Waveshare buying guide

FrameOS has native Nim drivers for nearly a hundred Waveshare e-Paper variants - see the device database. This page covers what's been verified on real hardware and a few buying tips.

Tested on real hardware

• Waveshare 13.3" (E) 1600×1200 Spectra 6 color
• Waveshare 7.3" (E) 800×480 Spectra 6 color
• Waveshare 4.0" (E) 600×400 Spectra 6 color
• Waveshare 4.01" (F) 640×400 7-color
• Waveshare 12.48" (B / B V2) 1304×984 black/white/red
• Waveshare 7.5" (V2) 800×480 black/white and (B V2) 3-color
• Waveshare 2.13" 250×122 black/white
• Waveshare 10.3" 1872×1404 16-grayscale (IT8951 controller)

Everything else in the device database shares controller logic with these and should work. If you confirm a panel, post a photo and we'll mark it tested.

Buying tips

• Spectra 6 (E) panels are the current sweet spot for color e-ink: six real ink colors, much better saturation than the older 7-color (F) ACeP panels. The build video compares them side by side.
• Waveshare panels usually arrive as a bare glass panel plus a separate driver HAT connected by a ribbon cable. That's more flexible for slim builds than Pimoroni's all-in-one HATs, but slightly more fiddly. Handle the glass with care.
• Pay attention to the letter suffix (B, C, D, E, F, G, V2…) - it identifies the exact revision and the right driver. The label is printed on the panel's ribbon cable.
• Driver picked but the image looks wrong? Try the neighbouring revisions of the same size - Waveshare reuses product names across hardware generations.

Known quirks

• The 12.48" panel uses two driver boards and its own wiring - follow the 12.48" build video for assembly.
• The 10.3" IT8951 panel works but is grayscale-only and draws more power than SPI panels.