CONFIRMED
Adafruit has launched the Metro ESP32-P4 Hydra, an Arduino UNO-shaped board that pairs Espressif’s ESP32-P4 application processor with an ESP32-C6 radio for WiFi 6. The Adafruit store lists it as Product ID 6536 at $34.95, with MIPI DSI and CSI connectors for Raspberry Pi displays and cameras.
What we know
Adafruit’s New Products blog post of Oct 23, 2026 lists the Metro ESP32-P4 Hydra (16 MB PSRAM, v1 chipset) as one of two new products that week. The store page describes a dual-core 360 MHz RISC-V CPU with AI instruction extensions, plus MIPI DSI and CSI.
The work splits between two chips. Back in September 2024, Adafruit’s blog pointed out that the P4 has no built-in WiFi or BLE and that the eval board used an ESP32-C5 module as the wireless co-processor. On the Hydra, the co-processor is the ESP32-C6. CNX Software reports that the C6 provides WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 LE, Thread and Zigbee. The P4 runs your application with 16MB PSRAM and 16MB NOR flash.
CNX Software also lists a USB 2.0 High-Speed host port, a microSD slot, Arduino UNO expansion headers, a STEMMA QT connector, LiPo charging and multiple power input options.
On video, CNX Software reports that the DSI and CSI connectors use the Raspberry Pi 22-pin format with two data lanes each. Citing Adafruit, CNX says the board supports the 5-inch and 7-inch Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 (720 x 1280). Pi Zero-style OV5647 camera modules work. The IMX708-based Camera Module 3 does not.
Mind the chip revision. Adafruit’s store note says this is NOT the ESP32-P4X. It currently ships with “v1” chips, and Adafruit tells buyers who need the “v3” P4X not to buy it. That also explains the clock. CNX Software has reported other P4 plus C6 boards, such as Waveshare’s credit-card-sized board and its ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD displays, listing the P4 at up to 400 MHz. Adafruit lists 360 MHz for this v1 board.
For software, CNX Software reports ESP-IDF programming and TinyUF2 for firmware updates over USB. CircuitPython support arrived in 11.0.0-alpha.2, and the ESP32-P4 port is still alpha.
What we don’t know yet
Arduino support is not ready. Adafruit says it is working on it, according to CNX Software, but there is no date.
Shield compatibility is unclear. CNX Software confirms Arduino UNO expansion headers, but the facts available don’t cover which shields work, logic levels on the header pins, or how the P4’s GPIO maps to the UNO layout. If you plan to stack a 5V shield, wait for the pinout.
Documentation is thin. CNX Software notes it could not find detailed documentation for the board. Adafruit’s own blog post of the same title, dated Oct 26, 2026, could not be retrieved for this check, so it may answer some of these questions.
What it means
At $34.95, the Hydra puts a P4, a WiFi 6 radio, 16MB of PSRAM, a High-Speed USB host and Pi-format MIPI connectors on the footprint most makers already have enclosures and shields for. Adafruit started on this in September 2024, when its blog reported receiving P4 eval boards, which used an ESP32-C5 module as the wireless co-processor, along with 100 sample 16MB PSRAM chips, and asked “a Metro?” The answer is now on the shelf.
The best fit today is a display or camera project built in ESP-IDF or CircuitPython: a Touch Display 2 dashboard, or an OV5647 vision experiment that pushes data over WiFi 6 or Thread. Arduino users should wait for Adafruit’s core support. Anyone who specifically needs the P4X should follow Adafruit’s advice and skip this revision.
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