Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 – a dwarf with great performance

In this article I would like to introduce you to the small microcontroller Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040.

Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 - a dwarf with great performance
Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 – a dwarf with great performance

I received this small microcontroller from Seeed Studio free of charge for this review.
Since I wanted to order it anyway, it was a cheap way for me to get it.

Purchase of a Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040

You can get this microcontroller for currently $5.4 plus shipping (worldwide). That was also one of the reasons why I wanted to “treat” myself to this one.

The Raspberry Pi Pico with the same chip currently costs a little more than €10 plus shipping costs and is thus significantly more expensive.

Campain for XIAO RP2040
Campaign for XIAO RP2040

Technical data

As already mentioned, the chip from the Raspberry Pi Pico is built into the small XIAO RP2040, so the following technical data will not surprise you. However, this microcontroller has a much smaller size and is therefore interesting for particularly small circuits, but more about that later.

ParameterDescription
CPUDual-Core ARM Cortex M0+ processor up to 133 MHz
Storage264 KB SRAM,
2 MB Flash Memory
GPIOs11 digital Pins,
11 PWM Pins,
4 analog Pin
InterfacesI²C, UART, SPI,
at the back side some solder pins for “SWD Bonding pad interface”
USB interfaceUSB-Typ-C
LEDs1x Power LED,
2x LEDs for serial connection (RX & TX),
1x SMD three color LED (red, green, blue),
1x RGB LED
Buttons1x BOOT Taster,
1x RESET Taster
additionalSolder pins for external power supply
Size (L x B)21 mm x 17.5 mm

Design and pinout of the XIAO RP2040

The small microcontroller has the same chip (RP2040) as the large Raspberry Pi Pico, but has fewer contacts led to the outside.

Pinout of Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040
Pinout of Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040

On the microcontroller you will find the two buttons BOOT & RESET as well as two freely programmable LEDs.

One LED can display the three colors red, green & blue and is located to the right of the USB interface, the other is an RGB LED and can be found in the lower area between the two buttons BOOT & RESET.

Design of the XIAO RP2040 microcontroller
Design of the XIAO RP2040 microcontroller

Range of application

Due to its minimal dimensions, this microcontroller can be used especially in the fields of

  • wearable,
  • DIY keyboard,

As well as for projects where you need a small Arduino (but also power).

Programming the XIAO RP2040

You can program the microcontroller in the Arduino IDE with C/C++. With special flash files, you can also program it with Micropython or Ciruitpython.

For programming in Micropython & Circuitpython I use the MU-Editor which I would like to introduce to you in more detail in another article on this microcontroller.

MU Editor - select controller and target language
MU Editor – select controller and target language

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *