Xiao ESP32-S3 IoT Development Board

Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 is an ultra-compact IoT development board built around the Espressif ESP32-S3 dual-core Wi-Fi and Bluetooth SoC. The board integrates high-performance processing, native USB, AI acceleration, and optional camera capability in a thumb-sized form factor. The ESP32-S3 chip is based on a 32-bit Xtensa LX7 dual-core processor with vector instructions and hardware acceleration for AI and signal processing workloads. It supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 (LE) connectivity and is optimised for edge intelligence, voice processing, and computer vision applications. When paired with the onboard camera connector or Sense variant camera module, the board becomes suitable for low-power vision systems and embedded AI deployments. 

Available in two variants, the standard board and the XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense, the platform scales from basic Wi-Fi microcontroller projects all the way to edge AI vision systems with the optional OV2640 camera.

XIAO ESP32-S3 - At a Glance

Key specifications of the Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 development board

XIAO ESP32-S3 Pinout Configuration

The Table showing the pinout explanation of the XIAO. All digital I/O pins support PWM output. The table below is the complete XIAO ESP32-S3 pinout with GPIO mapping for use with Arduino IDE and ESP-IDF.

XIAO ESP32-S3 Key Features

Below is a complete feature list aligned with the official XIAO ESP32-S3 datasheet from Seeed Studio:

• ESP32-S3, 32-bit Xtensa LX7 dual-core processor operating up to 240 MHz
• Complies with IEEE 802.11 b/g/n protocol, supports Station, SoftAP, and dual mode
• Bluetooth 5.0 LE and Mesh support
• Vector instructions and hardware acceleration for neural network inference
• USB-OTG support for direct programming and communication
• Deep sleep current below 50 μA
• External antenna and optimized RF design
• Supports lithium battery charge and discharge management
• 512KB SRAM and 8MB onboard flash memory
• Classic XIAO form factor (21 x 17.5mm) for wearable and space-constrained designs
• AES, SHA, RSA, HMAC, secure boot, and flash encryption
• 1x I2C, 1x SPI, 1x I2S, 2x UART, 11x GPIO (PWM capable), 4x ADC, USB-OTG
• Single-sided components, surface mounting design

XIAO ESP32-S3 Specifications

The following specifications are drawn from the official XIAO ESP32-S3 sense datasheet and Seeed Studio product documentation.

• Processor
  • ESP32-S3 SoC
  • Xtensa LX7 dual-core 32-bit processor up to 240 MHz
• Wireless
  • Complete 2.4GHz Wi-Fi subsystem
  • Bluetooth 5.0 / BLE / Mesh
• On-chip Memory
  • 512KB SRAM
• On-board Flash
  • 8MB
• Interface
  • 1x UART
  • 1x I2C
  • 1x I2S
  • 1x SPI
  • 11x GPIO (PWM)
  • 4x ADC
  • USB-OTG
  • 1x Reset button
  • 1x Boot button
• Dimensions
  • 21 x 17.5 mm
• Power
  • Operating voltage: 3.3V
  • Input voltage (VIN): 5V
  • Charging current: 50mA / 100mA
• Deep Sleep Power Consumption
  • Deep sleep: < 50 μA
• Wi-Fi Enabled Power Consumption
  • Active: < 100 mA
  • Modem sleep: < 30 mA
  • Light sleep: < 5 mA
• BLE Enabled Power Consumption
  • Modem sleep: < 30 mA
  • Light sleep: < 12 mA

XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense - Camera Module

The XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense Pinout version integrates an onboard camera interface and optional OV2640 camera module for edge vision and image capture tasks.

Camera Specifications - OV2640

• Sensor
  • OV2640
• Resolution
  • 2 Megapixel
• Max Output
  • 1600 x 1200 (UXGA)
• Interface
  • DVP parallel camera interface
• Features
  • JPEG compression
  • On-chip FIFO
  • Low power operation
  • Supports real-time video streaming
• Use cases
  • Image capture
  • QR / barcode scanning
  • Face detection
  • Edge AI vision
  • Surveillance nodes
  • Remote monitoring

XIAO ESP32-S3 Applications

The combination of a powerful dual-core processor, AI acceleration, wireless connectivity, and ultra-low deep sleep power makes the XIAO ESP32-S3 suitable for a wide range of embedded applications:

• Embedded AI
• Computer vision
• Voice assistants
• Wearable devices
• Health monitoring
• Education
• Low-Power networking
• Rapid prototyping
• Smart cameras

XIAO ESP32-S3 Component Overview

XIAO ESP32-S3 vs Other XIAO Boards - Comparison

Seeed Studio offers a full family of XIAO-form-factor boards sharing the same 21 × 17.5 mm footprint. Choosing the right board depends on connectivity, processing power, and target application.

XIAO ESP32-S3 Dimensions

The dimensions of XIAO-ESP32-S3 are given in the image below

The XIAO ESP32-S3 adheres to the standard XIAO form factor at 21 × 17.5 mm. The 2.54 mm pin pitch is compatible with standard breadboards and perfboards.

Similar Development Boards

Seeed Studio has a range of other XIAO boards in its small development board series. These include the XIAO SAMD21, which uses an ARM Cortex-M0+ processor and is great for simple Arduino projects. There's also the XIAO RP2040, which has a dual-core processor from Raspberry Pi and allows for customizable peripherals through flexible PIO. The XIAO nRF52840 (Sense) includes Bluetooth 5.0 and can have an optional IMU and microphone, making it suitable for TinyML tasks. The XIAO ESP32C3 offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE in a basic setup, while the XIAO ESP32C6 adds support for Matter and Thread protocols, ideal for current IoT systems. Lastly, the XIAO ESP32S3 Sense comes with better AI features and supports a camera. Each board keeps the standard 21 x 17.5mm thumb-sized size but is designed for different needs in connectivity, processing power, and use cases, such as basic sensor nodes, edge AI, and wireless mesh networks.