Seeed Studio’s reTerminal E1001 and E1002 are two ePaper displays featuring an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth LE wireless microcontroller suitable for dashboards or digital signage applications.
The only difference between the two reTerminal E-series displays is that the E1001 features a 7.5-inch monochrome display, while the E1002 integrates a 7.3-inch 6-color ePaper display. Both come with a 2,000 mAh battery offering up to 3 months of battery life, a 32MB SPI flash, a microSD card slot, a microphone and a buzzer, temperature and humidity sensors, an 8-pin GPIO header, and a few buttons and LEDs.
reTerminal E1001/E1002 specifications:
- Wireless SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 dual-core microcontroller with 8MB PSRAM
- Storage
- 32MB SPI flash
- MicroSD card slot up to 32GB (FAT32 file system only)
- Display
- E1001 – 7.5-inch Monochrome ePaper display with 800×480 resolution
- E1002 – 7.3-inch “Full Color” (i.e., 6-color) ePaper display with 800×480 resolution
- Audio
- Microphone (3) for voice interaction
- Buzzer for sound alerts
- Wireless Connectivity – 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 via ESP32-S3
- Sensors – Temperature and humidity sensors
- Expansion – 8-pin expansion header with GPIO, I2C, VDD, and GND (9)
- Misc
- 3x buttons to control the display (2)
- Power Switch (5)
- Status (6) and Power (7) LEDs
- Battery – 2,000 mAh, good for up to 3 months
- Power Input – 5V/1A via USB-C port
- Dimensions – 176 x 120 x 53mm with stand, or 17mm without stand
- Temperature Range – 0-40°C
On the software side, the ePaper display ships with SenseCraft HMI firmware, featuring a no-code UI platform that allows users to easily create dashboards without requiring any programming skills. Smart Home users can switch to ESPHome firmware for Home Assistant integration, and users requiring more flexibility can roll out their own firmware with Arduino, PlatformIO, or the ESP-IDF framework. The TRMNL platform for E Ink dashboard management is an option, but requires a $50 one-time payment. You’ll find all resources to get started with either model on the wiki.
Those are not exactly the first ~7-inch ePaper displays with an ESP32 microcontroller on the market, and alternatives include Seeed Studio’s own XIAO 7.5″ ePaper panel, the TRMNL wireless E-Ink display, and Inkplate 6 MOTION, among others. DIY users can also purchase a similar 7.5-inch E-Ink display with an SPI interface for ESP32 boards. As I see it, the main benefits of the new reTerminal E wireless displays are the extra features for audio, sensors, and expansion, SenseCraft HMI no-code platform, and extensive documentation for various user requirements.
The reTerminal E1001 monochrome display sells for $69, while the E1002 6-color version goes for $99. Both variants should eventually become available on the Seeed Studio’s Aliexpress store.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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