[lukeck]

Are Aruinos really aimed at the professional prototyping market? I’ve always had the impression they are aimed at students and hobbyists. These two groups are generally more price sensitive but do also value ease of use.

For these non-professional groups, what are the benefits of a $20 Arduino ESP32 vs. one of the many $4 ones?

[forgotusername6]

People use arduinos in real professional prototypes, yes. Some prototypes are held together with pieces of string inside.

Edit: if you want an example industry, the one I can remember is a bean to cup coffee machine. I guess having multiple small systems that need controlling in consumer appliances is a good fit for something like an Arduino

[m00x]

You (usually) don't use an Arduino in production, you take the ATMEGA chip, or in this case an ESP32 and you make your own custom board from it.

[hamandcheese]

This doesn't answer the question: which industry professionals prototype their embedded products using an Arduino?