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A programmable watch you can actually wear

hackster.io

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Re: A programmable watch you can actually wear

#61

Post by jerlam »

m463 wrote: post #19
ck2 wrote: post #4

have wished for decades now there was an open-source Garmin on the level of Cyanogenmod / LineageOS for Android not sure if it will happen this decade but definitely next decade proper running/cycling metrics are hard as demonstrated by how many well-funded competitors are somewhat close but not there 100% yet (Coros, Amazfit, etc) someone once hacked and decompiled older Garmins but newer ones are encrypted/signed/l…

> newer ones are encrypted/signed/locked-down I have a garmin watch and didn't know this. That said, I just used it out of the box, and never (on purpose) hooked it to wifi, bluetooth, garmin connect, etc. Can't do that with an apple watch.

The underlying Garmin platform is so old that it predates iPhone/Android. I think you can plug in many Garmins via USB without any special software and simply copy activities and data off the watch.

They had a segment of customers who wouldn't have or be allowed to connect a phone - triathletes, long-distance hikers, military. But it's been slowly changing as users want more modern features and the company wants to increase sales.

Re: A programmable watch you can actually wear

#63

Post by jolmg »

oritron wrote: post #20

I like a good smart watch and I appreciate open source, but an ESP32 isn't a great pick when low power consumption is important and the device is going to be communicating regularly. I'm surprised LILYGO went that direction in a watch form factor.

An advantage of ESP32-S3 could be that it seems possible to run Linux on it.

Re: A programmable watch you can actually wear

#64

Post by jolmg »

joe_mamba wrote: post #58
amelius wrote: post #56

When can we finally buy a smartwatch that can keep its (color) display ON during the entire day?

Watches with color memory-in-pixel displays have existed since Pebble.

To add, the current Pebbles are estimated to last 30 days. 10-14 days for the round ones.

Re: A programmable watch you can actually wear

#65

Post by shadowpho »

serf wrote: post #54
oritron wrote: post #20

I like a good smart watch and I appreciate open source, but an ESP32 isn't a great pick when low power consumption is important and the device is going to be communicating regularly. I'm surprised LILYGO went that direction in a watch form factor.

an esp32 on an 1100mah battery will last years on deep sleep, and about a day with wifi on and in high power modes. a pixel watch 4 says they last 30 hours , ambiguously. they use a battery less than half the size. in reality with constant use they'll drop dead in 6 hours. the thing is clunky and heavy , anyway -- so if it lasts as long as an off the shelf watch who cares? also, the primary reason : lilygo shoves ESP…

I’ll need to check my notes on power consumption. I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying out different modes and configurations… it’s not great. I would not expect years at all. You gotta be very careful about what has to stay on and off.

Furthermore, bugs. To this time there’s random crashes that happen with sleep which limits their use

Re: A programmable watch you can actually wear

#67

Post by sho_hn »

shadowpho wrote: post #65
serf wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

an esp32 on an 1100mah battery will last years on deep sleep, and about a day with wifi on and in high power modes. a pixel watch 4 says they last 30 hours , ambiguously. they use a battery less than half the size. in reality with constant use they'll drop dead in 6 hours. the thing is clunky and heavy , anyway -- so if it lasts as long as an off the shelf watch who cares? also, the primary reason : lilygo shoves ESP…

I’ll need to check my notes on power consumption. I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying out different modes and configurations… it’s not great. I would not expect years at all. You gotta be very careful about what has to stay on and off. Furthermore, bugs. To this time there’s random crashes that happen with sleep which limits their use

I have some relevant experience. I built this a few years ago:

https://imgur.com/a/diy-automatic-e-ink-newspaper-using-rust...

After careful optimization, the v1 got about 6 months out of a 1100 mAh battery. Later improvements and bumping to a 3300 mAh battery got me to 14 months, before my kid yanked it off the wall, total'd the panel and I rebuilt it. The test continues.

That said--op isn't wrong. If power usage is the metric you optimize for, there's much better BOM than an esp32.

Re: A programmable watch you can actually wear

#68

Post by sho_hn »

deferredgrant wrote: post #62

[flagged]

This is mean-spirited and daft.

This is a product aimed at a very specific hobbyist segment of the smart tinkerer, who will probably get more joy out of it than most buyers get out of their Apple Watch. Is that a smaller market? Yes. That doesn't make it a bad product.

Re: A programmable watch you can actually wear

#69

Post by sho_hn »

jblezo wrote: post #6

That's more a programmable watch than a DIY one :-) I build mine from scratch, including the PCB and a 3D printed case. For sure, that's not at all the same level of customability, programmability, capacity, nor quality. But It is really a DIY one. For anyone interested: https://github.com/jblezoray/hpdl1414-watch

Love it, especially your choice of digit display. Very nice hack! I'd wear that.
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