Digilent Analog Discovery 3
The Digilent Analog Discovery 3 is a USB-C oscilloscope, waveform generator, logic analyzer and power supply with two 14-bit differential inputs at 125 MS/s, two 14-bit AWG outputs, 16 digital lines and ±5 V programmable supplies. It also works as a fast two-channel data logger.
Specifications
| Analog inputs | 22 differential scope channels |
| Resolution | 14-bit16-bit with averaging at lower rates |
| Max sample rate | 250 MS/s125 MS/s per channel, both channels simultaneous; Record mode streams about 10 MS/s total to RAM, about 5 MS/s to disk |
| Input ranges | ±2.5 V and ±25 V (5 V and 50 V peak-to-peak scales) |
| Input modes | differential |
| Analog outputs | 2 × 14-bit |
| Digital I/O | 16 |
| Isolation | No |
| Interfaces | USB |
| List price | $379digilent.com, Oct 2026 |
Vendor driver by OS
| Driver | WaveForms SDK |
| Windows | Yes |
| macOS | Yes |
| Linux | Yes |
Vendor software
| WaveForms | Windows, macOS, LinuxFree. Scope (with Record mode), Wavegen, Logic, Logger, Spectrum, Network, Script and more; macOS build is Universal (Intel and Apple Silicon), macOS 12 or later |
| WaveForms SDK | Windows, macOS, LinuxFree. C library with examples, installed with WaveForms |
Analog Discovery 3 on macOS, including Apple Silicon
WaveForms 3.25.1 (March 2026) is a Universal macOS build for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 12 or later. Digilent also ships 64-bit x86 and ARM64 installers for Windows and .deb and .rpm packages for amd64 and arm64 Linux, including Raspberry Pi 5. The WaveForms SDK installs alongside it on every platform, and on a Mac it lives inside WaveForms.app. DAQAtlas, which is in development, reads the AD3 through that SDK and can record it in one run with an MCC or LabJack device.
Logging data with WaveForms
The Logger saves data on each acquisition, or runs your own script code, from the Scope, Logic and Spectrum instruments, which suits periodic snapshots over hours. For continuous capture, Scope Record mode streams samples to the computer. Digilent’s specifications put it at up to about 10 MS/s total into RAM or about 5 MS/s total to a file on disk, depending on the host and USB traffic. Outside Record mode the scope buffer holds up to 32,768 samples per channel at 125 MS/s. The Analog Discovery 3 Mac data logging article goes through both routes step by step.
Input ranges, outputs and supplies
The two scope inputs are differential with two hardware ranges: ±2.5 V (5 V peak-to-peak) at 0.5 V/div and below, and ±25 V (50 V peak-to-peak) above that. The ADC is 14-bit, and averaging gives 16 bits at lower rates. Bandwidth is 9 MHz with the included flywires and 30 MHz or more with the BNC adapter. The two AWG outputs are 14-bit, ±5 V and 125 MS/s. The 16 digital lines are 3.3 V with 5 V tolerant inputs, and the two supplies cover 0.5 to 5 V and -0.5 to -5 V at up to 800 mA or 2.4 W each. It connects over USB-C at USB 2.0 data rates. Digilent’s price at the time of writing is $379.
Questions
Does the Analog Discovery 3 work on macOS with Apple Silicon?
Yes. WaveForms 3.25.1 is a Universal macOS build for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 12 or later.
How fast can the Analog Discovery 3 stream data to a computer?
Digilent specifies Scope Record mode at up to about 10 MS/s total into RAM or about 5 MS/s total to disk, depending on the host.
Does the Analog Discovery 3 work on Linux?
Yes. WaveForms ships .deb and .rpm packages for amd64 and arm64 Linux, including Raspberry Pi 5.
Specifications and prices are taken from the vendor’s published pages at the time of writing and can change. Check the vendor before you buy. Sources: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6