Waveshare has recently introduced ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-3.49, an ESP32-S3-based wide touch display (640×172) development board for HMI and AI voice applications such as handhelds, smart panels, meters, kiosks, and small IoT dashboards.
The device comes in two variants, where Case A supports a single 18650 lithium battery and Case B is designed for a 3.7V Li-Po battery. Both models integrate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, dual microphones with echo cancellation, speaker output, IMU, RTC, microSD card for storage, USB-C for power and programming, and there are also expansion pads for interactive touch, audio, and sensor-based applications.
Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-3.49 specifications:
- Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8
- CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration.
- Memory – 512KB RAM, 8MB PSRAM
- ROM – 384KB
- Connectivity – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE with support for long-range, up to 2 Mbps data rate, mesh network.
- Storage
- 16 MB QSPI NOR flash
- MicroSD card slot
- Display
- 3.49-inch IPS LCD
- 640 x 172 resolution, 16.7M colors
- 1200:1 contrast ratio, 178° viewing angle
- AXS15231B display driver, QSPI interface
- Capacitive touch controller, I2C interface
- Display active area – 84.00 × 22.58 mm
- Display window – 92.69 × 28.99 mm
- Audio
- ES7210 ADC – Multi-mic audio decoding, low-power, high-performance
- ES8311 DAC – Low-power audio encoding chip
- Dual digital microphone array with echo cancellation and noise reduction
- MX1.25 2-pin speaker header for external speaker
- USB – USB Type-C port for programming, power, and log printing
- Expansion
- 22-pin 2.54 mm through-hole expansion pads
- 15-pin 1mm pitch header with 7x GPIO, 1x I2C, 1x UART, VBUS, 3.3V, and GND
- 2 pads for USB 2.0 (also IO19 and IO20)
- Misc
- PWR, BOOT, and Reset Buttons on the back side
- Antenna – Onboard PCB antenna + IPEX connector for external antenna
- QMI8658 – 6-axis IMU (3-axis gyro + 3-axis accelerometer)
- PCF85063 – RTC clock chip
- TCA9554PWR – 8-bit I²C GPIO expander
- Power
- 5V via USB-C port
- 3.7 V Lithium battery (MX1.25 header or 18650 holder, depending on case)
- Power management IC for battery charge/discharge
- Dimensions
- Case A (18650 version) – 98.50 × 34.80 × 31.80 mm (with 82.11 × 17.30 mm battery housing)
- Case B (Li-Po version) – 98.50 × 34.80 × 22.80 mm
The device can be programmed with both the Arduino IDE and the ESP-IDF framework. With Arduino, you can do quick prototyping with extensive community libraries and LVGL v8/v9 GUI demos, while the ESP-IDF framework offers a full toolchain with compilers, debuggers, and VSCode integration for advanced development, but support is limited. It also supports AI speech interaction with online LLM platforms (e.g., DeepSeek, Doubao) as well as offline voice control. Waveshare also provides demo code for Wi-Fi AP/STA, SD card, IMU, RTC, audio, battery management, GUI rendering, and more. It’s also compatible with third-party UI design tools like SquareLine Studio, making the board suitable for both rapid prototyping and production-grade applications.
Previously, we wrote about other ESP32-based display development boards, such as the ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-1.8, the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-3.4C/4, and the ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47. Boards with a wide display are harder to find, and the closest competitor we can think of is the LILYGO T-Display-S3-Long board, featuring an ESP32-S3 and a 3.4-inch touch display with 640×180 resolution, but selling without an enclosure.
The Waveshare display development board is available on AliExpress for $40.84 (Without Battery) or $42.39 (Polymer Lithium), and on Amazon for $42.99 for both versions. You can also get it from the official Waveshare store, where it sells for $29.99 or $31.99, depending on the variant, but that does not include shipping.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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