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Pixel Watch 5

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Re: Pixel Watch 5

#371

Post by cyberax »

sliken wrote: post #364
cyberax wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found this one when searching for something similar: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GF6QL9S9 - it should even be hackable. I have not tested it, but it should be hackable. I have a couple of discrete RAK chips, and I've ordered a PCB with a trace antenna for them.

Looks nice for some uses, but pretty big for a dog collar, almost 3" on a side. I've some long/thin dev boards that I could pair with an 18650 that should be closer to 1".

I'm planning to use a small LiPo battery with a JST connector. The whole footprint should be slightly larger than 3x4x1 cm. Still a bit too large for a pocket device, but perfect for a collar.

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#372

Post by manlymuppet »

tty456 wrote: post #123
manlymuppet wrote: post #117

Google is a great company with some of the most capable engineering talent in the world. I will never understand why they take this great resource and continually waste it on copying other companies (mostly Apple) and making such unoriginal products. Surely Google can pioneer on more than just the technical side of things?

Where specifically do you think they lack, and what do you suggest they focus on?

Technically they are outstanding.

Watching the recent I/O event though, it was frustrating how much they were copying Apple.

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#373

Post by annzabelle »

markdown wrote: post #237
pandaman wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The killer feature of modern watches is the vibration alarm - you can wake up even if you use earplugs/headphones/noise machine and you won't wake up anyone else along with you. Health stuff like sleep tracking is likely useful for the vast majority of population, at least to everyone who needs time and thus lives on a schedule of some sort, without the possibility to fall asleep and wake up whenever one feels like i…

> The killer feature of modern watches is the vibration alarm - you can wake up even if you use earplugs/headphones/noise machine and you won't wake up anyone else along with you. I came here to say exactly this. That's not the reason I bought a smart watch in the first place (I didn't even know that was a feature), but it's the only reason I still use a smart watch now over my old Seiko.

It's a lot of why I got a Coros watch (the other reason is for running/health tracking). I stay in hostel dorms pretty regularly, and being able to wake up for that 6am flight without waking up the whole room is so nice.

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#375

Post by semiquaver »

ValentineC wrote: post #370
semiquaver wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An Apple Watch doesn’t need a SIM-enabled iPhone for management. You can just use an old one if you have any laying around, or your current one after you’ve deactivated service on it. Just get a standalone watch plan, something like $80/year from US Mobile or other MVNOs.

> You can just use an old one if you have any laying around, or your current one after you’ve deactivated service on it. Just get a standalone watch plan, something like $80/year from US Mobile or other MVNOs. I don't think this is true. It needs to ride alongside a telco eSIM (and only specific ones that support SIM sharing) that's already provisioned on the phone.

Don’t know what to tell you. I am using this as a completely standalone plan: https://www.usmobile.com/apple-watch-cellular-plan (see Standalone Plan section)

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#376

Post by sliken »

cyberax wrote: post #371
sliken wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks nice for some uses, but pretty big for a dog collar, almost 3" on a side. I've some long/thin dev boards that I could pair with an 18650 that should be closer to 1".

I'm planning to use a small LiPo battery with a JST connector. The whole footprint should be slightly larger than 3x4x1 cm. Still a bit too large for a pocket device, but perfect for a collar.

Sounds great, best I found so far is the RAK19007 (30x60mm), then add a GPS (RAK12500). It will be kind of long (60mm + case) but not too wide (30mm + 3d printed case).

Or the Mesh Node T114 Development Board V2 (23mm wide).

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#377

Post by ValentineC »

semiquaver wrote: post #375
ValentineC wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can just use an old one if you have any laying around, or your current one after you’ve deactivated service on it. Just get a standalone watch plan, something like $80/year from US Mobile or other MVNOs. I don't think this is true. It needs to ride alongside a telco eSIM (and only specific ones that support SIM sharing) that's already provisioned on the phone.

Don’t know what to tell you. I am using this as a completely standalone plan: https://www.usmobile.com/apple-watch-cellular-plan (see Standalone Plan section)

Ah, it seems like a hack that some telcos are doing to get around the pairing problem.

From the page you linked:

> Your iPhone and Apple Watch will have different numbers and Apple IDs, but will need to be members of the same iCloud Family.

And from this Reddit discussion, it looks like texts won't sync:

https://www.reddit.com/r/USMobile/comments/1q8wpie/is_the_st...

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#378

Post by ikr678 »

wraptile wrote: post #310
rf15 wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but building fun stuff is really hard with these limitations What is your idea of fun stuff? Code and data is cheap enough with these constraints, though fancy graphics are what will eat your budget.

One obvious app I tried to build here is a calendar with a daily message and I've tried to include a little graphic emoji with each day. You can't do that because you can only fit around 100 emoji graphics and the font on Pebble Time 2 only has 50 emojis. So at best you can get 150 icons which is not enough for unique icon for each day. This is kinda sad in 2026 ngl.

If the trade off is excellent battery life (low hardware capability) vs emojis, most people are going to pick the battery life.

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#379

Post by Moldoteck »

ihaveone wrote: post #121

Pebble Time 2 is still miles ahead being a watch, and only a bit behind being a computer. BUT, it has a sunlight readable ALWAYS on display, really good battery life and is open source. I still don't understand people charging their battery every 2 days or less. It's a problem guys. My Wear OS watches, even my fancy 2 screen one that got about 4 days or so, eventually ended up in a drawer. Never to be used again. Not…

i own PT2 due to buttons but charging thing is not such a problem considering i take it off before the shower

Re: Pixel Watch 5

#380

Post by Moldoteck »

_se wrote: post #355
saidinesh5 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tested out Pixel 3 (or 4 .. i don't remember at this point). The 30 hours is when you have all the functionality enabled all the time. Like the always on display, always on notifications etc ... I used to auto set the watch into DnD / battery saving mode at night, and used the "raise hand to turn on the display" functionality.. I used to get 3-4 days of continuous use. Charging used to be like "put the watch into c…

My Fenix 8 lasts for about a month with 10 hours per week of training. 30 hours with everything enabled is pathetic for a smart watch.

fenix is huge so it's understandable
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