T-Circle S3 get it now

Overview

LILYGO T-Circle S3 is a versatile development board based on ESP32-S3-R8 (16 MB Flash, 8 MB PSRAM). Integrates a 0.75-inch GC9D01N TFT LCD (160 × 160) circular screen with CST816D capacitive touch, MAX98357A I2S speaker, MP34DT05-A PDM microphone (V1.1) / MSM261S4030H0R I2S microphone (V1.0), and APA102 LED control interface. Connects to external devices via 2 × 4-pin expansion IO interface and USB Type-C. Suitable for IoT terminals, smart wearable devices, and embedded audio visualization projects.

Note: T-Circle S3 is the ESP32-S3 version. For the ESP32 version, see T-Circle.

Quick Start

Example Support

Example	PlatformIO/Arduino	ESP-IDF	Description
T-Circle-S3	✓	✓	Display, touch, audio, LED, Wi-Fi examples

PlatformIO

1. Install Visual Studio Code and Python
2. Search for and install the PlatformIO IDE extension in VS Code
3. Open the T-Circle-S3 project folder
4. Open platformio.ini and select your example
5. Click ✓ to compile, connect via USB-C, click → to upload

Arduino

1. Install Arduino IDE
2. Install Arduino ESP32
3. In Tools → Board, configure:

Arduino IDE Setting	Value
Board	ESP32S3 Dev Module
Upload Speed	921600
USB Mode	Hardware CDC and JTAG
USB CDC On Boot	Enabled
USB Firmware MSC On Boot	Disabled
USB DFU On Boot	Disabled
CPU Frequency	240 MHz (WiFi)
Flash Mode	QIO 80 MHz
Flash Size	16MB (128Mb)
Core Debug Level	None
Partition Scheme	16M Flash (3MB APP/9.9MB FATFS)
PSRAM	OPI PSRAM
Arduino Runs On	Core 1
Events Run On	Core 1

4. Click Upload

Development Platforms

1. Arduino IDE
2. PlatformIO
3. MicroPython

Video

Key Features

• ESP32-S3-R8 dual-core LX7 @ 240 MHz, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0
• 0.75-inch GC9D01N TFT LCD (160 × 160), CST816D touch
• MAX98357A I2S speaker, PDM microphone (MP34DT05-A V1.1 / MSM261S V1.0)
• APA102 LED ring, 2 × 4-pin expansion IO interface
• 5 V / 500 mA, 2 × M1.6 mounting holes, 32 × 17 mm

Product Parameters

Feature	Specification
MCU	ESP32-S3-R8 @ Dual-core LX7, 240 MHz
Flash	16 MB
PSRAM	8 MB (Octal SPI)
Wi-Fi	2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 LE
Display	0.75-inch GC9D01N TFT LCD, 160 × 160
Touch	CST816D capacitive, I²C
Speaker	MAX98357A I2S
Microphone	MP34DT05-A PDM (V1.1) / MSM261S I2S (V1.0)
LED	APA102
Expansion	2 × 4-pin IO header
Power	5 V / 500 mA
Mounting Holes	2 × M1.6
Dimensions	32 × 17 mm

Pin Diagram

Pin Mapping

LCD (SPI)	IO17 (MOSI), IO15 (SCLK), IO13 (CS), IO16 (DC), IO18 (BL)
Touch (CST816D)	IO11 (SDA), IO14 (SCL), IO12 (INT)
Speaker (MAX98357A)	IO5 (BCLK), IO4 (LRCLK), IO6 (DATA), IO45 (SD_MODE)
APA102 LED	IO39 (CLOCK), IO38 (DATA)
Microphone V1.0 (MSM261S)	IO7 (BCLK), IO9 (WS), IO8 (DATA)
Microphone V1.1 (MP34DT05-A)	IO9 (LRCLK), IO8 (DATA)

Dimension Diagram

Schematic

• T-Circle-S3 V1.0 Schematic

Datasheet

• GC9D01N
• MAX98357A
• MP34DT05-A

Software Development

• T-Circle-S3 GitHub Repository

Dependent Libraries

• TFT_eSPI-2.5.43
• Arduino_DriveBus-1.1.16
• Arduino_GFX-1.3.7
• ESP32-audioI2S-3.0.6
• FastLED-3.6.0
• DFRobot_MSM261

FAQ

• Q. Why does my board keep failing to upload programs? A. Hold down the BOOT-0 button and try uploading again.

• Q. Why is there no serial data output from the Uart interface? A. The project defaults to USB CDC as Uart0. To use the external Uart interface, set USB CDC On Boot to Disabled in Arduino Tools, or change -DARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=true to false in platformio.ini.

• Q. Should I upgrade library files when Arduino IDE prompts me? A. Do not upgrade — different library versions may not be compatible with this project.

Version History

Version	Release Date	Update Description
T-Circle-S3 V1.0	2024-01-01	Initial version
T-Circle-S3 V1.1	—	Updated microphone to MP34DT05-A (PDM)