Espressif announced today the mass production of ESP8285, a new chip in Espressif’s Wi-Fi connectivity portfolio. This is a spinoff product derived from ESP8266. Flash memory of 1MB  is embedded in this chip which is specially designed for wearable devices, such as smart watches, smart glasses, activity monitors and smart bracelets.

According to market research firm IDC, the wearables industry is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, with unit shipments estimated to exceed 112 millions by 2018. Driven by the ever growing demand for flash memory that can support a wide range of devices, Espressif's ESP8285 offers a better and more focused alternative with smaller PCB size, as required by wearable technology.

The chip includes an enhanced version of Tensilica’s L106 Diamond series 32-bit processor. Like its predecessor, ESP8285 is a highly integrated Wi-Fi SoC solution that will meet users’ continuous demand for efficient power usage, compact design and reliable performance in the Internet of Things industry.