A few may know that I have been using STM8S for a few years now, and sharing my code on github. After years of Z80, x86, 6809, PIC, and MIPS, I latched onto STM8 as a really nice architecture. And I liked the STM8 offerings.
Then I moved into STM32/ARM and enjoyed the minimal 32F030, the crusty 32F103, and the monster 32F407. I came to admire ARM as a worthy successor to MIPS.
Recently, I have been buying and using CH32V003. They are very cheap. And after scratching my head (wondering) about RISC-V, I think this is a great step in architecture. So my path goes this way.
One thing I admire about the STM8S is the super easy EEPROM and Flash access.
I guess I did not get to using the STM32 flash, so I did not hate it. Nor did I regret that my STM32 parts did not have EEPROM.
Let's get back to the CH32V003. Like the STM32 parts I had, this part has no EEPROM. And I have to erase large areas, either 64 or 1K bytes before writing. That is a bummer if I am storing settings that might change frequently. I will have to deal with that.
Now to the title. We have seen the CH32V003 chips priced well under 20 cents. And today I see the STM8S003 for less than 20 cents:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805848010706.htmlOver the years, I have seen the STM8S for much higher prices. Maybe 60 cents at best?
Question for discussion: Is STM starting a price war to defend their STM8S against CH32V003?