Espressif has just revealed its groundbreaking chip, the ESP32-E22, which is making waves in the tech community. This innovative piece of technology, officially designated as a Radio Co-Processor (RCP), is designed to serve as a wireless communication module interfacing with systems-on-chip (SoCs) through PCIe 2.1 or SDIO 3.0.
What sets the ESP32-E22 apart is its robust wireless capabilities, boasting complete WiFi 6E support across all three frequency bands, a 160 MHz channel bandwidth, and advanced 2×2 MU-MIMO technology. This marks a significant upgrade from the standard WiFi options found in earlier models, such as the ESP32-S* and -C* series. Additionally, it includes support for both Bluetooth Classic and BLE 5.4, addressing the concerns of users who previously missed the Bluetooth Classic functionality that was limited to the original ESP32—essential for applications like A2DP sinks and sources.
Powering the ESP32-E22 are two custom Espressif RISC-V CPU cores capable of running at speeds up to 500 MHz. However, there’s currently no information available regarding the presence of a low-power core or any additional peripheral features. The promotional images released by Espressif appear to be generic and machine-generated, leading to some ambiguity, particularly since they inconsistently depict the chip in different packaging formats—from BGA to LQFP—without clear context.
At this moment, Espressif is providing engineering samples to selected parties who have likely undergone a vetting process. This suggests that a public launch might not occur for some time. It remains uncertain whether this chip could function effectively as a standalone microcontroller unit (MCU) or system-on-chip (SoC), similar to the previous models like the -S3 or -P4.
So, what do you think? Is the ESP32-E22 the next big thing in wireless technology, or does it leave something to be desired? Share your thoughts below!
