Live data from Hacker News

Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

unawatch.com

111–120 of 199 posts

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#111

> "UNA is currently a non-submersible device due to its innovative modular design. So, swimming is not something we offer as an activity, nor do we advise it. UNA is IPX5 rated, which means it is splash & showerproof to a high degree." If I had a dollar for every time some project that was ipx5 rated failed after getting caught in the rain one too many times...I'd have enough to buy another Garmin Fenix.

Yeah, and drop your iPhone, in a ruggedized case, into 3 inches of bath water for 5 seconds from a height of one foot and then realize apple's IP68 claim is laughable.

I wash my iPhone like every month. As I do with all of my phones for the past decade. Zero issues. I had a problem only once a long time ago, when I was in water with one of my Sony, but they replaced it immediately. No issue with the replacement.

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#113

> "UNA is currently a non-submersible device due to its innovative modular design. So, swimming is not something we offer as an activity, nor do we advise it. UNA is IPX5 rated, which means it is splash & showerproof to a high degree." If I had a dollar for every time some project that was ipx5 rated failed after getting caught in the rain one too many times...I'd have enough to buy another Garmin Fenix.

Yeah, and drop your iPhone, in a ruggedized case, into 3 inches of bath water for 5 seconds from a height of one foot and then realize apple's IP68 claim is laughable.

I felt while running next to the sea and my iPhone bounced on the ground and ended up somewhere in a levee under water. We could call it until the battery ran out of power. So I guess it depends.

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and drop your iPhone, in a ruggedized case, into 3 inches of bath water for 5 seconds from a height of one foot and then realize apple's IP68 claim is laughable.

I felt while running next to the sea and my iPhone bounced on the ground and ended up somewhere in a levee under water. We could call it until the battery ran out of power. So I guess it depends.

Exactly, it depends. I completely believe your experience. My wife's experience was instant bricking and Apple's warranty completely excludes liquid damage. If you have Apple Care+ they'll replace it for a fee.

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#115
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple Watch owner , always been indestructible, especially the ultra

1st gen is 1P7X, and 2nd gen and later are certified to depths of at least 50m. Way beyond IP5X.

Same for most Garmins (Fenix 8 even has inductive buttons to avoid worn-down seals), Coros, and recent Galaxy Watches (the way beyond IP5X part).

Note though that all these watches are water resistant, the seals degrade over time and water can get in. Even the Apple Watch Ultra, plenty of people who had it leaking after scuba dives or even after swimming.

You can usually improve longetivity by following manufacturer instructions (e.g. typically rinsing with tap water after pool or sea use, avoiding saunas/steam baths, etc.).

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#116

The fact that they call it an "open source wearable" when only the SDK is open source feels underhanded. You'd expect at least the OS to be open source.

Well, to be honest, the OS might be ooen source but it doesn't have to be publicly available to everyone.

The only way to find out is to find someone who bought it and asked for the source code of the OS/firmware and the schematics.

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#117

> "UNA is currently a non-submersible device due to its innovative modular design. So, swimming is not something we offer as an activity, nor do we advise it. UNA is IPX5 rated, which means it is splash & showerproof to a high degree." If I had a dollar for every time some project that was ipx5 rated failed after getting caught in the rain one too many times...I'd have enough to buy another Garmin Fenix.

Yeah, and drop your iPhone, in a ruggedized case, into 3 inches of bath water for 5 seconds from a height of one foot and then realize apple's IP68 claim is laughable.

Yes, this happens to people all the time. The seals that keep water out degrade over time. New phones are generally ok, but heat, dirt, detergent/salt in water, etc. wear them down until they are not water resistant anymore.

This is also why almost none of the manufacturers will fix the device under warranty when there is water damage, despite the IP rating.

Even Apple themselvers recommend against submerging and iPhone in water:

To prevent liquid damage, avoid: [...] Intentionally submerging your iPhone in water

https://support.apple.com/en-us/108039

The water resistance in these phones exist so that the phone hopefully survives when they get wet accidentally (heavy rain, pool drop, etc.). Not to shower with the phone, cleaning it by putting it under the tap, or doing underwater photography. Usually, it survives, until the seals fail.

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#118
post #83

I just finished swimming, tracked by a Garmin Forerunner 910x which I bought back in 2015 and I have been constantly using since. Wrist band replaced once each side. Battery lifetime still amazing, even with longer bike rides and GPS. Data can be analyzed locally. Uptime since I bought it: almost 100%. Amazing peace of Hardware. Also their algorithms are cool. If the watch tells me to rest more than 24 hours, I know,…

Honestly, Garmin watches are amazing. Going from a watch I had to charge daily (Samsung Gear line) to one I charge about 3 times a month feels incredibly liberating, particularly for travel. _And_ it feels almost as slim and light as my old Pebble Time Round.

If only the map rendering wasn't so terribly slow. I often use mapping when cycling and panning or zooming the map is just unbearably slow.

I'm now usually taking the Coros Nomad because it has super-fast maps and still a battery life of three weeks.

They are really great otherwise and I love my Coros Nomad and Garmin Fenix so much more than the Apple Watch Ultra.

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#119

The fact that they call it an "open source wearable" when only the SDK is open source feels underhanded. You'd expect at least the OS to be open source.

Well, to be honest, the OS might be ooen source but it doesn't have to be publicly available to everyone. The only way to find out is to find someone who bought it and asked for the source code of the OS/firmware and the schematics.

OS is listed as FreeRTOS.

Re: Una GPS smart watch – Repairable, USB-C charging, developer-friendly

#120
post #90
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, Garmin watches are amazing. Going from a watch I had to charge daily (Samsung Gear line) to one I charge about 3 times a month feels incredibly liberating, particularly for travel. _And_ it feels almost as slim and light as my old Pebble Time Round.

Pebble Time 2 is available again! I bought one. It doesn't have all the Garmin features, but it's free and I don't have to worry about it's software getting redesigned.

True, but in defense or Garmins, one cool feature is that they are really similar to their GPSr units in that you can just connect them to a computer and transfer data and maps (including many custom maps) through MTP (or as a USB drive on older models). Plus they work with Gadgetbridge. So you can pretty much use the watch forever without Garmin involved.
Post reply on HN