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ESP32 Series Comparator
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Specifications
| Specification | ESP32 | ESP32-S3 |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | ESP32 (Classic) | ESP32-S3 |
| Description | The original model with dual-core processor and wide range of peripherals | Dual-core processor with accelerators for AI and signal processing |
| Minimum ESP-IDF | Since initial release (v3.x and earlier) | v4.4 |
| Arduino Core | Yes (147 board definitions in official core) | Yes (158 board definitions in official core) |
| Debugging / JTAG | External JTAG (requires probe, e.g. ESP-PROG) | Integrated JTAG via USB (no external probe required) |
| Package | QFN48 (6×6 mm) and QFN48 (5×5 mm) | QFN56 (7×7 mm) |
| Available Modules | ESP32-MINI-1, ESP32-PICO-MINI-02, ESP32-PICO-V3, ESP32-PICO-V3-02 and 11 more | ESP32-S3-MINI-1, ESP32-S3-WROOM-1, ESP32-S3-WROOM-2 |
| Architecture | Xtensa® LX6 dual-core 32-bit | Xtensa® LX7 dual-core 32-bit |
| Cores | 1 (Single-core) or 2 (Dual-core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Frequency | Up to 240 MHz | Up to 240 MHz |
| ULP Coprocessor | Yes | Yes (RISC-V) |
| AI Accelerators | No | Yes (Vector Instructions for AI) |
| Wi-Fi | IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz, up to 150 Mbps) | IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz, up to 150 Mbps) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR (Classic) and Bluetooth LE (dual mode) | Bluetooth 5 (LE) and Bluetooth Mesh |
| Zigbee/Thread | No | No |
| Matter | No | No |
| Ethernet | Yes (Integrated Ethernet MAC) | No |
| SRAM | 520 KB | 512 KB |
| RTC SRAM | 16 KB (divided into RTC FAST and RTC SLOW) | 16 KB |
| ROM | 448 KB (for boot and core functions) | 384 KB |
| External Flash | Up to 16 MB via QSPI | Up to 1 GB via QSPI/Octal SPI |
| External PSRAM | Up to 8 MB via QSPI (in specific modules such as WROVER) | Up to 1 GB via QSPI/Octal SPI |
| GPIO | 34 | 45 |
| UART | 3 | 3 |
| SPI | 4 (SPI, HSPI, VSPI - 2 can be used for Flash/PSRAM) | 4 (SPI0/1 for Flash, SPI2/3 for general use) |
| I²C | 2 | 2 |
| I²S | 2 | 2 |
| PWM | LED PWM (up to 16 channels), Motor PWM | LED PWM (up to 8 channels), Motor PWM (6 channels) |
| CAN | 1 (CAN 2.0, TWAI®) | No |
| USB | No | 1 (USB OTG 1.1 Full-Speed) + 1 (USB Serial/JTAG) |
| Debugging / JTAG | External JTAG (requires probe, e.g. ESP-PROG) | Integrated JTAG via USB (no external probe required) |
| SDIO | 1 (SD/SDIO/MMC Host), 1 (SDIO/SPI Slave) | 1 (SD/SDIO/MMC Host) |
| ADC | 2x 12-bit SAR ADC, up to 18 channels | 2x 12-bit SAR ADC, up to 20 channels |
| DAC | 2x 8-bit DAC | No |
| Capacitive Touch | 10 capacitive channels | 14 capacitive channels |
| Hall Sensor | 1 (internal) | No |
| Temperature Sensor | No (removed from datasheet in 2018; no driver in ESP-IDF) | 1 (internal) |
| AES | AES-128/192/256 | AES-128/256 |
| SHA | SHA-1/256/384/512 | SHA-1/224/256/384/512 |
| RSA / MPI | Yes (RSA/MPI up to 4096 bits) | Yes (RSA/MPI up to 4096 bits) |
| ECC (elliptic curves) | No | No |
| Hardware ECDSA | No | No |
| HMAC | No | Yes |
| Digital Signature (DS) | No | Yes |
| Key Manager | No | No |
| Random Generator (TRNG) | Yes (hardware TRNG) | Yes (hardware TRNG) |
| Flash Encryption | Yes (AES-256, legacy scheme) | XTS-AES-128/256 |
| Secure Boot | V1 (AES, legacy); V2 (RSA-3072, RSA-PSS) starting from rev v3.0 (ECO3) | V2 (RSA-3072) |
| DPA Protection | No | No |
Official documentation
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