Review of Nextion 4.3-inch Edge Series HMI touch display

Today, we’ll review the Nextion 4.3-inch Edge Series HMI touch display. The company has recently launched the new Edge Series HMI touch displays for IoT applications that require better user interaction. It also supports video and audio playback, and everything can be configured relatively easily by the user using Nextion Editor software, version 1.68.1 or higher.

The Edge Series HMI touch displays offer a wide range of screen sizes and formats to choose from, including a 2.1-inch round model (NX4848E021-011C) and a 2.8-inch round model (NX4848E028-011C), both with 480×480 resolution, as well as a 4.3-inch rectangular model (NX4880E043-011C) with 800×480 resolution.

We received the NEXTION NX4880E043-011C Edge Series HMI touch display for review, along with accessories, namely an IO board and a speaker, so we can get hands-on and dive deep into the review. It’s versatile for all sorts of applications, from AIoT devices and vehicle control systems to medical equipment, vending machines, and even industrial computers. By processing data right on the display itself, it reduces latency and boosts the overall responsiveness of the system. Alright, no more waiting—let’s dive right in and explore the Nextion 4.3-inch HMI Edge touch display together!

Unboxing of Nextion 4.3″ HMI Edge Series touch display (NX4880E043-011C)

The touch display ships in a sturdy packaging with neatly organized accessories.

Inside the box, you’ll find the Nextion 4.3″ HMI Edge Series display itself (model NX4880E043-011C), a 4-pin connection cable, and a small power supply test board.

We were also sent the Nextion IO Adapter (IO board) and a Nextion BOX speaker.

The Nextion 4.3-inch HMI Edge display boasts a compact and thin design, measuring just 114.40 x 66.80 x 5.06 mm, and weighing around 59 grams. The build quality feels solid, thanks to premium materials and assembly suitable for rugged industrial installations. On the front panel, you’ve got a capacitive touchscreen, and the back side features various connection ports and connectors, including a microSD card slot, an RTC battery holder, and connectors for UART and the I/O board.

Nextion NX4880E043-011C specifications

The Nextion HMI Edge Series features a 200 MHz microcontroller paired with onboard memory for handling complex graphics processing, multimedia playback (audio and video files), and data management. It also packs some Edge Computing capabilities, allowing the display to process certain data locally without constantly sending everything back to the cloud or main MCU, a crucial feature for IoT projects demanding speed (low latency) and stability.

Nextion NX4880E043-011C specificartions

MCU – AiHMI T7 (See photo below)
- Clocked at 200MHz
- Memory – 512KB RAM
- Storage – 1024 bytes EEPROM
Storage
- MicroSD card slot up to 32GB (FAT32 file system) for firmware/HMI design upgrades
- 128MB SPI NAND flash
- 32Mbit SPI flash
Display
- Size – 4.3-inch
- Resolution – 800×480 pixels
- Colors – 65K colors (16-bit 5R-6G-5B)
- Active Area – 93.60 mm (length) × 56.16 mm (width)
- Capacitive Touchscreen
- LED Backlight with average lifespan >30,000 hours
- Brightness: 300 nits (adjustable from 0% to 100% in 1% increments)
Audio Features
- Supports speaker with max power of 2W (accessory)
- Audio Connector – 1.25T-2-2A type (1.25mm pitch, 2-pin)
Connectivity
- 4-pin Serial Port (TTL 3.3V) with 2.54mm pitch, supporting baud rates from 2400 to 921600 bps
- Extended IO: 8 digital extended GPIOs as an accessory (via 1.0×10 FPC connector), where IO0-IO7 support Input/Output and Component Binding Events (3.3V), and IO4-IO7 support PWM
Misc – RTC with backup battery holder
Electrical Characteristics
- Recommended operating voltage: 5V, 1A DC (supports 4.65V to 6.5V range)
- Typical operating current: 300mA (at 5V, 100% brightness)
- Sleep mode current: 101mA
Dimensions – 114.40 x 66.80 x 5.06 mm
Weight – 59 grams
Temperature Range – Operating: -20°C to 70°C; storage: -30°C to 80°C
Humidity – 10% to 90% RH (at 25°C)

Now, drawing from the specs of the NX4880E043-011C board above, let’s dive deeper into the ICs powering each section—focusing on the ones we might not be super familiar with. The main processor is Nextion’s proprietary chip, with no public datasheet or further details to dig into, but as shown in the image, it’s clearly marked as “Ai HMI T7” or “AiHMI T7”. It’s unclear whether they designed their own chip or rebranded an existing one. Next up is the Zbit Semi 25VQ32BSIG SPI NOR flash.

Another storage chip is the HeYangTek HYF1GQ4UTECAE SPI NAND flash with one Gbit capacity (128MB).

The Analogtek AT8563T RTC chip can be found right next to the RTC battery holder.

After checking the specifications and hardware, we connected everything to check the default firmware before testing out the Nextion Editor software.

Here’s a short video demo with the factory firmware.

Using the 4.3″ Edge Series HMI touch display with Nextion Editor software

Developing projects for the Nextion HMI Edge Series is easy thanks to the Nextion Editor software, which provides an intuitive IDE enabling developers to quickly design a graphical user interface by simply drag-and-dropping elements like buttons, text fields, graphs, images, and sliders, without wrestling with any graphic code. Versions 1.68.1 and up offer full compatibility with the Edge Series, unlocking multimedia features.

Basic Installation and Usage Steps

The first step is to download the Nextion Editor. If you already have the software installed, just make sure you get a recent version (1.68.1 or higher).

Upon launching Nextion Editor, you can create a new project and begin designing the various screens as required.

Select the target board for development; we’ll choose the NX4880E043-011 since that’s what we are reviewing here.

Nextion Editor has a specific set of commands (Nextion Instruction Set) used to define the logic for HMI operations. We will try writing some operations to test the GPIO and speaker.

In our example, pressing the SOS button starts playing the audio file by sending the wav0.en=1 command.

While the Cancel button disables audio playback by setting the variable to 0.

The audio file (wav0 here) can be a .wav or .mp3 file and is added directly within the Nextion Editor.

For the IO board, we initialize all four GPIO to input mode.

When we pull down any of the IO pins, the corresponding Switch button will change to blue, and go back to red when it’s back to a high level. A timer (TM0) continuously monitors the four GPIO statuses. You can watch a real-life demo further down in the review.

Once done, we can compile and upload the project to the board. Use the Upload function in Nextion Editor to transfer the .tft file directly to the Nextion display via the serial port on the NX4880E043-011C board; however, a USB-to-TTL adapter is required. If you do not have one, you can copy the .tft file to a MicroSD Card and insert it into the Nextion display to update the firmware in the same manner.

Updating the code with an SD card requires formatting it as FAT32, meaning the card can not be larger than 32GB. You can place the .tft file on it and insert it into the board to perform the update immediately.

The Nextion Editor also features a debug mode that enables testing of the UI and logic functionality without uploading everything to the actual hardware after each modification, thereby speeding up and improving the efficiency of the development process.

Testing integration with the I/O adapter and speaker set

To demonstrate the capabilities of the Nextion 4.3″ HMI Edge Series model NX4880E043-011C, we will test its operation with the following external devices:

I/O adapter with digital inputs/outputs, tested as input to display button press status
Speaker Set for playing alert sounds when the SOS button on the screen is pressed

From the testing, the Nextion 4.3-inch HMI Edge model NX4880E043-011C communicates with the I/O board quickly and stably. The system’s response to interactions with the capacitive screen is immediate, providing a smooth control experience. Data display from button presses is accurate, and the audio file playback through the directly connected speaker set performs well, with no issues in sound quality or delays. Using Edge Computing functions to process some logic on the display itself reduces the load on the main MCU and allows for faster responses to changes in certain cases.

Summary and Recommendations

The Nextion 4.3″ HMI Edge Series model NX4880E043-011C meets the needs of the HMI market for industrial and IoT applications. By integrating higher processing performance, Edge Computing functions, multimedia capabilities, and a capacitive touchscreen, it provides a complete and efficient solution. In particular, the added multimedia features make the HMI more than just a display—it becomes a more dynamic and interactive connection point.

Highlights

Easy to use: Nextion Editor allows for quick UI and logic design without complex coding, especially in the latest version that supports the Edge Series.
High performance: Supports complex graphics, data processing, and multimedia playback smoothly.
Capacitive touchscreen: Provides a fluid and accurate user experience.
Stability and durability: Designed for industrial use, supporting 24/7 operation in various environments.
Multimedia capabilities: Plays audio and video files, making the HMI more engaging and capable of presenting information in diverse formats.
Built-in extended GPIO and RTC: Increases flexibility in connectivity and operation.

Drawbacks/Recommendations

The board kit does not include a USB-to-Serial adapter or microSD card, so new users cannot test or use it immediately. Development-related documentation can be difficult to understand at first, but once grasped, the software is very easy to use.

In summary, the Nextion 4.3-inch HMI Edge Series model NX4880E043-011C is an excellent choice for anyone seeking a high-performance, easy-to-use HMI display with an accurate touchscreen and readiness for industrial environments. With on-display processing capabilities and multimedia support, it enables the creation of smarter and faster control and display systems, fully aligning with the era of Industrial IoT.

We’d like to thank Nextion for sending the 4.3″ HMI Edge Series display (model NX4880E043-011C) for review. This capacitive display is available for purchase on AliExpress for $48.90 (Welcome deal only), excluding the IO board and speaker board. You’ll also find it on the ITEAD store for $49.90, where you can add the reviewed accessories for $4.99 each, and you can also use the coupon code CNXSOFTSONOFF to get a 10% discount. Nextion also has an Amazon store, but the new Edge Series displays are not listed there yet.

CNXSoft: This article is a translation of the review on CNX Software Thailand by Arnon Thongtem, edited by Suthinee Kerdkaew.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.