Waveshare · ESP32-S3 · 1.28" · 240×240
Waveshare ESP32-S3 LCD 1.28" round (CNC metal housing) specifications
The ESP32-S3-LCD-1.28-B is Waveshare's round 1.28-inch display board delivered in a finished enclosure: a black CNC-machined metal case with a dull-polish acrylic bottom plate. Inside it is the same hardware as the bare ESP32-S3-LCD-1.28 — a 240×240 round IPS panel with a GC9A01A controller, an ESP32-S3R2 with 2 MB PSRAM and 16 MB of flash.
The case turns the board into something you can put on a desk or mount in a panel without designing your own housing. Waveshare includes a screwdriver, and the whole unit weighs just 32 g.
Because the electronics match the bare board, an interface designed for one runs unchanged on the other; the -B simply saves the step of building an enclosure. There is no touch on this version, so the IMU and the GPIOs are the natural inputs.
- Screen
- 1.28" · 240×240
- Chip
- ESP32-S3
- Memory
- 16 MB flash, 2 MB PSRAM (QSPI)
- Input
- no touch
Key features
- Black CNC metal case with acrylic bottom plate
- Round 1.28-inch IPS, 240×240, GC9A01A
- ESP32-S3R2: 2 MB PSRAM, 16 MB flash
- QMI8658 6-axis IMU
- Lithium battery header with charge manager
- USB-C, 32 g including the case
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Waveshare |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 1.28" |
| Resolution | 240×240 px |
| Colour depth | 16-bit |
| Display controller | GC9A01 (SPI) |
| Display interface | SPI |
| Touch | None — no-touch base variant |
| Microcontroller | ESP32-S3 |
| Module | ESP32-S3R2 |
| CPU clock | 240 MHz |
| Internal SRAM | 512 KB |
| PSRAM | 2 MB (QSPI) |
| Flash | 16 MB |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Enclosure | CNC metal case, acrylic dull-polish bottom plate |
| Weight | 0.032 kg |
| Included | Board in case, screwdriver |
| Display type | IPS, round, 65K colours |
| IMU | QMI8658 6-axis |
| Battery | MX1.25 lithium header with charge manager |
| Development platforms (manufacturer) | Arduino IDE, MicroPython |
GPIO pinout
The GPIOs the board itself uses — display, touch and on-board peripherals — as published in the manufacturer’s documentation.
| GPIO | Function |
|---|---|
| GPIO 1 | BAT_ADC (battery voltage) |
| GPIO 5 | TP_INT net (touch connector) |
| GPIO 6 | I2C_SDA (QMI8658) |
| GPIO 7 | I2C_SCL (QMI8658) |
| GPIO 8 | TFT_DC |
| GPIO 9 | TFT_CS |
| GPIO 10 | TFT_CLK |
| GPIO 11 | TFT_MOSI |
| GPIO 12 | TFT_RST |
| GPIO 40 | Backlight (TFT_BL) |
| GPIO 47 | IMU_INT1 (QMI8658) |
| GPIO 48 | IMU_INT2 (QMI8658) |
Source: www.waveshare.com. Always check against your board revision before wiring.
Free GPIOs and connectors
These GPIOs are not used by the display, touch or on-board peripherals, so you can wire your own sensors, buttons or relays to them.
| Pin | Capabilities | Note |
|---|---|---|
| GPIO 0 | GPIO, BOOT | Boot button |
| GPIO 2 | GPIO, ADC | Free |
| GPIO 3 | GPIO, ADC | Free |
| GPIO 4 | GPIO, ADC | Free |
| GPIO 13 | GPIO, PWM | Free |
| GPIO 14 | GPIO, PWM | Free |
| GPIO 43/TX | GPIO, UART_TX | UART0 TX |
| GPIO 44/RX | GPIO, UART_RX | UART0 RX |
Good to know before you start
- Same electronics as the bare ESP32-S3-LCD-1.28 — the LCD Ultra Pro profile and any design are interchangeable.
- No touchscreen: plan the interface around buttons, the IMU or networked control.
- Mounting holes and the case outline are given in Waveshare's dimension drawing; plan the mounting before drilling a panel.
- Keep widgets inside the circle: the 240×240 corners are not visible.
What it is good for
- •Desk clocks and weather displays in a finished housing
- •Panel-mounted round indicators
- •Gift-ready small gadgets
- •Status displays for home automation
LVGL support in LCD Ultra Pro
| Driver status | Matched to the manufacturer’s official demo, compile-tested |
|---|---|
| Arduino export | Complete LVGL 8.4 project with the display driver |
| USB Live preview | No |
| Orientations | 0° |
| Brightness control | Hardware backlight dimming |
Pick this board in the editor and the canvas matches its exact resolution and shape. Build the interface with widgets, add events without code, try it in Live Preview, then export it as a ready-to-compile Arduino project. See the documentation for the workflow.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the ESP32-S3-LCD-1.28 and the -B version?
The -B comes in a black CNC metal case with an acrylic bottom plate and includes a screwdriver; the display, ESP32-S3R2 and other electronics are the same.
Does the CNC version have touch?
No. For touch, Waveshare offers the ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28, also available with a CNC case.
How heavy is it?
Waveshare lists 0.032 kg including the case.
Sources
Specifications cross-checked against the manufacturer’s documentation (last checked 2026-10-27):
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