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A Tiny Open-Source OS Turns Waveshare’s 1.54-Inch E-Paper Board Into a Pocket Companion

A community firmware project turns Waveshare’s 1.54-inch ESP32-S3 e-paper V2 board into a tiny app launcher with a virtual pet, notes, Wi-Fi tools and games.
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It’s a community firmware project for the Waveshare ESP32-S3-ePaper-1.54 V2, not a general-purpose computer operating system. Its creator describes a pocket-sized app launcher with a timetable, notes, a virtual pet, badges, Wi-Fi tools, games and settings—all on a 1.54-inch e-paper display.

What the pocket OS can do

The project author presents the firmware as a small, app-based interface intended for a device that can hang from a lanyard. The listed apps mix everyday utilities with playful features:

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  • Timetable and notes: quick-reference tools for a pocket device.
  • Virtual pet: a pet that can visit another device’s screen through the project’s Meet mode.
  • Name badges: a simple way to show a badge on the display.
  • Wi-Fi “Dex”: scans Wi-Fi beacons and logs SSIDs with a rarity score. The creator says it does not store BSSIDs directly.
  • Games and settings: one-button games and controls for the device.

These are features described by the creator, not independently tested results. The project was shared as a request for community feedback, with source code and implementation details in its project repository.

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Which board it runs on

The target is the Waveshare ESP32-S3-ePaper-1.54 V2 development board. Waveshare documents a 1.54-inch, 200 × 200 e-paper display and an ESP32-S3-PICO-1-N8R8 configuration with 8 MB of flash and 8 MB of PSRAM for V2. Its board documentation also lists Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy, an RTC, an SHTC3 temperature-and-humidity sensor, a TF card slot, audio circuitry and lithium-battery support.

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Check the board’s revision marking before trying the firmware. Waveshare distinguishes V1 and V2 and warns that examples are not interchangeable across revisions. Its repository says V2 replaced V1 starting November 1, 2025, and that V1 was no longer sold from that date; that does not establish current stock or availability for any specific seller.

Variants also differ: Waveshare lists touch and non-touch models, as well as versions with or without a lithium battery. The project’s stated target is V2, so don’t assume every board sold under the broader product name has the same hardware or will work with the same configuration.

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How the pet meetup works

According to the creator, Meet mode connects two devices directly over radio, without a router or internet connection. The instructions are to open Meet on both devices and bring them within roughly 15 cm; the pets then visit each other’s screens. That distance and behavior are the author’s description of the feature, not a separately verified range test.

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What the creator says is under the hood

The implementation is described as PlatformIO with Arduino, using GxEPD2 to drive the SSD1681 display. The author says apps live in separate folders and follow a small interface for entering, handling buttons, drawing and exiting; adding an app involves adding a struct and a launcher entry.

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For display and sleep behavior, the creator reports that the firmware defaults to partial refresh, performs a full refresh when switching apps or after every ten partial refreshes, and enters deep sleep after ten seconds of inactivity. Either button can wake it, while state is stored in RTC memory or NVS. These are implementation details, not a measured battery-life result or a guarantee of runtime.

Other features the author describes include recording 16 kHz mono voice notes through the board’s codec and microphone, then sending recordings over Wi-Fi for Whisper transcription. The project can optionally use OpenAI or Claude for cleanup and save Markdown to a microSD card. The creator says API keys are kept in a separate NVS namespace. Waveshare documents a TF card slot and a FAT32 requirement; the project description does not establish a particular card capacity or speed class.

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Can you build or modify it?

The project is presented as open source and invites feedback and contributions through its repository. The creator’s setup uses PlatformIO and Arduino, but that describes this project’s implementation; Waveshare also documents Arduino IDE and ESP-IDF as development options for the board. Start by confirming that your board is V2 and matching the repository’s configuration to its revision before compiling or flashing.

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  1. Check the label or board marking to identify the revision and variant, including whether it has touch and a battery.
  2. Read the project’s README and setup instructions in the repository; use the V2 configuration rather than assuming a V1 example applies.
  3. Install the project’s stated PlatformIO/Arduino environment, then build and flash according to its instructions.
  4. If you want removable notes storage, use a FAT32-formatted microSD card; the cited project and board information do not specify a recommended capacity.

Waveshare’s product documentation is the place to check board resources and variant details. The OS is a creator-led community project, so consult its repository for current code and supported configuration rather than treating the firmware as an official Waveshare operating system.

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