From the GitHub release page:

This is CircuitPython 5.3.0, the first 5.3.x stable release. This release adds support for 3 new boards, and the RGBMatrix driver for RGB LED matrices. See below for a more detailed list.

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. Downloads are no longer available from the GitHub release pages because of the large number of files for each release.

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).

New features and improvements since 5.2.0

• Add support for RGB Matrix displays (#2706, #2775), thanks @jepler @PaintYourDragon
• Add a fill method to displayio.Bitmap (#2756), thanks @caternuson
• Make the colors used by the stage library compatible with those used in the displayio library (#2777), thanks @deshipu
• Multiple improvements to the STM32 port (#2735, #2788), thanks @k0d, @hierophect
• Improvements to the litex port (#2768), thanks @xobs
• Improvements to ulab (#2767), thanks @v923z, @jepler
• Use “checkout@v2” in the circuitpython build process (#2765), thanks @jepler
• Fix the maximum keycode in keyboard HID descriptor (#2764), thanks @dhalbert
• Fix bad submodule patk (#2763), thanks @larsks
• Add the NFC Copy Cat board (#2758), thanks @sabas1080
• Use Sphinx 3 to build the documentation (#2757), thanks @sommersoft

Full commit log is here.

3 New boards since 5.2.0

• nfc_copy_cat
• nucleo_f767zi
• nucleo_h743zi_2

Breaking Changes and Deprecations from 4.x

• 5.0.0 improves our internal filesystem definitions and may overwrite your existing files so make sure to back them up before updating!
• 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 in _bleio since 4.0.0. Please use the latest adafruit_ble library for end-user BLE programming.
• 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.
• Moved audioio.Mixer to audiomixer.Mixer, which is only available on M4 microcontrollers. Moved 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.
• Added I2C.writeto_then_readfrom(). Deprecate stop= arg which will be removed in 6.x. Use I2C.writeto_then_readfrom() instead.
• Removed re from Circuit Playground Express Display build.
• Removed gamepad from Circuit Playground Express Crickit build.

Known Issues

• displayio operations that read from an SD card (e.g., OnDiskBitmap) will interfere with other SD card operations and can cause lockup. To work around this problem, do not read or write files on the SD while the display is updating, and vice versa.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues.

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, contributed, helped out, and participated on GitHub and/or Discord, including @caternuson, @deshipu, @dhalbert, @heirophect, @jepler, @tannewt, @xobs, @k0d, @v923z, @larsks, @sabas1080, and surely more we have missed. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

Documentation

Documentation is available in readthedocs.io.

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.

Assets

Builds are no longer stored as assets on this release page, because there are too many of them. Please see the Download from circuitpython.org section above.