power or connectivity than other ESP32 boards might provide. The company also pitches it as helpful for edgeAI devices where processing
ESP32-S31 price and release date
You might pay a premium
The ESP32-S31 is shipping now. Espressif isn't selling it directly to consumers, but there are third-party retailers like AliExpress and Banggood offering development boards and modules as of this writing. New orders are currently expected to arrive in mid-to-late August.
Prices vary depending on what you need, but the development boards are typically priced above $60. You might not want to buy the S31 immediately. However, this is good news if you're interested in ESP32 but find the computing power or wireless support to be outdated. Don't be surprised if the microcontroller unlocks capabilities that previously required a Raspberry Pi or a similarly more powerful single-board computer.