From the GitHub release page:

This is an Alpha Release

This is the second alpha release of CircuitPython 5.0.0. Alpha releases are meant for testing. Use the latest stable 4.x release when first starting with CircuitPython.

When you find a bug please check the current known issues and file an issue if something isn’t already known.

5.0.0

5.0.0 is the latest major revision of CircuitPython. It features many improvements and enhancements to displayio , including grayscale and e-paper displays, extensive additions and changes to BLE support, and PWM audio support.

Download from circuitpython.org

Downloads are available from circuitpython.org! The site makes it easy to select the correct file and language for your board. The downloads page is here.

Installation

To install follow the instructions in our new 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).

Most builds are available as both UF2 and bin files here along with test builds.

New Features, Updates, and Fixes since 5.0.0 Alpha 1

Mixer has been improved to include per-voice volume, moved to audiomixer and is only available on M4s. Thanks to @deanm1278, @sommersoft and @jepler

and is only available on M4s. Thanks to @deanm1278, @sommersoft and @jepler Adds .hidden property to displayio.Group and displayio.TileGrid . Thanks to @tannewt

property to and . Thanks to @tannewt Add beginnings of STM32F4 USB support. Thanks to @hierophect

Fix DotStar status led by correctly adding additional clocks. Usually shows as purple incorrectly. Thanks to @jerryneedell and @dhalbert.

Fix Display.rotation . Thanks to @dastels

. Thanks to @dastels Update Chinese Pinyin translation. Thanks to @hexthat

Fix displayio.I2CDisplay to correctly release bus. Thanks to @jerryneedell and @tannewt

to correctly release bus. Thanks to @jerryneedell and @tannewt Fix _stage to correctly work after display refactor. Thanks to @deshipu

New and Improved Boards

No new boards.

Breaking Changes and Deprecations from 4.x!

The displayio refresh API has been revamped to be simpler. wait_for_frame and refresh_soon have been removed. In both 4.x and 5.x, auto refresh will automatically refresh the display so they can be removed. The new auto_refresh property and refresh() function can be used to control when the screen refreshes and at a specific rate.

refresh API has been revamped to be simpler. and have been removed. In both 4.x and 5.x, auto refresh will automatically refresh the display so they can be removed. The new property and function can be used to control when the screen refreshes and at a specific rate. The bleio module has been renamed to _bleio to indicate that it is meant to be used only for writing BLE libraries, and that its API may change between CircuitPython minor versions. There are many incompatible changes since 4.0.0. The _bleio API is a work in progress and will change as 5.0.0 progresses. Please use the latest pre-release adafruit_ble library for end-user BLE programming. The adafruit_ble library is evolving too but will hide underlying changes in _bleio .

module has been renamed to to indicate that it is meant to be used only for writing BLE libraries, and that its API may change between CircuitPython minor versions. There are many incompatible changes since 4.0.0. The API is a work in progress and will change as 5.0.0 progresses. Please use the latest pre-release library for end-user BLE programming. The library is evolving too but will hide underlying changes in . Move audioio.Mixer to audiomixer.Mixer and is only available on M4s. Move audioio.RawSample , and audioio.WaveFile to the new module audiocore . However, for backwards compatibility, they are still available in audioio . They will be removed from audioio in 6.0.0. Thanks @jepler.

to and is only available on M4s. Move , and to the new module . However, for backwards compatibility, they are still available in . They will be removed from in 6.0.0. Thanks @jepler. Add I2C.writeto_then_readfrom() . Deprecate stop= arg which will be removed in 6.x. Use I2C.writeto_then_readfrom() instead.

Known Issues

See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues.

Pin A1 on Circuit Playground Bluefruit is not functional, due to a typo in the pin mapping table.

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, contributed, helped out, and participated on GitHub and/or Discord:

@_cli_ninja, @anecdata, @AnthonyDiGirolamo, @arturo182, @ATMakersBill, @bmeisels, @brentru, @C47D, @caternuson, @CedarGroveStudios, @charlesburnaford, @dastels, @Ddbricetti, @DaveP, @deanm1278, @deshipu, @devoh, @dhalbert, @fede2, @hathach, @hexthat, @hierophect, @hybotics, @jasonp, @jepler, @jerryneedell, @Josh, @JP, @kattni, @kevinjwalters, @klardotsh, @ladyada, @madbodger, @MakerMelissa, @matthewnewberg, @MikeB, @MrCertainly, @mytechnotalent, @nickzoic, @ntavish, @ntoll, @oldcrow, @pt, @reply2jh, @rhooper, @s-light, @sajattack, @siddacious, @sommersoft, @TammyMakesThings, @tannewt, @TG-Techie, @wallarug and surely more we have missed. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

Documentation

Documentation is available in readthedocs.io.

Here are all the changes since 5.0.0-alpha.1.

This release is based on MicroPython 1.9.4 @25ae98f. Support upstream MicroPython by purchasing a PyBoard (from Adafruit here).

Troubleshooting

Check out this guide for info on common problems with CircuitPython. If you are still having issues, then post to the Adafruit Support Forums and join Discord.