💫 Should the XIAO Get an Upgrade?

[PJ_Glasso]

Hi there,

Thank you Josie…

ESP32-S31 vs. ESP32-S3: Should the XIAO Get an Upgrade?

By Josie Last Updated on: June 25, 2026

ESP32-S31 deep dive: Comparing with ESP32-S3. Should the next XIAO use this chip? what do you think.

Best BLOG ever on the topic.
I’ll bring the Low Lights , just to keep it a
but Go READ it if you are serious about technology and the Paths up ahead,
Here are some LOW lights first from her Blog to keep it in perspective, as to why diving in headfirst isn’t always a good business decision. IMO.. BRAVO, Josie on the most excellent writing.

What the Community Is Actually Worried About

That all sounds impressive on paper. But here’s what developers are actually asking:

It’s RISC-V, not Xtensa. The ESP32-S series has always used Tensilica cores. Switching architectures raises real questions about toolchain maturity, existing library compatibility, and migration effort.

Arduino support is not ready. There’s an open GitHub issue requesting ESP32-S31 support in the Arduino core — it’s not merged yet.

You can’t buy it yet. Espressif confirms only “select customers” have received samples. No public pricing. No release date. If you need to build something today, this is a blocker.

Seeed needs more info like this in the public forums too… ::

https://www.seeedstudio.com/blog/2026/04/14/esp32-s31-vs-esp32-s3-should-the-xiao-get-an-upgrade/

HTH
AS You were…
GL PJ

[PJ_Glasso]

Hi there,

So, My take…

Well it’s most impressive hardware list and stated features a.k.a.“Marketing”, Slick but Hmmm, as we always see the Software Lags the stuff always, and a Hidden Item I see is an effort to move you to a “ESP-xxx” dev everything platform sounds a little too un open and proprietary to me.

" The chip is supported via ESP-IDF, with ESP-Matter, ESP-BLE-AUDIO, and ESP-GMF on the roadmap. " where is this roadmap, not on Google maps?

dual core @ 320 MHZ..WOW
dual BLE audio and BL
Gig ethernet, camera display, AI excell, security…
Whoa!
there’s a lot there can they do it ALL well or will there be many, many hurdles? time will tell, I’ll keep an AI agent on the watch tower for anything new / breaking or real to alert me, it’s SAMPLES only of the chip now, so no need to break out the scope just yet.

I’m team Nordic all the way, everyone knows that … For good reason IMO.
Espressif while innovative and one of the “first to market” champs always does just enough, barley IMO. All the BSP updates and loss of backward compatibility, unless you build with there tools, etc. NO…

They have a solid base with the ESP32S3, they should make a true low power version of THAT! dummy’s missed the boat

IMO,

ALL or NOTHING
seems this is if you want it ALL. in one pile. here it is, you need to figure it out though. and NO there is No Arduino Support unless another @Loren_Bufanu steps up and puts his AI on that target…
I think Esspresif should have it ALL ready first, then push it. not expect the users and makers like what happened to Arduino. (RUG PULL)

bottom line

I want to see the power numbers first, Battery Nothing…
I want to see the software DEV get an overhaul…
I want to see Gigabit and WIFI & BLE working… no Shenanigans either.
I want to see what Displays are supported , RGB meh’

Great Stuff to look forward to, but I would tighten up everything ELSE that is do do with XIAO first! if I were Seeed.

HTH
GL PJ