this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
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This is a pinetime it looks like.
You should get one, open source and $30.
Thanks for posting! I was looking at the pinephone esrlier but this would be an even better tinker device for me atm!
The pinephone is not really usable now. The pinetime is awesome though.
Interesting! I have read that its not capable of a daily driver at this point which isnt such a surprise given the fact that even the fairphone is 500+ $/€. Smartphones are more like computers than phones i guess.
What was your experience with the pinetime? If you want to share I mean.
I use the pinetime as my daily watch now. I got it so I could control my audio book in my helmet while on my motorcycle but it has proven great all around. I use LineageOS on my phone and the pinetime was super easy to set up and use with gadgetbridge. No bullshit, no bloat, and as far as I can see no spying.
@Schorch@feddit.de do either of you have any particular comparison between the two watches? And maybe how portable the apps can be for each other? For example writing something for the PineTime and porting it to the bangle js2 or vice versa?
I only ask because the former is so cheap and the latter is currently nigh quadruple the price. But my partner and both have been looking for a good smart watch that has the basics from what you want with one but without it being $150 to Samsung and bloated down. And while I'm not a programmer I'm nearly happy enough with the offerings I see on the websites. I do have a couple Pi projects and a home server that I go back and forth on. When I get the motivation I don't usually have any issues and it's at least in a usable state by the end, even if it's not perfect.
Thanks for any input!
The pinetime does not have many apps and you can't simply install any. I think you have to alter Infinitime to implement the app, then deploy infinitime (with app included).
Idk who downvoted this but that's literally what the github page says you need to do.
Ah thanks, I was just reading what was listed for each on their website, I didn't even think to check the git for them.
Sounds great! I‘m using a legacy apple device (sigh) so I‘m not sure my phone will do a lot with it. Do you know what it can do on its own? Tell the time probably. It says you can use it with a pc as well. Turning on lights at home would be great. I could also see reverse engineering the key fob of my old bmw and using it as a key replacement. ;)
There is a lot of stuff people mess with, but with all linux people only some of it is useful or works. Can you side load on old apple stuff?
Its not jailbroken so no, I cant sideload yet. But the EU is currently trying to force apple to allow sideloading. Should be any minute now! :)
I know about linux stuff. Running a daily driver for half a year now and a couple servers for a couple years. The apple thing is just one I bought before all that so I will use it until it breaks. I develop some low effort apps for my linux desktop so the watch should be cool for me.
The dev kit thing scares me a bit though. Says the assembled watch is not for development?
Oh yeah don't get the dev kit, its just the watch bits really. The normal watch is sealed and whatnot, that is the one to get.
Ok, got it. Thanks! :)
I tinker more with my pinephone than my pinetime, which is basically "waiting for an update and then applying it". Out of the 2 the Pinetime is the one I use, the Pinephone is currently substituting as a pihole because I broke the Odroid C1.
There's a lot more to do and play with on the phone compared to the watch, but the watch is reliable to use daily.
Thanks a lot for elaborating. What is an Odroid C1?
It's a raspberry pi clone so to speak, made by hardkernel. Their latest C board is the C4, pretty happy about em. Running Arch Linux for browsing and light gaming.
That sounds pretty awesome!
Gave a quick check, and it costs more than twice the price to buy it in EU, everything from Pine64, for some reason, odd, will look at this in more detail later at some point in case i missed something because the idea of an open, not locked, not tracking your every move smartwatch is appealing, but that doubling the price thing is a minus.
Yeah I had a similar experience getting mine shipped to Canada, $30 but another $30ish for shipping. I hope one day they are available easier and everywhere.
I bought one and wqs quite happy with it until it just randomly got stuck in a bootloop and no amount of resetting or letting it drain helped
If it's been in the drawer for all this time, charge it again, it will ptobably boot. I had a similar issue, but didn't let the thing shut down conpletely (by making sure the battery is completely drained).
I already tried it after multiple months (i had to charhe it to boot at all) but it didn't work... I will prob. Try again later
What Android software could you use for managing it? Gadgetbridge seems to not have fully-developed support for it, even with their preferred firmware.
I'm using Gadgetbridge with a hacked Amazfit Bip and I'm pretty happy. I like the multicolor TFT LCD w/no default backlight on the Bip, which is very readable in bright light and only requires a quick button press to get the backlight on in the dark, or you can waste more battery life and have it turn on when you turn it towards yourself. It's also got built-in GPS/workout tracking (you have to manually flash the A-GPS data occasionally...), the ability to load little open source apps, sleep tracking, heart rate tracking, notifications, custom watchfaces, etc which I'm sure the Pinetime has most of. The battery also lasts ages since it uses such a low-power LCD.
I'm not saying the Pinetime isn't good, but decent alternatives exist. I would love a truly open-source smart watch, but maybe when the project is slightly more mature. I guess I could always get one and contribute to it... $30 is really not much. I'll definitely try it if my Bip breaks.
I have found nothing that worked, was not spying on you, was not some hipster pipedream, and has lots of people working on it. Oh and gadgetbridge seems to work good, what do you mean not supported?
Also the Bip cannot spy on you unless you install the official app. It's limited to its interactions with apps over bluetooth, and I just use Gadgetbridge.
Glad you worked around the spying. I just wanted to give my money to a company that did not start by spying on me.
According to the wiki, only one firmware is supported, and it's early support with missing features. The wiki may be outdated, though.
Yeah, I have updated my firmware and its just fine. Like a lot of this type of development there is not great oversight or up to date documents.
First I've heard of it, is it a worthy successor to the Pebble?
If you want a successor to the Pebble, also consider Bangle.js 2. It's a little more expensive compared with the PineTime but I got one and I'm very happy!
Ultimately the Pebble is still working fine though I know it will pack in eventually. All I need is something I can use to read notifications and control music, always-listening health stuff and fancy battery-depleting screens are a negative!
Never owned a Pebble, But I think as they still make the pinetime it bodes well.
What is a good OS for a dummy?
IIRC it comes with a firmware called InfiniTime preinstalled. So I guess that one.
What about for a dummy that wants to feel smart by installing a custom one?
The latest version of infinitime. The update process will make you feel smart.
Hell yeah
Thanks for the heads up!