Getting Started with Adafruit Circuit Playground Express

2 A Tour of Circuit Playground Express

Let’s look at Circuit Playground Express in detail. On the front you’ll see the features outlined in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1. The features of Circuit Playground Express

The microcontroller is the heart of the board. It processes input, makes detailed calculations, and presents outputs.

As of this writing, the chip used on Circuit Playground Express is the ATSAMD21G18A-AU manufactured by Microchip Technology (formerly Atmel). This processor has more features than the typical Arduino and runs at a speed eight times faster than the Arduino Uno. The extra processing capability of the microcontroller allows ...