PineTime - a $27 smartwatch that runs open source firmware and software that's easy to flash and easy to modify and tinker with
PineTime - a $27 smartwatch that runs open source firmware and software that's easy to flash and easy to modify and tinker with
The $27 PineTime smartwatch runs open-source software and now it's ready for non-developers
This is the smartwatch I own. True netrunners know that the tech we wear on (or under) our skin is a prime entry vector for ever hungry megacorps to bleed the pulsing data from our digital veins, so having a wearable I have full control over is of paramount importance. I can flash it with new firmware whenever I want, the multiple open source options available are all an open book to any hacker worth their cyberlinguistic salt, and I can know for a fact that it won't phone home with my location or other data to any corporation behind the scenes. If we are all going to be cyborgs integrating technology onto and eventually into our bodies, better to control that tech ourselves!
I'd be down for something that was more designed around all the fun bio data smart watches can collect. I'd even be down for a slightly invasive implant that would collect data about my health so I can better keep track of it all. Apple seems the most interested in the health stuff from what I've seen and I have no interest in the apple ecosystem. Open source health stuff seems like an opportunity to latch on to before the corpos make the stuff and sell the data.
I agree. I'm less interested in "smartwatch" and more interested in "fitness tracker". PineTime is missing several sensors that competitors like Apple Watch and Fitbit devices have, such as electrical sensors, GPS, and temperature sensors which can be used for more advanced fitness tracking.
Yeah the Apple Watch was kinda the final straw that got me to switch over from Android. The amount of effort required to root a phone hard enough to where apps couldn't stalk me wasn't helping.
Apple's made privacy a fairly large part of their value offering recently. The main issue remains integrating with other local services.
Apple's made privacy a fairly large part of their value offering recently.
The problem is that that's mostly marketing smoke and mirrors. They define privacy as not giving your data to third parties (who aren't subcontracted with them), not actually refusing to collect in-depth data or link it to your personal identity. There have been a number of pieces of evidence released recently that show that they actually collect as much if not more data about you then Google does, and tend to ignore your privacy settings.
The amount of effort required to root a phone hard enough to where apps couldn't stalk me wasn't helping.
Depending on your phone, you could use GrapheneOS (which is super easy to set up compared to rooting and basically the best security and privacy you can get in any smartphone) or CalyxOS. Both easier (and more effective) than rooting, and certainly better than Apple.
I miss the Pebble :(
That's the main part I am personally missing, will keep an eye on it!
So say we all.
I'm in the same boat. Saw this watch a while ago, and was like "it's not the pebble time or pebble round".
I started rocking a Pebble Time about a year ago with my Android phone and I absolutely love it! If you can find one with decent battery life and get Rebble set up on it, it'll still serve you well (in my experience, at least).
Oh, I still have a working Time, Time Steel, and P2. I just needed more/better health tracking and nfc payments. The unreleased Pebble Time 2 would've been perfection. I've been a Rebbler since day 1 :)
I love my PineTime. I don't care about health stats (I'm well aware of how much time I spend sitting at my computer), but I wanted a watch that did the following things:
- tell me the time
- show text message notifications
- control my music
This watch does all that and... basically nothing else. It has a step-counter but I don't trust it. It has a heart rate monitor but it can never detect my heart rate (I probably wear my watch too loosely). So for my needs, it does everything I want and nothing I don't want. It definitely isn't the right watch for someone who cares about tracking health info, but for reducing the number of times I pull out my phone for stupid reasons, this is perfect. It can even reject phone calls so I don't have to pull my phone out of my pocket when I get yet another spam call.
How long is the battery Life?
About 6-7 days. I haven't noticed myself consistently charging my watch on the same day (like, if I was charging every Sunday or something), but I just checked GadgetBridge (the companion app for Android) and it has a chart showing my battery go from 96% down to 12% over a 6-day period, when I then plugged in my watch to charge it again. The battery icon changes color when it hits 15% so I usually plug it in at that point rather than letting it drain completely.
I gotta say, the step counter is accurate. I've tallied steps on longer walks and it was only off by 0.5-1%
I love the concept. I'm all for open tech. Eventually I'd love to have an open-source AI smart home system. But I am absolutely not installing an Alexa or Google home in my house for the obvious reasons
Home Assistant is great. Fairly friendly to set up (not a easy as Google and such) an HD will integrate with tonnes of brands
There's Mycroft ( @mycroft_ai ), which carries most of the potential in open source home assistants, but seems to struggle to take of.
Personally I'm an open source enthusiast and the last thing I'd want is this type of technology installed in my house, open source or not. I suspect people like me are the reason this project struggles to gain more traction...
Yeah, it's gonna be a long time before I let any smart devices with cameras or microphones in my house (besides my phone, lol). And why I have two different networks - one for my IOT devices, and for my personal network of devices. Although in this era, it's safe to simply assume someone is always watching if there's a camera or microphone nearby.
Meet Willow!
This makes me sad because it's not available in my country "for logistical reasons", and it seems to be just what I wanted
Me too. Pine64 devices, especially the phone are the things I always wanted for a long time :(
I've also got a pinetime watch, never been a fan of the data collection smartwatch companies do, its great to have something that I know exactly how it works with its open source firmware. It's not exactly perfect but there's been tons of updates from contributions by the community, I've even been able to make some modifications of my own too.
If anyone here in the comments has any questions about it I'd be happy to answer them
How's the battery life? My favourite thing about the Pebble was that it lasted a full week between charges, which I always attributed to the e-paper screen.
I run a patched version of the Infinitime firmware that has some tweaks to optimise battery life, these will likely be in the main release soon enough. I did a test after installing the firmware and got 10 days battery life from 100% to dead of daily normal watch use. This is with a somewhat new (~2 months old) watch so don't know how it may degrade but getting over a week is easily achievable on the pinetime.
It's € 62,65 over here, fuck that.
For some reason Pine's EU store is ridiculously overpriced. The pinecil is around £55 if you buy it from the EU store or £47/£55 amazon. I got the pinecil for £33 buying from the US store and just having it shipped over to the UK.
You could think about doing that for this smartwatch!
God damn
It would be cool if it had sensors like oximeter and GPS. But for $27, it's not bad. How's the battery and step counting on it?
The battery truly does last for an impressive amount of time, even actively connected to gadgetbridge on my phone. I get a bit more than a week out of it typically. I can't really say how good the sub counting is I think it's just based on an accelerometer but it doesn't seem any worse than what I had in my Fitbit
Step counting is accurate enough and I go about four days between charges. Sealed version.
and I can know for a fact that it won't phone home with my location or other data to any corporation behind the scenes.
if you've already got a wearable, check if Gadgetbridge supports it. it can replace your gadget's companion app so that it doesn't connect to the cloud. that's what I use with the Mi Band 7 that I got as a gift.
This might make me buy a smartwatch damnit
It's really cool! Both InfiniTime and WASP OS are very easy to modify as well!
WaspOS:
https://wasp-os.readthedocs.io/en/latest/appguide.html
Flashing guide here: https://wasp-os.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html#pine64-pinetime
InfiniTime:
https://github.com/InfiniTimeOrg/InfiniTime/blob/main/doc/code/Apps.md
Unfortunately shipping to Canada would cost more than the device itself.
*Laughs in European. Cheapest I found was 65 euros 'with free shipping'. I regret going for a Chinese band instead for the same total cost due to the 'overpaying' fallacy.
Wow! That's a bargain price for any smart watch, let alone one that's all FOSS and made by a small company.
This looks legit. Any info on how well it connects to an iPhone or Android?
Works great using an app like gadgetbridge. It Syncs notifications, music control, HR, step counter, etc. It apparently has GPS text directions but I've never used it.
It connects to my android extremely reliably using Gadgetbridge
It's so expensive in Europe :'((
Are you using any fitness or sleep tracking apps with it? I like the design and open nature but there are hardly any quality apps I've found that integrate well with it.
I don't think so, no, it's pretty sparse on the health tracking side of things.
Look very good, sadly the shipping is very costy for where I live but I will buy it sometime
Edit : do you know any other open-source smartwatch with more fitness tracker?
Wow, that's a very good price for smartwatch! I might buy this to try it.
Wait wasn't that thing supposed to have a RISC-V processor?
I dunno
Can I get notifications from my iPhone on this watch such as iMessage, slack, and now playing (Spotify)?
I actually don't think it supports iPhone. You need a companion app on the phone to talk to the watch and the app for iPhone is abandoned.
I get equivalent notifications from my Android phone on my watch, and I'm almost positive the PineTime is compatible with iOS too, so tentatively yes?
how strong is the metronome? the metronome wearable from soundbrenner is bit to big and masc. my wife is searching for a smaller wearable and I have read the pinetime has a metronome function <3.
It does. Its one of the stock apps. I'd say it works pretty well but I don't like it as you can pick up the vibration sound on a condenser mic.
I have one. To be honest, it's super expensive to have it shipped to Europe. The step counter and the sensors in general arent that great. Perhaps it will get better with time and development
are there any sleep tracking apps that work with it?
had never heard of this watch, the specs look amazing for that price!
Alright, I'm almost convinced. I've been wanting one since they dropped.
My Galaxy Active 2 is showing its age and the idea of a smartwatch with the battery life it claims is intriguing. Are those numbers accurate?
I get about 4-5 days with moderate use and a constant BT connection to my phone. There's a few big impacts like the heart rate monitor, so I never use it
Just ordered one!
I noticed they have a phone too, is it any good?
It's a developer phone. Not daily driver ready at all, but i guess it's nice for people messing with mobile linux
Not yet. The camera is still not really usable and the battery life is very bad. It's all about Linux optimisation though, so it has huge potential.
I'd be more down for a health tracker that just replaces your watch band instead. I really wish smart bands gained more traction but I've only seen one before and it was the Sony Wena. Maybe some day someone will make an open source one.