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Research

Waveshare 5inch & 4.3inch Display Comparison

Comparison of Waveshare 5“ / 4.3“ displays, using the two ESP32-P4 integrated touch boards as the baseline. Chip/SoC features are intentionally downplayed — focus is mounting, dimensions, display tech, resolution, interface, lanes, cost.

Baseline: ESP32-P4 integrated displays

Spec P4 Touch-LCD-5 P4 Touch-LCD-4.3
Size 5″ 4.3″
Resolution 720×1280 (portrait) 480×800 (portrait)
Panel IPS IPS
Driver IC HX8394 ST7701
Brightness 280 cd/m² 500 cd/m²
Contrast 900:1 1000:1
Viewing angle 178° 160°
Interface MIPI-DSI 2-lane MIPI-DSI 2-lane
Touch Cap. 5-pt (GT911) Cap. 5-pt (GT911)
Cover 6H toughened glass, optical bonding 6H toughened glass, optical bonding
Mounting Dev board, 4 corner holes + 40-pin header Dev board, 4 corner holes + 40-pin header
Cost $44.99 (no cam) / $52.99 (cam) $33.99 (no cam) / $42.99 (cam)

These are self-contained: the panel is bonded to a carrier PCB that holds the P4.

Full comparison

Display Outline W×H (mm) Active (mm) Thick (mm) Panel Res Interface DSI lanes Mounting Price (1pc)
P4-5 (base) glass 126.9×70.7 / PCB 118.5×64.5 110.3×62.3 ~13 IPS 720×1280 DSI (onboard P4) 2 Dev board, 4 holes + 40-pin $44.99–52.99
P4-4.3 (base) glass 114.4×66.8 / PCB 102.5×60.0 94.4×57.0 ~13 IPS 480×800 DSI (onboard P4) 2 Dev board, 4 holes + 40-pin $33.99–42.99
5″ HDMI AMOLED 123.5×79.9 110.4×63.0 thin + rear PCB AMOLED 960×544 HDMI + USB touch n/a (HDMI) M2.5, standalone monitor $82.99
5″ DSI LCD (D) glass 126.9×70.7 / PCB ~88×56 110.3×62.3 13.1 IPS 720×1280 DSI 2 M2.5 (58×49), Pi on back $55.99
5″ DSI LCD (C) 120.7×77.2 / PCB 121.0×76.0 109.0×65.8 12.6 IPS 1024×600 DSI 2 M2.5 (113×68) + metal stand $46.99
50H-800480-IPS 120.7×75.8 (no-touch) / 127.7×87.5 (touch) 108.0×64.8 ~5 (FPC) IPS 800×480 DSI 2 FPC-integrated embed $27.99–32.99
4.3″ DSI QLED 106.1×67.8 / PCB 106.0×68.0 95.5×54.4 14.05 QLED 800×480 DSI 2 M2.5, Pi on back $45.99
4.3″ DSI LCD 106.1×67.8 / PCB 106.0×68.0 95.5×54.4 14.05 IPS 800×480 DSI 2 M2.5, Pi on back $35.99

Notes:

  • 5″ DSI LCD (D) shares the exact glass outline and active area as the P4-5 — same panel module. Drops into the same cutout; the P4-5 just has a larger controller PCB behind it.
  • 4.3″ DSI LCD and 4.3″ DSI QLED are mechanically identical (same PCB/drawing) — IPS vs QLED panel only.
  • 50H is the thinnest (~5 mm FPC) — only one suited to truly slim embedded enclosures.
  • 5″ HDMI AMOLED is the tallest/widest 5″ and behaves like a small monitor, not an embeddable panel.

AMOLED over DSI: the Waveshare board is HDMI-input only (can’t take DSI), but its glass is the Samsung AMS495QA04 — a 5″ 960×544 panel that is natively MIPI-DSI 2-lane and sold raw by several suppliers, so the P4 can drive that bare panel directly without the HDMI board (see chat notes).

MIPI-DSI lane requirements & ESP32-P4 capability

  • ESP32-P4 MIPI-DSI: 1 clock lane + 2 data lanes, D-PHY up to ~1.5 Gbps/lane, handling up to 1080p display. (Confirmed via Espressif product page + ESP-IDF esp_lcd DSI docs: examples use num_data_lanes = 2, 2 data + 1 clock.)
  • All the DSI panels here are 2-lane (1 clock + 2 data). This includes the 720×1280, 1024×600 and 800×480 modules. Waveshare’s own P4 boards already drive the 720×1280 and (on larger P4-X variants) 1024×600 / 1280×800 panels over the P4’s 2-lane DSI, confirming the headroom.
  • Verdict: the ESP32-P4 can drive every DSI display in this list directly (2-lane is both the panel requirement and the P4’s max). It cannot drive the 5″ HDMI AMOLED board directly (no HDMI output), but it can drive the raw AMS495QA04 AMOLED panel inside it (native 2-lane DSI).
Display Interface Lanes needed P4 can drive directly?
P4-5 / P4-4.3 DSI 2 Yes (onboard)
5″ DSI LCD (D) DSI 2 Yes
5″ DSI LCD (C) DSI 2 Yes
50H-800480-IPS DSI 2 Yes
4.3″ DSI QLED / LCD DSI 2 Yes
5″ HDMI AMOLED (board) HDMI n/a No — board is HDMI-in only
AMS495QA04 (raw panel) DSI 2 Yes — native 2-lane DSI

Sources