Electronics

Right now, I would suggest the ESP32 family… very well supported, lots of community, it’s quite a powerful MCU and you can find it for 3-5$ on Ali

3 years ago the obvious answer was Atmel AVR chips but they are still in short supply today. I think ESP32 is the answer today. They are shockingly powerful for the price. And they have built in wifi, bluetooth, and USB.

STM32, RP2040, ESP32 & AVR are all quite popular and all have good development boards.

Nowadays there's a plethora of options available for beginners. Heck, even PICs have dev boards available with built-in programmers, so you connect it to your computer using regular old USB cable and you can build away using Microchip toolchains. Depending on your comfort level of low-level C, I'd probably still stay away from PICs as a beginner.

There's Arduinos and all the numerous clones (cheaper, different features). The main benefit of Arduino ecosystem would be that it's really easy to find libraries and/or content on the internet that gets you real close to solving your problems without having to write too much code yourself.

And of course very cost effective ESP32 based offerings that excel at wireless usecases (WiFi, bluetooth).

Recently there's even more beginner friendly boards appearing using MicroPython where you don't even need a toolchain. You connect the board to your computer, it appears as a mass storage device, you drop your Python code on it... and that's it, the board runs the code when you disconnect from the computer.

Have a browse through Adafruit and Sparkfun stores to get an idea of all the possible (beginner friendly) boards out there.

Choosing a beginner microcontroller depends on various factors, from ease of use to the project's complexity. The ESP32 or Raspberry Pico are fantastic for their user-friendly nature, reasonable features, and cost-effectiveness. For space-constrained projects, the ATTiny is a go-to with its simplicity and low cost, perfect for basic electronic setups. When diving into more intricate software, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 shines with its versatility and improved availability. Mixing and matching these, like a PiZero with a Pico, or an ESP32 paired with an ATTiny, can offer pragmatic solutions. However, for more robust power, the Raspberry CM4 stands out, although it's more board than a microcontroller. It's crucial to consider longevity and support when choosing, ensuring the design lasts and is easier to revisit in the future