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Compatible ESP32 Devices for HDZap

⚠️ This is a future-support catalogue, not a list of currently shipped targets. As of v1.0.0, HDZap's firmware is built for M5StickS3 only (single environment in firmware/platformio.ini). The chips and devkits below are all technically capable of running HDZap (BLE + ESP-NOW), but porting work — pin mappings, display drivers, button handling, PMIC drivers, NVS layout — has not been done for any of them.

HDZap firmware uses BLE GATT (iOS ↔ bridge) and ESP-NOW (bridge ↔ HDZero backpack). Any candidate chip must support both.

Chip eligibility

Chip Wi-Fi (ESP-NOW) BLE Verdict
ESP32 (classic) ✅ ✅ BT Classic + BLE 4.2 ✅ usable
ESP32-S2 ✅ ❌ none ❌ no BLE
ESP32-S3 ✅ ✅ BLE 5 ✅ current target (M5StickS3)
ESP32-C2 (ESP8684) ✅ ✅ BLE 5 ✅ usable
ESP32-C3 ✅ ✅ BLE 5 ✅ usable
ESP32-C5 ✅ Wi-Fi 6 dual-band ✅ BLE 5 ✅ usable (very new)
ESP32-C6 ✅ Wi-Fi 6 ✅ BLE 5 (+ 802.15.4) ✅ usable
ESP32-H2 ❌ no Wi-Fi ✅ BLE 5 ❌ no ESP-NOW
ESP32-P4 ❌ no radio ❌ none ❌ no wireless

ESP-NOW rides on the Wi-Fi MAC layer, so any chip without a Wi-Fi radio is automatically out.

Battery-included devices (works out of the box)

These ship with a built-in LiPo, charging IC, case, and (usually) a display — no soldering required.

ESP32-S3

Device Battery UI / Notes
M5StickS3 ⭐ current target 120 mAh built-in 1.14" LCD, 2 buttons, buzzer, AXP2101 PMIC
M5Cardputer 120 mAh built-in 1.14" LCD, QWERTY keyboard, speaker
M5Dial 300 mAh built-in 1.28" round touch LCD, rotary encoder, RTC, speaker
M5StampFly 300 mAh (drone) full quadcopter platform
LilyGO T-Watch S3 470 mAh built-in 1.54" touch LCD, accelerometer, vibration motor (smartwatch form factor)
LilyGO T-Deck built-in 2.8" LCD, QWERTY, trackball, speaker
LilyGO T-Deck Plus built-in T-Deck + GPS + LoRa
LilyGO T-Embed 1300 mAh built-in 1.9" LCD, rotary encoder, mic, speaker
LilyGO T-Embed CC1101 1300 mAh built-in T-Embed + Sub-GHz radio
LilyGO T-Display S3 AMOLED Plus built-in 1.9" AMOLED

ESP32 (classic)

Device Battery UI / Notes
M5StickC Plus2 ⚠️ EOL 200 mAh built-in 1.14" LCD — confirmed end-of-life on Switch Science 2026; in-stock only while inventory lasts. Do not pick for new designs.
M5StickC Plus ⚠️ EOL 120 mAh built-in 1.14" LCD
TTGO T-Beam v1.2 18650 holder 0.96" OLED, GPS, LoRa — bulky
LilyGO T-Watch 2020 built-in superseded by T-Watch S3

ESP32-C3 / C6

No fully integrated battery + case + display product currently ships in this category. C3/C6 ecosystem is still dominated by bare boards with solder pads (see next section).

Battery-external devices (LiPo connector or solder pads)

Charging IC is on board — just plug or solder a LiPo. No case.

ESP32-S3

Device Charge IC Connector Notes
Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 built-in rear pads 21 × 17.5 mm, ultra small
Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense built-in rear pads XIAO + camera + mic
Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 built-in JST PH XIAO-class footprint
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 built-in JST PH 2 mm Feather form factor
Unexpected Maker FeatherS3 built-in JST PH high build quality
Unexpected Maker TinyS3 built-in pads small
Unexpected Maker ProS3 built-in JST PH more pins
Unexpected Maker NanoS3 built-in pads Nano-size
LilyGO T-Display S3 built-in JST 1.9" LCD on board
LilyGO T-Dongle S3 built-in connector USB dongle + TFT
M5StampS3 external HAT pads needs M5 battery HAT
M5AtomS3 / AtomS3R external Base connector needs AtomBase w/ battery
Heltec Wireless Stick Lite V3 built-in JST PH 1.25 0.96" OLED
Heltec Wireless Paper built-in JST E-Ink display

ESP32-C3

Device Charge IC Connector Notes
Seeed XIAO ESP32-C3 built-in rear pads smallest, ~$5
Adafruit QT Py ESP32-C3 built-in JST PH XIAO-class footprint
LilyGO T-OI Plus built-in 14500 holder onboard unique form factor
DFRobot Beetle ESP32-C3 built-in connector small
M5StampC3 / C3U external HAT pads needs M5 battery HAT

ESP32-C6

Device Charge IC Connector Notes
Seeed XIAO ESP32-C6 built-in rear pads smallest C6 option
Adafruit Feather ESP32-C6 built-in JST PH Feather standard
Adafruit QT Py ESP32-C6 built-in JST PH QT Py footprint
M5NanoC6 external pads needs separate battery wiring
Waveshare ESP32-C6 Zero external none bare; cheapest

ESP32-C2 (ESP8684)

Mostly used as embedded modules — few hobbyist-grade dev boards with on-board charging exist.

ESP32-C5

Device Charge IC Connector Notes
Espressif ESP32-C5-DevKitC-1 none none evaluation board only

Recommendations

Use case Pick
HDZap as-is, with LCD M5StickS3 (current target — keep it)
Smallest, OK with soldering Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 + LiPo
Adafruit ecosystem Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3
Future-proof (Thread/Zigbee option) Adafruit Feather ESP32-C6 or XIAO ESP32-C6
Need on-device keyboard M5Cardputer
Wearable LilyGO T-Watch S3

Notes

  • ⚠️ M5StickC Plus2 is EOL (confirmed on Switch Science 2026; M5 recommends M5StickS3 as the successor). Do not select for new builds.
  • ❌ ESP32-S2, ESP32-H2, ESP32-P4 cannot satisfy BLE + ESP-NOW simultaneously.
  • This list is curated from the maintainer's working knowledge; verify stock, price, and current revision on each vendor's site (Switch Science, M5Stack, LilyGO, Seeed, Adafruit, Unexpected Maker, DFRobot, Heltec, Waveshare) before ordering.
  • Porting effort beyond M5StickS3: pin map, LCD/buttons/PMIC presence, and battery monitoring will need adaptation. Core BLE + ESP-NOW + MSP/OSD logic is chip-portable.