View this email in your browser. Warning: Flashing Imagery
Welcome to the latest Python on Microcontrollers newsletter! Wow! The announcement that Qualcomm was buying Arduino wasn’t unexpected, but the new Arduino Uno Q was unexpected. The Uno Q walks in the footsteps of the Arduino Edison and Yun. Will this be an AI push for them both? Python 3.14 brings some interesting new changes and CircuitPython gets a bug fix. And I found not one but two operating systems based on MicroPython for Espressif devices. All this and much more (of course) in this issue. - Anne Barela, Editor
We’re on Discord, Twitter/X, BlueSky and for past newsletters - view them all here. If you’re reading this on the web, please subscribe here. Here’s the news this week:
Qualcomm Buys Arduino and Releases a New Raspberry Pi-esque Arduino Board
Smartphone processor and modem maker Qualcomm is acquiring Arduino, the Italian company known mainly for its (mostly) open source ecosystem of microcontrollers and the software that makes them function. In its announcement, Qualcomm said that Arduino would “[retain] its brand and mission,” including its “open source ethos” and “support for multiple silicon vendors.”
The first fruit of this pending acquisition will be the Arduino Uno Q, a Qualcomm-based single-board computer with a Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 processor installed. The QRB2210 includes a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU and a Qualcomm Adreno 702 GPU, plus WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, similar in concept to former Arduino Edison and Yun boards - Make, Ars Technica and Tom’s Hardware.
Community Commentary
- “Arduino: From Blink to Think …or blink once for open source, twice for AI” - Adafruit.
- Qualcomm’s buying Arduino – what it means for makers - Jeff Geerling and YouTube.
Python 3.14 Released
Python 3.14 is now available as the newest annual major feature release for the Python programming language. It delivers on official support for the free-threaded Python code path, a new Zstd compression module, various performance improvements, a zero-overhead external debugger for Python, C API improvements, enhanced error messages a new opt-in interpreter, T-strings and many other enhancements - Phoronix and How-To Geek.
Python 3.12.12, 3.11.14, 3.10.19 and 3.9.24 are now available! - Python Insider Blog.
Focus: MicroPython Operating Systems
Two very new projects have similar goals: to be a MicroPython-based operating system. upyOS is more Unix oriented while MicroPythonOS provides a small GUI.
upyOS: a Modular Flash Operating System for Microcontrollers Based on Micropython
upyOS is a modular, lightweight MicroPython-based operating system (OS) that provides a Unix-like experience on low-resource microcontrollers such as Espressif Systems ESP32/ESP32-C3/ESP32-S3, Raspberry Pi RP2040, and others. Inspired by smolOS, upyOS offers remote development tools, OTA updates, and a built-in web server. Its modular architecture separates system functions into reusable components, instead of large, monolithic programs. It’s available under an MIT license - CNX and GitHub.
MicroPythonOS
MicroPythonOS is a lightweight, fast, and versatile operating system designed to run on microcontrollers like the ESP32 and desktop systems. With a modern Android-like touch screen UI, App Store, and Over-The-Air updates, it’s billed as the perfect OS for innovators and developers - MicroPythonOS.com and GitHub. Via X.
CircuitPython 10.0.1 Released
CircuitPython 10.0.1 is the latest bugfix revision of CircuitPython and is the new stable release. It fixes a 10.0.0 regression preventing writing to a filesystem other than CIRCUITPY via USB - GitHub.
Maker Faire Rome Returns 17-19 October, 2025
Maker Faire Rome is coming up this week. While the big news will likely be the Arduino acquisition, Microchip will be there with demonstrations including with CircuitPython and folks like Raspberry Pi and DigiKey will be there also - MakerFaireRome.
This Week’s Python Streams
Python on Hardware is all about building a cooperative ecosphere which allows contributions to be valued and to grow knowledge. Below are the streams within the last week focusing on the community.
CircuitPython Deep Dive Stream
Last Friday, Tim streamed work on preparing a patch for CircuitPython libraries.
You can see the latest video and past videos on the Adafruit YouTube channel under the Deep Dive playlist - YouTube.
CircuitPython Parsec
John Park’s CircuitPython Parsec this week is on Spyce Invaders Splash Screen - Adafruit Blog and YouTube.
Catch all the episodes in the YouTube playlist.
In the latest episode of The CircuitPython Show released October 13th, Noe Ruiz of Adafruit Industries joins the show. Noe and Paul discuss how Noe got started with design and 3D modeling, the Layer by Layer tutorials Noe created, and more. - The CircuitPython Show.
CircuitPython Weekly Meeting
CircuitPython Weekly Meeting for October 6, 2025 (notes) on YouTube.
Project of the Week: CircuitPython Uploader
CircuitPython Uploader is an open source VS Code extension for uploading code and managing libraries on CircuitPython devices - GitHub. Via X.
Popular Last Week
What was the most popular, most clicked link, in last week’s newsletter? 4 tiny single-board computers that outclass the Raspberry Pi.
Did you know you can read past issues of this newsletter in the Adafruit Daily Archive? Check it out.
Adafruit Playground Notes
Adafruit Playground is a new place for the community to post their projects and other making tips/tricks/techniques. Ad-free, it’s an easy way to publish your work in a safe space for free.
News From Around the Web
CanSat-X is a complete educational satellite, made in Mexico by Meditech Industries Space Systems. Each CanSat-X includes a functioning satellite with sensors, GPS, and LoRa radio. A ground station with software ready for communications and telemetry. Programming in MicroPython on a Raspberry Pi Pico 2. Delivered in a professional-grade, waterproof carrying case - X.
The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook new 2026 edition is out now - Raspberry Pi News.
The latest stats for this newsletter have been published - Adafruit Blog.
Dan Cogliano demonstrates another game in progress, this time it’s a rocket lander game for the Adafruit Fruit Jam in CircuitPython - BlueSky.
Build your own retro TV With Raspberry Pi and Python - Instructables.
Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W + Arducam OV2640: simple photo capture to on-device storage with CircuitPython - Instructables.
A console memory card reader using a Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython - Adafruit Blog and GitHub.
8 practical uses for the Python os module - How-To Geek.
An Adafruit QT Py running a real time clock and a precision temp humidity sensor with an added the “cylon” NeoPixel strip with CircuitPython - Mastodon.
ESP32 and Termux with MicroPython - gavide.dev.
RAK11160: Running MicroPython on the ESP core - Mastodon.
Roulette project with NeoPixels, Pi Pico and MicroPython - instructables.
Quick setup guide for tthe W6300-EVB-PICO2 with CircuitPython - YouTube.
Polymorphic Python malware that mutates every time it runs - gbhackers.
12 open-source tools I use every day on my Mac - How-To Geek.
Shawn Hymel is hosting a workshop on Embedded Rust at the Hackaday SuperCon October 31-November 1 - X.
New
Shrike-Lite combines an MCU (RP2040) with an FPGA (ForgeFPGA – 1K LUT) on a single board for just $4 - X.
SemiTO-V RP2350 expansion cards for Framework laptops. Micropython firmware REPL running on the RP2350 based card, with DC-ROMA RISC-V Mainboard accessing it via UART with minicom. 2 RISC-V hardware working together - X and GitHub.
New Boards Supported by CircuitPython
The number of supported microcontrollers and Single Board Computers (SBC) grows every week. This section outlines which boards have been included in CircuitPython or added to CircuitPython.org.
This week there were no new boards added.
Note: For non-Adafruit boards, please use the support forums of the board manufacturer for assistance, as Adafruit does not have the hardware to assist in troubleshooting.
Looking to add a new board to CircuitPython? It’s highly encouraged! Adafruit has four guides to help you do so:
Adafruit Learn Guides
The Adafruit Learning System has over 3,200 free guides for learning skills and building projects including using Python.
CircuitPython Libraries
The CircuitPython library numbers are continually increasing, while existing ones continue to be updated. Here we provide library numbers and updates!
To get the latest Adafruit libraries, download the Adafruit CircuitPython Library Bundle. To get the latest community contributed libraries, download the CircuitPython Community Bundle.
If you’d like to contribute to the CircuitPython project on the Python side of things, the libraries are a great place to start. Check out the CircuitPython.org Contributing page. If you’re interested in reviewing, check out Open Pull Requests. If you’d like to contribute code or documentation, check out Open Issues. We have a guide on contributing to CircuitPython with Git and GitHub, and you can find us in the #help-with-circuitpython and #circuitpython-dev channels on the Adafruit Discord.
You can check out this list of all the Adafruit CircuitPython libraries and drivers available.
The current number of CircuitPython libraries is 547!
New Libraries
Here are this week’s new CircuitPython libraries:
Updated Libraries
Here are this week’s updated CircuitPython libraries:
What’s the CircuitPython team up to this week?
What is the team up to this week? Let’s check in:
Dan
One of my SD card fixes for 10.0.0 didn’t let you write the SD card at all via USB even if you’d mounted it read-only to CircuitPython. So I fixed that last week, and along with some other minor fixes and additions, released CircuitPython 10.0.1. Now both the last 9.x.x release, 9.2.9, and the latest CircuitPython release are palindromes.
Tim
The refactoring that I was doing in the Register library is merged now and this week I iterated on the SPA06_003 driver PR based on discussions with Scott and Dan. I’ve also been working the logic gates simulator mentioned last week. The code is complete and I’m in the process of writing the guide. I showed it in action this week on show and tell. Here is a screenshot from it.
Scott
This last week I mostly did reviews for others. I also did a quick driver for the quad color 3.52” epaper display. I made a little progress testing the ESP IDF update but the C6 continues to boot loop. :-/ Next week I’m out of town so I won’t be working.
Liz
This week I’ve been working on a guide for all of the bare eInk displays in the shop. Each display has its own page with example code for using them with Arduino, CircuitPython displayio and Python. It’s been a big lift, but I think it will be a really helpful guide. It has also served as a way to double check that all of the drivers have been written for these chipsets and tested with hardware. Big thanks to Scott for writing up a CircuitPython displayio driver for the 3.52” quad-color display.
Upcoming Events
The next MicroPython Meetup in Melbourne will be on October 22th – Meetup. You can see recordings of previous meetings on YouTube.
The Hackaday Superconference is back! Join this global conference of hardware hackers, makers, and tech enthusiasts this Oct 31st - Nov 2nd in Pasadena, California - Eventbrite.
The final KiCad conference (KiCon) will be 15 November, 2025 in Shenzhen, China - KiCad.
PyLadiesCon returns December 5–7, 2025. 100% online conference designed for our global community. Talks, workshops, panels, and community fun – PyLadies.
Send Your Events In
If you know of virtual events or upcoming events, please let us know via email to cpnews(at)adafruit(dot)com.
Latest Releases
CircuitPython’s stable release is 10.0.1. New to CircuitPython? Start with our Welcome to CircuitPython Guide.
20251010 is the latest Adafruit CircuitPython library bundle.
20250919 is the latest CircuitPython Community library bundle.
v1.26.1 is the latest MicroPython release. Documentation for it is here.
3.14.0 is the latest Python release.
4,353 Stars Like CircuitPython? Star it on GitHub!
Call for Help – Translating CircuitPython is now easier than ever
One important feature of CircuitPython is translated control and error messages. With the help of fellow open source project Weblate, we’re making it even easier to add or improve translations.
Sign in with an existing account such as GitHub, Google or Facebook and start contributing through a simple web interface. No forks or pull requests needed! As always, if you run into trouble join us on Discord, we’re here to help.
39,030 Thanks
The Adafruit Discord community, where we do all our CircuitPython development in the open, reached over 39,030 humans - thank you! Adafruit believes Discord offers a unique way for Python on hardware folks to connect. Join today at https://adafru.it/discord.
ICYMI - In case you missed it
Python on hardware is the Adafruit Python video-newsletter-podcast! The news comes from the Python community, Discord, Adafruit communities and more and is broadcast on ASK an ENGINEER Wednesdays. The complete Python on Hardware weekly videocast playlist is here. The video podcast is on iTunes, YouTube, Instagram), and XML.
The weekly community chat on Adafruit Discord server CircuitPython channel - Audio / Podcast edition - Audio from the Discord chat space for CircuitPython, meetings are usually Mondays at 2pm ET, this is the audio version on iTunes, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and XML feed.
Contribute
The CircuitPython Weekly Newsletter is a CircuitPython community-run newsletter emailed every Monday. The complete archives are here. It highlights the latest CircuitPython related news from around the web including Python and MicroPython developments. To contribute, edit next week’s draft on GitHub and submit a pull request with the changes. You may also tag your information on Twitter with #CircuitPython.
Join the Adafruit Discord or post to the forum if you have questions.
