ESP32-E22 Wi-Fi 6E Co-Processor Targets High-Throughput Links

ESP32-E22 Wi-Fi 6E is Espressif’s first tri-band Wi-Fi 6E connectivity co-processor, aimed at offloading the full Wi-Fi and Bluetooth stacks so a host processor can stay focused on the application. With 6 GHz support, 160 MHz channels, and high-speed host interfaces, it’s clearly pitched at “serious bandwidth” products rather than hobby-grade sensors.

ESP32-E22 Wi-Fi 6E is Espressif’s new connectivity co-processor, designed to take over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth protocol work so your main CPU can spend its cycles on application logic instead of networking overhead, according to the company’s announcement.

What the ESP32-E22 Wi-Fi 6E Is

Espressif positions the chip as a radio co-processor (RCP): a self-contained wireless subsystem that manages the complete Wi-Fi and Bluetooth protocol stacks internally, including security/authentication, scanning and roaming, plus Bluetooth host functionality. The radio side is tri-band Wi-Fi 6E across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, with 160 MHz channel bandwidth, 2×2 MU-MIMO, beamforming, and link-layer scheduling for lower latency in busy RF environments.

This marketing image provided by Espressif shows the ESP32-E22 presented as a tri-band Wi-Fi 6E connectivity device with dual-mode Bluetooth (BR/EDR and BLE 5.4).

On the Bluetooth side, ESP32-E22 integrates a controller that supports Bluetooth Classic (BR/EDR) and Bluetooth Low Energy 5.4, with coexistence algorithms intended to keep both radios behaving when active at the same time.

Wi-Fi 6E Interfaces and Data Rates

At the core is a dual-core, in-house RISC-V CPU clocked up to 500 MHz, built to handle the protocol load and enable higher-order modulation such as 1024-QAM. Espressif quotes data rates up to 2.4 Gbps. For connecting to a host processor, the announcement highlights high-speed options including PCIe 2.1 and SDIO 3.0, depending on system needs.

In plain terms, this is for designs that want Wi-Fi 6E and dual-mode Bluetooth without dragging a full “wireless brain” into the main SoC. Espressif explicitly calls out use cases like high-bandwidth streaming and wireless video links, smart-home hubs and connected appliances, industrial automation/bridging, and low-latency AR/VR accessories. If you’ve been watching Espressif’s CES direction, this fits the broader trend of pushing more capable wireless subsystems into products that still want a clean separation between “connectivity” and “application.” (If you want the earlier CES context, see our recent coverage.)

ESP32-E22 Wi-Fi 6E is already in engineering samples, so the next practical question is how quickly modules, dev kits, and SDK support catch up—and whether Espressif positions it mainly as a companion to its own SoCs or as a general-purpose “bolt-on” connectivity block for third-party processors.

Availability

I don’t see any technical documentation for the ESP32-E22 Wi-Fi 6E available yet, but watch this space for more information.

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About Brian Tristam Williams

Brian Tristam Williams is a content creator who’s had a passion for computers and electronics since he got a “microcomputer” at age 10. He bought his first Elektor Magazine at 16, and has been orbiting the electronics and computers ecosystem since. He first co... >>

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