Looking for an open source smartwatch you’re in total control of? If so, check out the Bangle.js 2 which is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter. This hacker-friendly piece of horological hardware is the brainchild of Espruino developer Gordon Williams. Much like Williams’ earlier efforts in this area, the Bangle.js 2 runs on JavaScript.
An open-source online “app store” is also available where you can browse apps created by others, and quickly ‘download’ them to the watch itself wirelessly.
The watch is an off-the-shelf model from China. However, all of the software and firmware that runs on it is open source, having been reverse engineered and retro-fitted to it.
Gordon Williams has run 4 crowdfunding campaigns before and delivered on all of them, which should offer some reassurance should you need it.
#technology #opensource #smartwatch #hacking
JS for embedded 🤔
I miss my Pebble.
Yep me too. Think I have two of them still - batteries lasted and could view in bright sunlight.
The Timeline UI was great at showing upcoming events, the weather, etc.
It made so much sense.
Bro that’s insane I’m willing to buy it for sure and it’s so affordable
This is actually pretty neat, my current watch is a Chinese knockoff modded to run Russian CFW, it only lasts about 2 weeks, and cost me $70. This one is a bit cheaper, has similar features, and looks much easier to customize. There’s one issue thought:
The article says it’ll last 4 weeks on a single charge but according to the video it’s only 2 weeks, so which is it?
It was 2 weeks but then he improved the firmware.
The idle power draw of Bangle.js 2 is now down from 1.3mA to 0.3mA. We’ve mentioned 2 weeks battery life as a conservative estimate in the campaign but we’ve just blown past that. You should now be looking at around 1 month of battery life if you’re just using it for looking at notifications and the time.
So it’s basically the SMA Q3 with an open-source firmware
https://hackaday.io/project/175577-hackable-nrf52840-smart-watch
That’s what the article states: “This watch is now available, pre-programmed with Espruino on KickStarter! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gfw/banglejs-2-the-open-smart-watch”
