The Wemps Lolin S3 Mini development board is a development board that integrates an ESP32-S3 in the usual form factor of Wemos Mini.
The different “Mini” models from the manufacturer Wemos are among the most popular among electronics enthusiasts. For example, the Wemos ESP8266 D1 Mini was very popular at one time.
This is due to its very good price and small size. They are very nice and suitable boards to incorporate into our electronic projects. Personally, it is one of the form factors that I like the most.
In this case, the Wemos S3 is the renewed version of the popular development board, with its heart updated to the latest version of the ESP32-S3.
At the heart of the Lolin S3 Mini is the powerful dual-core Tensilica Xtensa LX7 processor of up to 240 MHz. In terms of memory, it has 512 KB RAM, 4MB Flash, and 2MB of PSRAM.
In terms of connectivity, we find the usual compatibility of the ESP32-S3, offering 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 LE, with a maximum data rate of 2Mbps and support for Bluetooth Mesh.
As for expansion options, it has a wide variety of ports and headers, including up to 27 GPIOs. This allows for the connection of ADC, DAC, I2C, SPI, UART, sensors, among others. It also includes an RGB LED and an input button for greater versatility.
This is a summary of its main features:
- SoC: ESP32-S3
- Processor: Xtensa LX7 dual core @240Mhz
- Memory: 512KB SDRAM, 4MB SPI Flash, 2MB PSRAM
- Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth BLE 5.0
- 27x GPIO
- ADC, DAC, I2C, SPI, UART, USB OTG
- 1x RGB LED (IO47)
- USB Type-C port for programming and power supply
- Size: 34.3 x 25.4,40 mm
- Weight: 3 grams.
The board is powered by a 5V voltage supply using the USB Type-C port, which is also used for programming and serial port communication.
The Lolin S3 Mini comes preloaded with MicroPython, but it is also compatible with the usual alternatives for programming the ESP32-S3, such as the Arduino IDE, ESP-IDF, or PlatformIO.
The Lolin S3 Mini and its variants are available from your favorite suppliers (AliExpress, etc), at a price of approximately 3€. Which is another great attraction of the model.
Be careful with the model you buy, make sure you don’t get one with an ESP8266, or an ESP32, or an ESP32-S2. The most modern version is ESP32-S3.