Espressif Systems announced the ESP32-E22 as a significant accomplishment as the first Wi-Fi 6E System-on-Chip (SOC) of the company and the backbone of a new generation of wireless high-performance products.
Previously, with a range of microcontrollers, many of which are low-cost but popular ESP32-based processor boards, Espressif is venturing into the position of more challenging connectivity with the ESP32-E22. The chip is placed as a Radio Co-processor (RCP) and contains tri-band Wi-Fi 6E (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) and dual-mode Bluetooth into one subsystem. The architecture removes the entire network stack of the primary host processor and lets it focus both its processing power and its energy exclusively on application logic, which is important in complicated wireless devices.
The ESP32-E22 is said to have a hidden combination of a dual-core RISC-V running up to 500 MHz and includes an integrated Wi-Fi6E radio and the protocol stacks required. It is believed to have a small on-chip memory, approximately 1 MB, with an optimised high throughput and reliable connectivity.
The introduction of Wi-Fi 6E significantly advances over 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, primarily with wider channels (up to 160 MHz) and availability of the 6 GHz band with less interference and higher performance capability, particularly in busy wireless networks. Tri-band support is particularly useful for connected products that demand simultaneous multi-network operations or need to serve as bridges between legacy and next-gen Wi-Fi devices.
The press release by Espressif is focused on the fact that the ESP32-E22 is targeted at high-performance wireless products that include smart gateway, edge device, IoT hub, and industrial controller, among other areas where strong connectivity and hosting network can streamline development and enhance responsiveness.
This launch was attended together with other future Espressif components in CES 2026, such as ultra-low-power Bluetooth LE MCUs (battery-driven applications). With the introduction of the ESP32-E22 Wi-Fi 6E SoC, Espressif extends its line-up of classic microcontrollers to connectivity-based SoCs. To the developers and product design team, this is an indication of new possibilities in developing next-generation wireless systems which utilize Wi-Fi 6E performance and minimize complexities of the host software.
Sayantan Nandy