Waveshare · ESP32-S3 · 1.28" · 240×240
Waveshare ESP32-S3 Touch LCD 1.28" round (CNC metal housing) specifications
The ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28-B is the cased edition of Waveshare's round touch display: the 1.28-inch 240×240 IPS panel with CST816S capacitive touch, mounted in a black CNC metal case with an acrylic dull-polish bottom plate.
Under the case it is the same board as the bare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 — ESP32-S3R2 with 2 MB PSRAM, 16 MB of flash, a QMI8658 IMU and an MX1.25 battery connector with ETA6096 charge manager. Waveshare ships it with an SH1.0 12-pin cable and a screwdriver, so the six broken-out GPIOs are usable straight away.
At 36 g with the case, it is a practical base for a finished round touch device — a smart knob replacement, a thermostat face or a small wearable prototype — without designing an enclosure first.
- Screen
- 1.28" · 240×240
- Chip
- ESP32-S3
- Memory
- 16 MB flash, 2 MB PSRAM (QSPI)
- Input
- capacitive touch
Key features
- Black CNC metal case, acrylic bottom
- Round 240×240 IPS with CST816S capacitive touch
- ESP32-S3R2 (2 MB PSRAM), 16 MB flash
- QMI8658 6-axis IMU
- Battery header with charge manager
- SH1.0 cable included for the 6 GPIOs
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Waveshare |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 1.28" |
| Resolution | 240×240 px |
| Colour depth | 16-bit |
| Display controller | GC9A01 (SPI) |
| Display interface | SPI |
| Touch | CST816S (capacitive, I2C) |
| 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 | 0.036 kg |
| Included | Board in case, SH1.0 12-pin cable, screwdriver |
| Touch | Capacitive, CST816S |
| IMU | QMI8658 6-axis |
| Battery | MX1.25 header, ETA6096 charge manager |
| Expansion | Six GPIOs via SH1.0 |
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 2 | Backlight (TFT_BL) |
| GPIO 3 | IMU_INT2 (QMI8658) |
| GPIO 4 | IMU_INT1 (QMI8658) |
| GPIO 5 | TOUCH_INT |
| GPIO 6 | I2C_SDA (Touch) |
| GPIO 7 | I2C_SCL (Touch) |
| GPIO 8 | TFT_DC |
| GPIO 9 | TFT_CS |
| GPIO 10 | TFT_CLK |
| GPIO 11 | TFT_MOSI |
| GPIO 12 | TFT_MISO |
| GPIO 13 | TOUCH_RST |
| GPIO 14 | TFT_RST |
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 15 | GPIO, PWM | On the SH1.0 6-pin GPIO header |
| GPIO 16 | GPIO, PWM | On the SH1.0 6-pin GPIO header |
| GPIO 17 | GPIO, PWM | On the SH1.0 6-pin GPIO header |
| GPIO 18 | GPIO, PWM | On the SH1.0 6-pin GPIO header |
| GPIO 21 | GPIO, PWM | On the SH1.0 6-pin GPIO header |
| GPIO 33 | GPIO, PWM | On the SH1.0 6-pin GPIO header |
| GPIO 43/TX | GPIO, UART_TX | UART0 TX |
| GPIO 44/RX | GPIO, UART_RX | UART0 RX |
- SH1.0 GPIO header — GPIO 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 33
Six GPIOs led out per the wiki pin table
Good to know before you start
- Identical electronics to the bare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28, so designs and the LCD Ultra Pro profile carry over directly.
- The free GPIOs are 15, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 33 on the SH1.0 connector; the included cable makes wiring easy.
- Waveshare lists both the ESP32-S3R2 and the ESP32-S3RH2 for this product — both have 2 MB of PSRAM.
- Design inside the circle; the square corners of the 240×240 frame are hidden.
What it is good for
- •Finished round touch controllers
- •Thermostat and climate faces
- •Wearable prototypes
- •Small smart home remotes
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 comes in the box with the ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28-B?
The board in its CNC metal case, an SH1.0 12-pin cable and a screwdriver.
Is the hardware different from the non-cased version?
No, the display, touch, ESP32-S3R2 and sensors are the same; the -B adds the metal case and accessories.
Which touch controller is used?
A CST816S capacitive controller on I2C.
Sources
Specifications cross-checked against the manufacturer’s documentation (last checked 2026-10-27):
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