Renesas has introduced its most powerful Cortex-A85 microcontroller to date: the R8P1, clocked at 1 GHz and equipped with a 500 MHz Arm Ethos-U55 NPU for edge AI applications, as well as an Arm Cortex-M33 real-time core clocked at 250 MHz. With a 2D GPU, MIPI DSI and parallel RGB display interfaces, MIPI CSI and parallel camera interfaces, and I2S and PDM audio interface, the Renesas RA8P1 is mainly designed to address Voice AI and Vision AI applications requiring real-time analytics. The 1 GHz microcontroller also has plenty of other peripherals and security features, as we can see from the specifications and block diagram below. Renesas RA8P1 specifications: MCU core Arm Cortex-M85 clocked at 1 GHz with Helium MVE (M-Profile Vector Extension) with 32KB I/D caches; 7300+ CoreMarks Arm Cortex-M33 clocked at 250 MHz with 32KB I/D caches GPU – 2D drawing engine NPU – Arm Ethos-U55 NPU delivering 256 […]
Fairphone (Gen. 6) is a sustainable, repairable 6.31-inch Android 15 smartphone with Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC
The Fairphone (Gen. 6) is a 6.31-inch Android 15 smartphone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC designed to be sustainable and repairable with eight years of software updates, a 5-year warranty, a modular design, and the use of recycled materials. The Fairphone (Gen. 6) – not sure why it was not just called Fairphone 6 – offers mid-range features with an octa-core processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB UFS and microSD card storage, a 6.31-inch touch screen display, two rear cameras, a front-facing camera, 5G, WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.4 LE connectivity, as well as support for NFC for payment, and a USB-C port for charging and expansion. Fairphone (Gen.6) specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Mobile Platform CPU – Octa-core Kryo CPU with 1x Prime core @ 2.5 GHz, 3x Performance cores @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Efficient cores @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Adreno […]
Battery-powered knob display board pairs ESP32-S3 and ESP32 wireless SoCs, features audio DAC for audio visualization
The Waveshare ESP32-S3-Knob-Touch-LCD-1.8 is a batterry-powered knob display board designed for HMI applications that combines ESP32-S3 and ESP32 SoCs in a dual MCU architecture. The design differs from other ESP32-based knob / rotary encoder with a built-in display such as the MaTouch SmartKnob, M5Dial, and LILYGO T-Encoder Pro. The Waveshare device also stands out with a larger 1.8-inch capacitive touch display, integrated audio DAC, and real-time audio visualization. It comes with a CNC-milled full-metal enclosure for a more premium and durable build. The devkit supports swipe gestures and volume control, and can be used as a Pomodoro timer, a text reader, a secondary PC screen, and a Bluetooth audio player through a 3.5mm audio jack. Other features include a digital microphone, a vibration motor, and a microSD card slot for storage. ESP32-S3-Knob-Touch-LCD-1.8 Specifications: MCUs Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI […]
TRMNL customizable 7.5-inch wireless E-Ink display supports plugins for greater ease-of-use
TRMNL is a 7-5-inch wireless E-Ink display based on an ESP32-C3 RISC-V WiFi and Bluetooth SoC and designed to be customizable, allowing users to disassemble their device, modify the (open-source) firmware, and retrieve API keys without voiding the warranty. The default 1,800 mAh battery is good enough for over 3 months on a charge, but the company also provides an option for a 2,500 mAh battery that is said to last for more than 6 months (not sure how the math works here). The wireless display can be placed on a desktop, or mounted on a wall or a fridge. TRMNL specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif ESP32-C3 Display – 7.5″ black and white E-Ink display with 800 x 480 resolution Battery – 1,800mAh rechargeable lithium (2,500mAh upgradeable for 6+ months on a charge) Dimensions – 171 x 116 x 10mm Weight – 165 grams Enclosure – Soft-touch ABS (Black only), […]
CyberT. – A BlackBerry-like Raspberry Pi CM4-based handheld Linux computer with Kali Linux support
Designed by Carbon Computers, the CyberT. is a BlackBerry-style handheld Linux computer equipped with a 4-inch panel built around the Raspberry Pi CM4. It features a custom QMK-powered QWERTY keyboard, a BlackBerry-style touchpad, HDMI output, microSD card slot, stereo speakers, and an onboard battery management system (BMS), packed into a compact form factor. Compared to Clockwork’s uConsole, which features swappable CM3/CM4 SoMs, a 5-inch display, and optional 4G LTE, the CyberT. focuses on cybersecurity and portable development. While many Raspberry Pi CM4-based handheld devices like the RetroLite CM4 and ReBoi target retro gaming with joysticks or Game Boy-style enclosures, the CyberT., takes a cyberdeck-style approach and runs Kali Linux, or other Linux distributions like Raspberry Pi OS. CyberT. Beta Specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) Storage – MicroSD card slot for OS and data storage Display 4-inch 720×720 RGB TFT display (ST7701S controller, TTL RGB interface – […]
ESP32-S3 development board integrates SI4732 AM/FM radio receiver
LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 is an ESP32-S3 development board with an AM/FM radio, a TFT display, a rotary encoder, a built-in microphone, and a microSD card slot powered through a USB-C port or LiPo battery. As its name implies, it’s based on the earlier LILYGO T-Embed battery-powered WiFi and BLE controller with a display and rotary encoder, but also adds a Skyworks SI4732 AM//FM/SW/LW radio receiver to the mix. LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor @ 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML Memory – 512 KB SRAM, 8 MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 1.9-inch IPS color TFT LCD with 320 x 170 resolution (ST7789V SPI driver) Audio – 2x microphones, 8 Ohm @ 1W speaker Radio – Skyworth […]
BentoIO CMX1 – A low-profile Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier board that’s just 11mm thick
The BentoIO CMX1 is a compact, low-profile Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier board, developed by Terioto in Germany. With an 85 x 85 mm footprint and a height of just 11 mm, it’s designed for space-constrained applications like embedded systems, industrial control, and compact edge devices. After the official launch of the Raspberry Pi CM5 module and its carrier board, we’ve seen boards like Waveshare CM5-NANO-B and Orange Pi CM5 “Tablet” Base Board get released. There is no doubt that they are compact, but they are not as slim as this board. While it’s slim, that doesn’t mean it lacks I/Os; it includes a 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header, two USB 3.0 ports, two internal USB 2.0 headers, a MIPI DSI connector and an optional HDMI port for video output, optional gigabit Ethernet, a PCIe M.2 M-Key for expansion, and it uses a USB-C for power. Other features include an RTC battery connector, […]
Raspberry Pi 5 and Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 get a ~$10 protective case
When I used the Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 with a Raspberry Pi 4 as part of the Raspberry Pi AI camera review, I just placed the kit on a smartphone stand, but it was somewhat awkward and not super stable. Waveshare has now introduced the PI5-CASE-TD2 protective case for the 7-inch Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 and the Raspberry Pi 5 that neatly combines the two, and also supports mounting to standard tripods. The company also claims it works with some other 7-inch displays. The enclosure gives access to all main ports of the Raspberry Pi 5, including Gigabit Ethernet, the four USB ports, the 40-pin GPIO header for Raspberry Pi HATs, the PCIe FFC connector, micro HDMI ports, the power button, and the USB-C port for power. I initially thought it would be compatible with the Raspberry Pi 4 too, but since the USB ports and Ethernet ports […]