Adafruit Shows Off Espressif ESP32-S2 QT Py, Launches Bright Pink Feather RP2040 Board Giveaway
The latest entry in the growing QT Py range packs an ESP32-S2 — but is currently in the prototype-bringup stage of development.
Adafruit has shown off a new model of QT Py ultra-compact development board, this time powered by an Espressif ESP32-S2 — and is offering anyone who spends $99 or more in the company store a free Feather RP2040 board in eye-catching pink.
"Y'all know the QT Py SAMD 21, and then the QT Py RP2040, right," Limor "LadyAda" Fried says in a video introducing the new board. "So what's the next thing? It's a QT Py with an ESP32-S2 on the back."
The original Microchip SAM D21-based QT Py launched last year as a low-cost small-footprint development board boasting castellated GPIO headers for breadboard or surface-mounting, a STEMMA QT connector, and a USB Type-C connector for data and power. It was soon followed by a variant using the same layout but with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller at its heart — and now there's a third model in the mix.
The ESP32-S2 system-on-chip powering this new model includes a single 32-bit Xtensa LX7 processor core running at up to 240MHz, an ultra-low-power RISC-V-based coprocessor, 2MB of pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM), 8MB of flash, while the board offers an on-board antenna for the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio and a bonus NeoPixel addressable RGB LED alongside physical boot and reset buttons.
Adafruit isn't quite ready to launch the new board, nor to attach pricing to it, but it has something to keep people going in the meantime: An offer to receive a Feather RP2040 microcontroller development board finished in pink, available as a freebie with all orders on the web store for over $99.