From the GitHub release page:

This is CircuitPython 9.0.0-beta.0, a beta release for 9.0.0, and is a new unstable release. This release has known bugs that will be addressed before 9.0.0 final.

NOTE: CircuitPython 9.0.0-alpha.4 and later use a new internal dynamic storage mechanism (“split heap”), which is being tuned. You may find that some CircuitPython programs fail with MemoryError. If you encounter programs that work in 8.x.x but get MemoryError exceptions, consider filing an issue with details.

WARNING for nRF52 boards only: If your board has an nRF52 UF2 bootloader whose version is before 0.6.1, you will not be able to load CircuitPython 8.2.0 and later, due to increased size of the firmware. See these instructions for updating your bootloader.

Notable changes to 9.0.0

• New split-heap internal dynamic storage mechanism.
• Merge updates from MicroPython v1.19.1, v1.20.0, and v1.21.0.
• Espressif: update to ESP-IDF v5.1.2.
• Reorganize and split displayio. 8.x.x naming structure is available in 9.x.x, but will be removed in 10.0.0.
• CIRCUITPY drives now mount on Android.
• Increased file capacity on CIRCUITPY drives <= 128kB.
• Further USB host support, on i.MX and RP2040.
• Make SD cards available over web workflow.
• Remove 8.x.x deprecations: displayio.*.show(), I2CPeripheral renamed to I2CTarget.
• Add jpegio JPEG decoder support.
• Add bitmapfilter image manipulation.
• Add repl.py, which runs just before the REPL starts up.
• Add OrderedDict.move_to_end().
• Add synthio.Synthesizer.note_state.
• Add warnings module, similar to what is in CPython.
• Add locale.getlocale().
• Add I2S MCLK support on Espressif.
• Add mDNS TXT record support.
• Add synthio.Note .loop_start and .loop_end properties.
• Allow signed amplitude in synthio.
• HID can wake up sleeping host computer.
• Allow specifying protocol for raw sockets.
• Add codeop.compile_command().

Download from circuitpython.org

Firmware downloads are available from the downloads page on circuitpython.org. The site makes it easy to select the correct file and language for your board.

Installation

To install follow the instructions in the Welcome to CircuitPython! guide. To install the latest libraries, see this page in that guide.

Try the latest version of the Mu editor for creating and editing your CircuitPython programs and for easy access to the CircuitPython serial connection (the REPL).

Documentation

Documentation is available in readthedocs.io.

Port status

CircuitPython has a number of “ports” that are the core implementations for different microcontroller families. Stability varies on a per-port basis. As of this release, these ports are consider stable (but see Known Issues below):

• atmel-samd: Microchip SAMD21, SAMx5x
• cxd56: Sony Spresense
• espressif: Espressif ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3
• nrf: Nordic nRF52840, nRF52833
• raspberrypi: Raspberry Pi RP2040
• stm: ST STM32F4 chip family

These ports are considered alpha and will have bugs and missing functionality:

• broadcom: Raspberry Pi boards such as RPi 4, RPi Zero 2W
• litex: fomu
• mimxrt10xx: NXP i.MX RT10xxx
• silabs: Silicon Labs MG24 family
• stm: ST non-STM32F4 chip families

Changes since 9.0.0-alpha.6

Fixes and enhancements

• Update frozen libraries. #8845. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Allow supervisor.reload() to work from REPL. #8840. Thanks @tannewt.
• Prevent EPaperDisplay refresh sequence from being garbage-collected. #8839. Thanks @tannewt.
• Allow HID devices to wake sleeping host computer. #8830. Thanks @meesokim and @dhalbert.
• Fix problems with subclassing dict. #8828. Thanks @tannewt.
• Fix bitmaptools range check. #8823. Thanks @furbrain.
• Fix LED count in HID keyboard report descriptor. #8813. Thanks @tlyu.
• Update TinyUSB to 0.16.0. #8809. Thanks @jepler.
• Add bitmapfilter image manipulation. #8786. Thanks @jepler.
• Fix JPegDecoder.decode(). #8784. Thanks @jepler.
• Allow specifying protocol for raw sockets. #8769, #8752. Thanks @carson-coder and @jepler.
• Re-enable binascii.crc32(). #8767. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Merge in fixes and board changes from 8.2.9. #8748. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Clear output line during boot for serial-only boards. #8725. Thanks @bill88t.
• Enhance JpegDecoder. #8723. Thanks @jepler.
• Add codeop.compile_command(). #8720. Thanks @jepler.
• Make SD cards available over web workflow. #8699. Thanks @tannewt.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

• Allocate heap objects from SPIRAM first, before using internal RAM. #8835. Thanks @tannewt.

i.MX

nRF

• Time out when I2C bus hangs. #8827. Thanks @furbrain.
• Allow UART peripheral to power down when sleeping. #8825. Thanks @furbrain.

RP2040

• Allow swapped audio channels in audiopwmio. #8792. Thanks @SalamCytron.

SAMx

SiLabs

• Fix bleio.Descriptor.add_to_characteristic(). #8795. Thanks @picospuch.

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

• Adafruit ESP32-S3 Camera MEMENTO: Add pins. #8731. Thanks @BlitzCityDIY.
• Adafruit MatrixPortal S3: Fix A0 pin. #8805. Thanks @tannewt.
• FireBeetle ESP32-S3: Fix I2C and pins. #8838, #8782. Thanks @bill88t.
• Flipper WiFi: Fix PID. #8744. Thanks @maewolfsky.
• LILYGO TTGO TI S2 ST7789: Fix screen rotation. #8773. Thanks @RetiredWizard.
• LILYGO TTGO T-Display ESP32 16MB flash: Pin and display fixes. #8787. Thanks @kreier.
• LILYGO TTGO T-Display RP2040: Pin and display fixes. #8772. Thanks @kreier.
• M5Stack M5Paper: Remove board.DISPLAY as display initialization code is not yet written. #8841. Thanks @tannewt.
• M5Stack Timer Camera: Incrase PSRAM speed. #8724. Thanks @bill88t.

Documentation changes

• Fix typo in Espressif README. #8803. Thanks @romkey.

Build and infrastructure changes

• Update CI actions to versions that use Node.js 20. #8833. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Ensure ulab submodule is present when doing translation checks. #8768. Thanks @jepler.
• Share the implementation of hashlib across ports. #8749. Thanks @jepler.

Translation additions and improvements

• Thanks for translations:
  • @andibing (English – UK)
  • @bergdahl (Swedish)
  • @hexthat (Chinese – Pinyin)
  • @Saentis (German)
  • @SideSpoilenm (Japanese)
  • 오수아 (Korean)
  • @wtuemura (Portugese – Brazil)

New boards since 9.0.0-alpha.6

• Cytron EDU PICO. #8800. Thanks @SalamCytron.
• Double Take Labs COLUMBIA-DSL-SENSOR-BOARD-V1. #8791. Thanks @joshcorn.
• Espressif ESP32 DevKitc V4 WROOM-32E. #8806. Thanks @dlizotte-uwo.
• Espressif ESP32 DevKitc V4 WROVER. #8806. Thanks @dlizotte-uwo.
• LILYGO TTGO T-Display ESP32 4MB flash. #8787. Thanks @kreier.
• PicoMo. #8836. Thanks @supcik.

Known issues

• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 9.0.0-alpha.6, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

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• Source: https://blog.adafruit.com/2024/01/27/circuitpython-9-0-0-beta-0-released/