While searching AliExpress for new products, I found the TENSTAR T-Display ESP32-D0WD with a 1.14-inch IPS color IPS LCD and 16MB of QSPI flash that’s used by some as a tiny secondary mirrored monitor for their PC.
The board appears to be a low-cost alternative to the original LilyGo T-Display, and also integrates a USB-to-TTL converter (CH9102F), a battery charging circuit, a toggle switch, and two user-programmable buttons, which makes it suitable for projects like the NerdMiner and small-scale dashboards for home automation. The hardware does not seem special, yet they sold over 10,000 pieces of the board. After looking into it, the ESP32 Desktop Monitor project is probably the “culprit” for the high sales number, as it transforms the board into a regular monitor, albeit with a tiny 1.14-inch LCD. More on that after the specifications.
TENSTAR T-Display Specifications:
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-D0WDQ6-V3
- MCU cores – Dual-core Xtensa LX6 32-bit microprocessor up to 240 MHz
- Memory – 520 KB SRAM (+ 448 KB ROM for booting/core functions)
- Wireless – 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth v4.2 + EDR
- Storage – 16 MB SPI flash
- Display – 1.14-inch 135×240 resolution color IPS LCD (ST7789V driver)
- USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming (via CH9102F)
- Expansion – 2x 12-pin headers with GPIO, SPI, I2C, UART, ADC, DAC, and Touch interfaces
- Misc
- Reset and user buttons
- Sider switch for display/reset control
- PCB antenna
- Power
- 5V via USB Type-C
- 3.7V Lithium battery support via 2-pin 1.25mm JST connector
- Integrated charging circuit (approx. 500mA charging current)
- Dimensions – ~51.5 x 25 x 8.5 mm
- Temperature – -40°C to +85°C
As the device is built around an ESP32, it can be easily programmed using the Arduino IDE or PlatformIO, and the 1.14-inch ST7789V SPI display is compatible with graphics libraries like the TFT_eSPI and LovyanGFX. More information about the board can be found on the Manuals+ website.
While searching, I also came across a Tom’s Hardware post that led me to the ESP32-Desktop-Monitor project on GitHub. It allows you to mirror your desktop screen onto a TENSTAR T-Display connected to an ESP32 over Wi-Fi. A Python script on the PC captures the screen in real time, compresses and diffs each frame to reduce bandwidth, and streams only the changed pixels to the ESP32 running Arduino firmware, which then renders them on the small display. In effect, it turns the ESP32 T-Display into a low-latency desktop status/monitor viewer, which explains those high sales numbers.
As a side note, the T-Display series is quite extensive, with products such as the LILYGO T-Display S3 Pro, T-Display S3 Pro LR1121, T-Display RP2040, and T-Display-S3-AMOLED-1.43. Competing ESP32-based display development boards include the M5Stack StickS3 and ESP32-C6-Touch-AMOLED-1.8. There’s a wide choice, and that’s why the TENSTAR T-Display ESP32 didn’t feel special at first.
The TENSTAR T-Display ESP32-D0WD is available on AliExpress, and I found multiple listings for it. One listing is priced at $0.99 as part of a welcome deal for Valentine’s Day, although I’m not certain that offer would apply to everyone. I also came across other listings starting at $1.82, and up to $5.99 from different stores. In the package, you will get the development board itself, two male headers, and a JST 2-pin cable for battery connection. Similar boards can also be found on Amazon, but it’s not 100% clear whether they’d also be compatible with the ESP32 Desktop Monitor project.
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
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress. We also use affiliate links in articles to earn commissions if you make a purchase after clicking on those links.
Regarding the price, it’s the usual trick on Ali, it’s 0.99 with 8.30 savings when not logged in, and once logged in, it becomes 8.79 with “0.50 savings”.
That’s provided you can get them to ship at all, an issue I have regularly.
I get shown that price even when logged in. Maybe that’s because my last order was in 2021…
Edit: But they do add about 17% in taxes… Maybe 7% VAT + 10% import duties?
Anyway shipped price would be $1.16 for me.
It would be fun to use these, perhaps multiple, to move widgets off-screen in a hardware build or turnkey console.
Your comment led me to imagine a monitor crusted with these things like Post-It-Notes ™
I’ve done something similar with a couple of cyd’s. Set up a dummy screen with the widgets you want sectioned of in areas and then use the screen coordinates to just mirror sections of the screen to each display.
If you want a larger (but still mini) screen, I do the same thing with a CYD to display the media control widget so I can see what song or video is playing at a glance.