LILYGO T-Circle S3

Overview

The LILYGO T-Circle S3 is one of the smallest ESP32-S3 development boards available, measuring just 32×17mm. Despite its tiny size, it integrates a 0.75-inch round TFT LCD (160×160 RGB pixels via GC9D01N driver), an onboard speaker, a microphone, and three-color LED indicators — making it a capable audio-visual platform for wearable gadgets, badge electronics, and miniature IoT devices.

The ESP32-S3R8 at its core provides dual-core LX7 performance, 16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM, 2.4GHz WiFi, and Bluetooth 5 LE. Six programmable GPIO ports are accessible on the back of the board, and USB-C charging at 5V/500mA powers the device. A standard T-Circle variant (H735) is also available at $8.40 with reduced specifications.

The T-Circle S3 is well-suited for projects requiring a self-contained display-plus-audio module in the smallest possible footprint, such as smartwatch prototypes, notification badges, or sensor nodes with a local display.

Firmware Compatibility

Compatible with Arduino IDE, PlatformIO, and ESP-IDF. The GitHub repository at https://github.com/Xinyuan-LilyGO/T-Circle-S3 provides display driver examples using TFT_eSPI or LovyanGFX, audio examples, and LED control code.

Flashing Guide

1. Install the ESP32 board package in Arduino IDE 2.x or configure PlatformIO.
2. Connect via USB-C cable to the T-Circle S3.
3. Hold BOOT and press RESET to enter download mode if auto-detection fails.
4. Select ESP32-S3 Dev Module with 16MB flash and 8MB OPI PSRAM.
5. Upload your sketch or use the display/audio examples from the GitHub repository.