Waveshare: New 4.3-inch smart display features Wi-Fi 6, a touchscreen, and an optional 5MP camera

We have seen Waveshare launch similar smart home controller boards before, including the ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-4.3, the ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-4.3C, and even a 7-inch 1080 × 1080 LCD module, each unique in its own way. But these boards lack processing power, and the 7-inch rounded one is a “dumb” display that requires a separate controller board to drive and manage the screen.

This is where the new ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-4.3-C comes in, as it's based around the ESP32-P4 in terms of processing power; it's more powerful than your typical ESP32-S3, and also includes an ESP32-C6 for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 connectivity. The cherry on top is that the ESP32-C6 can also be used as a co-processor if your project needs extra processing power.

Not only is this board powerful, but you also have a great display to work with, as the 4.3-inch display supports 5-point touch, optical bonding, and 500 nits of brightness, which is very good for indoor and outdoor conditions. The board also includes a MIPI-CSI interface with ISP support for an optional OV5647 camera module.

The board also includes various ports to work with, which include a speaker header for AI speech interaction, USB OTG 2.0 host, and USB-to-UART Type-C ports for data, and there is also a microSD card slot (SDIO 3.0) for storage. The board also includes a 40-pin GPIO header compatible with some Raspberry Pi HATs, and there is support for a Li-ion battery with charging, an RTC for timekeeping, and multiple expansion interfaces for connecting to various sensors and actuators. Other than that, it comes wth an ES8311 audio codec, and an ES7210 echo cancellation chip built in; these features make this board suitable for smart home panels, edge AI terminals, multimedia controllers, and interactive IoT devices.

Any DIY hardware platform requires solid software support, and Waveshare generally provides documentation and example code for its development boards. However, at the time of writing, the Wiki page for this model is still empty. Thankfully, the product page mentions that the board can be programmed using ESP-IDF for the ESP32-P4, but accessing peripherals like the MIPI-DSI displays, MIPI-CSI cameras, audio codecs, SDIO, and USB will likely be difficult without proper drivers and example projects.

The Waveshare 4.3-inch ESP32-P4-based development board is available from Waveshare’s official store for $33.99, and you can also purchase it with or without a camera.