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 new QT Py boasts an ESP32-S2, but otherwise keeps the footprint and features of its predecessors. (📹: Adafruit)

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.

The new Feather RP2040 is eye-catching — and only available with orders over $99, as a free gift. (📷: Adafruit)

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.

ghalfacree

Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.

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