The first commercial development boards featuring Espressif’s RISC-V-based ESP32-C3, a drop-in replacement for the popular ESP8266, have appeared on the market — costing as little as $4 a piece.
Espressif’s hand was tipped late last year when the ESP32-C3 was leaked ahead of a formal announcement. “ESP32-C3 attempts to address the most common needs for connected devices,” the company wrote in its formal confirmation of the launch. The ESP32-C3 is designed as a much-improved successor to the ESP8266 – and is pin-compatible.