Sharing about the famous LCP1114FN28

Yes, I know 7-segment (LEDs) are simpler and easier to work with and you either have to set up the SPI or toggle the I/O pins manually.

-But it's good when you need to save pins.

Since there are very few Cortex-based DIP, it might be a good idea to acquire an I/O-expander (these exists in DIP as well).

I/O-expanders can be connected via I2C or SPI, depending on the type.

You usually get 8 or 16 extra I/O pins that way, and you can add up to 8 I/O-expanders from one vendor and 8 I/O expanders from another vendor (because the addressing often differ) if required. Example: Use 8 I/O-expanders from NXP and 8 I/O-expanders from Microchip. Let's see, that gives us 16*16 extra pins at the cost of 2 I2C pins, which means we get 254 extra pins... And we'll of course use a lot more power.

Yes, I know 7-segment (LEDs) are simpler and easier to work with and you either have to set up the SPI or toggle the I/O pins manually.

-But it's good when you need to save pins.

Since there are very few Cortex-based DIP, it might be a good idea to acquire an I/O-expander (these exists in DIP as well).

I/O-expanders can be connected via I2C or SPI, depending on the type.

You usually get 8 or 16 extra I/O pins that way, and you can add up to 8 I/O-expanders from one vendor and 8 I/O expanders from another vendor (because the addressing often differ) if required. Example: Use 8 I/O-expanders from NXP and 8 I/O-expanders from Microchip. Let's see, that gives us 16*16 extra pins at the cost of 2 I2C pins, which means we get 254 extra pins... And we'll of course use a lot more power.