Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 (round)
Also known as: ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 · Waveshare round ESP32-S3
A round 1.28" touch display with a 6-axis IMU on one ESP32-S3 board, the easy path to smartwatch, compass and circular-gauge projects.
As an Amazon Associate and an affiliate we may earn from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are set by the retailer.
At a glance
⚑ flag an error| SoC | ESP32-S3 |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Waveshare |
| Type | Display board |
| Memory | 16 MB flash · 2 MB PSRAM |
| Display | 1.28" 240x240 IPS (GC9A01 (round IPS), SPI bus), capacitive (CST816S) touch |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, BLE 5 |
| USB | USB-C |
| Battery | Yes (onboard LiPo charging) |
| Onboard extras | imu, battery |
| Typical price | $18-25 (street, varies) |
Compare all ESP32 display boards in one table →
Good for
Works with
Firmware and UI-stack support, with a known-good starting point where one exists. "Community" means an unofficial but working config or port.
- ESPHome Community support
- LVGL / Arduino Community support config / port →
Gotchas to know
- A round display needs round-aware UI (LVGL).
- Only 2 MB PSRAM (S3R2) — copy-pasted configs assuming 8 MB octal PSRAM fail; size LVGL buffers accordingly.
- Small MX1.25 battery connector.
- The CNC metal-case SKU costs more.
Variants
Touch and non-touch (ESP32-S3-LCD-1.28); optional CNC metal case; onboard QMI8658 6-axis IMU.
The ESP32-S3 inside
This board is built on the ESP32-S3 . See the SoC page for the full peripheral, GPIO and security details.
Bare modules on the same SoC:
Adding sensors?
Presence radars, climate, CO2, energy — the sensor comparison table covers what people actually wire to these boards, with ESPHome support status and clone-risk ratings per part. Radars want a hardware UART; I2C sensors chain on two pins.
Resources
Community guides usually go deeper than this page: pinout diagrams, wiring, library setup and copy-paste example code from people who build with these boards daily.