New compact Waveshare board brings Zigbee and a built-in display to smart homes

The well-known manufacturer Waveshare has introduced a new development board: the Waveshare ESP32-C5 1.47-inch LCD Display. Essentially a compact system with an integrated display, it starts at around $12, though buyers should factor in potential shipping costs. The board is available both with and without pin headers. It is powered by the ESP32-C5 SoC, which—while modest in performance—is based on the RISC-V architecture and well suited for simple interfaces, such as smart home control panels. Designed for seamless smart home integration, the device supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, Thread, and Zigbee and features an onboard antenna.

Additional sensors and actuators can be connected, enabling applications such as monitoring temperature, humidity, or gas concentrations. The built-in 1.47-inch TFT display offers a resolution of 172 × 320 pixels, delivering adequate sharpness, though contrast and brightness are limited. Touch input is not supported, which may restrict usability in some scenarios. The board features a USB Type-C port for both power and programming, as well as a microSD card slot. Given the limited onboard memory typical of such hardware, external storage can be used for interface assets or extended sensor data logging. An integrated RGB LED allows for simple visual indicators—for example, signaling ambient comfort levels based on measured temperature and humidity.