LILYGO's T-Encoder Pro Is a Smart Espressif ESP32-S3 Rotary Encoder and Touchscreen Display
With a bright AMOLED touchscreen, rotary encoder, buzzer, and Qwiic expansion, the T-Encoder Pro packs a lot into a small footprint.
Embedded and hobbyist electronics specialist LILYGO is preparing to launch a smart rotary encoder, designed to add both inputs and a display to your project — and featuring a pair of Qwiic connectors for solder-free prototyping: the T-Encoder Pro.
"T-Encoder-Pro is a smart control knob equipped with an AMOLED screen," LILYGO explains of its latest development device, "based on the [Espressif] ESP32-S3 R8 chip, which is controlled by a dial." That particular chip means a dual-core Tensilica Xtensa LX7 microcontroller running at up to 240MHz, 512kB of internal static RAM, 8MB of external pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM), and 16MB of flash — alongside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (BLE) connectivity.
It's not the microcontroller that makes the T-Encoder Pro so interesting, though. Rather, it's what it's installed into: a hexagonal housing above which a circular knob protrudes. The top of this knob then reveals the display, a bright 390×390 color AMOLED panel — equally circular, of course. It's not just for show, either: the display is also a touchscreen, while the encoder delivers data on left and right rotation plus push.
To round the device's feature set off, Lilygo has also included an on-board buzzer for auditory feedback — while a pair of four-pin Qwiic sockets allow the device to be expanded with additional hardware solder-free. There's a USB Type-C port for data and power, with a trio of threaded brass inserts for mounting finishing off the design.
LILYGO has listed the T-Encoder Pro on its official store at $32.29, though at the time of writing it was listed as out of stock; an accompanying GitHub repository of code samples, published under the reciprocal GNU General Public License 3, lists it as "not yet sold."