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In the industry, the most commonly used STM32 microcontrollers vary depending on the application (e.g., consumer electronics, automotive, industrial control), but the following series are the most widely adopted due to their features, cost-efficiency, and ecosystem support:
Most Commonly Used STM32 MCUs in Industry:
STM32F1 Series (e.g., STM32F103)
Nickname: "Blue Pill" (popular dev board)
Core: ARM Cortex-M3
Reasons for popularity:
- Cost-effective
- Widely available
- Stable and mature ecosystem
Used in: Industrial sensors, control systems, low-end IoT devices
STM32F4 Series (e.g., STM32F407, STM32F429)
Core: ARM Cortex-M4 with FPU
Features:
- Higher performance
- DSP instructions and floating-point support
- Good peripheral set (Ethernet, USB OTG, CAN, LCD)
Used in: Industrial automation, motor control, audio processing, human-machine interfaces (HMI)
STM32G4 Series
- Core: ARM Cortex-M4
- Specialty: Precision analog + math acceleration
- Used in: Power electronics, motor control, high-performance analog/mixed-signal applications
STM32H7 Series
Core: ARM Cortex-M7 (very high performance)
Features:
- Dual-core options (M7 + M4)
- High-speed memory interfaces, advanced security
Used in: High-end industrial controllers, edge computing, industrial vision, secure devices
STM32L4 / STM32L0 Series (Low Power)
- Core: Cortex-M0+ / M4
- Focus: Ultra-low power consumption
- Used in: Battery-powered sensors, medical devices, IoT edge nodes
Automotive Grade – STM32F0/F4/G4 with AEC-Q100
- Used in: Automotive applications (BCM, infotainment, ADAS peripherals)
- Qualified for: Harsh environments and temperature ranges
Popular Choices by Use Case
Why STM32 is Popular in Industry:
- Long-term availability
- Wide range of performance vs. power trade-offs
- Excellent ecosystem (STM32CubeMX, STM32CubeIDE, HAL/LL libraries)
- Strong third-party and community support
- Wide supply chain and scalability
