Hi all,
Simple question. Does anybody know a (not to expensive) sportswatch that is supported by Linux / FOSS software?
(Yes, I know ‘FOSS software’ is two times the word software) 😀
You can check a list of supported devices for this android app: https://gadgetbridge.org/
PineTime is currently $24.95 plus shipping
ah. That looks very interesting. And they have a show here in the EU, and it seems to work with gadgetbridge (thx Lambda RX :-))
Thanks!
I’d advise against pinetime as a sports watch because it doesn’t accurately track mileage or pace. I’m looking to replace mine eventually with a Garmin or something.
ah … currently not available :-/
Doesn’t have a lot of features such as GPS
It’s complete crap, on the level of not being able to run the stopwatch in the background and having it restart if you get a notification.
Also, it’s 65EUR if you want to order it in Europe
My dad got one shipped (imported) to germany for less than 50Eur. The 3 issues he had was that the notifications didn’t work on his phone (an android update fixed that), random disconnects on some phone models and that the current alarm app only supports one alarm.
I call bs or it was before they started shipping from EU. You literally couldn’t order to Europe or EU countries from the other warehouse while they were stocking it.
It’s got a lot more issues than that. It’s utter trash unless you like want to practice CPP.
He ordered it from the global store a few month ago, it took ~2-3 weeks to ship to germany.
Thats the only issues he told me. I also tried it for a day and didnt notice anything else it cant do, which i need. He and I only need it to show notifications/calls, track steps/heart rate, have a working alarm and show the time. I also didnt have the disconnect and notification issues, that he had.
Lucky guy, I ordered it to Germany and they wouldn’t let me use the non-eu warehouse (so they can get rid of their overpriced stock I’m guessing)
Stopwatch - can’t be minimised, can’t see the time while it’s open, restarts when you get a notification (the fixes have been sitting in the PRs for years)
Notifications - don’t get cleared when you clear them on the phone, clearing them on the watch doesn’t close the notifications screen, answering your phone through the watch doesn’t dismiss the call notification
Heart rate monitor - essentially useless since it can’t take periodic measurements, doesn’t work great unless you’re wearing the watch on the inside of your hand, but at least they’ve managed to finally read the sensor docs and program it correctly
Step syncing is a massive pain in the ass and often requires you to “manually” sync them by walking around while keeping both devices active
Battery barely lasts longer than a week even with infrequent wearing (and that’s a massive improvement over the previous 3-4 days max)
Lift to wake up usually acts more like shake to wake
The UI is pretty bad overall
There are like 2 half decent watch faces
Horrific weight distribution and the shitty strap make it feel 10x heavier. Like, my automatic is almost 2x its weight and I barely feel it, while this crap is constantly reminding me it’s there.
The CPP OS doesn’t let you chose what apps to activate nor does it have any way to load your code aside from compiling everything
Updates are only mostly headache free if you use specific PC software. Keyword is mostly, I’ve had some updates take a bunch of attempts to install.
That’s just from the top of my head
I heard of the heart rate issues in a lot of reviews, but it just works on my (and my dads) skin. Its bad that it doesnt work for everyone though. I found a stupid workaround for background heart rate monitoring, you just start the manual monitoring and then close the app on the watch, which doesnt stop the monitoring.
We only had sync issues only on my dads phone, my phone (Fairphone 5 w. CalyxOS) works just fine. The issues on his phone were fixed by an Android update a few weeks ago.
Im happy with the battery, it lasts longer than a fitbit we have.
I dont think its a perfect watch, but for <50Eur with shipping its not bad
I don’t know what your exact criteria for “sportswatch” is, but I’ve been very happy with my Bangle.js 2: https://banglejs.com/
Can you be more specific? Are you talking just on mobile?
For watches and such on mobile, the device maker has to write software that runs on the watch, but interacts with the mobile OS’s API in order to display information. It connects to your phone as a subscription device to things like alarms, messages, notifications and calendars. So if whatever app you’re using on your phone routes events through these systems, they will work with your software.
If you’re talking about integrations with desktop software, I’m unaware of any watch devices or device OS’s interact with anything like that.
my daily driver is a ubuntu laptop so I was first thinking about that, but now that you mention a mobile app, …yes. that would be nice too.
thanks for the food for thought :-)
Well, you can look at a gadgetbridge-compatible watch. gadgetbridge is a foss android app that replaces the manufacturer’s app for snartwatches, earbuds, and a few other things. it’s a good starting point, but most of the watches aren’t directly foss. if you want a watch like that, you have two options. the pine64 pinetime is open source, but not easy to modify if you want a sealed, water resistant version. it also hasn’t got the best specs. the bangle.js is a “hackable” smart watch, which has a a SWD interface on the outside, making it an easier option to modify. I can’t say as much about it’s fitness tracking, but it does have a heart rate monitor and accelerometer.
Sensorwatch is the only one that looks interesting to me.
As sport watches go, get a Garmin. Its proprietary, but it’s the best in the class.
I have a Fenix 7, wife has a Fenix 5.
Battery last days/weeks (5/6 days with some 10-15 hours of sport tracking with GPS active).
I suggest some “older” models with MIPs displays, not AMOLED, because they have better (absolutely perfect) under the sun readability and much better battery life.
You need the Garmin Connect app on phone, but the web interface to the Garmin ecosystem is simply the best.
I managed to integrate Fittrackee (self hosted) and synched to my Garmin profile to keep all my activity self hosted.
Despite being proprietary, Garmin software is quite nice and the watch can be connected directly to PC to download activities and tracks even without using the app.
Probably not what OP is looking for.
But I’m also happy with my Garmin Instinct. I use it disconnected from my phone, it does everything I need offline and stand-alone. To add tracks for navigation I just connect it to my linux laptop and drop the GPX file into the NewFiles (or whatever it’s called) folder on the watch. I was surprised how well it works without official apps. The only thing I used the app for was to update the firmware when I bought the watch.
Also, fittrackee looks promising - thanks for the tip!
interesting advice. Thanks!
One of the reasons I am looking for a new sportswatch is because I try to reduce my smartphone use and I noticed that I actually took out my smartphone just to check the time.
I have an old garmin vivosmart HR but I do have a problem with the charging cable. Plus I am not able to download the healthstats with my linux ‘daily driver’ laptop.
Perhaps I should just get a cheap regular watch somewhere? 🤔
I am not sure that checking the time in the watch instead of on phone counts as reducing phone usage…
But anyway, any “smart” watch will not help you as they all need a phone app.
Get a cheapo analog watch, in that case…
I do not see that as phone-usage, I’m doing an experiment to see how easy / difficult it is to revert the “i need to know the time, so I grab my phone” reflex back to “I need to know the time, so I look at my wrist”.
I’m currently reading some books on how easy it is to manipulate peoples behaviour using ‘nudging’, this to better understand the social engineering tricks used by hackers.
An chapter in one of these books in how social media use tricks to manupale our behaviour that resemble the tricks used by the gambling industry.
One of the things I find intriging is the size of a smartphones today. If you look at it objectively, they are actually so large that most people would consider it to be annoyting: you have to carry it in a bag, in a pocket of your pants -but you have to take your phone out when you want sit-, or …you carry it in your hands. Have you noticed how many people have their smartphone in their hand when they walk around? But, of course, if you have something in your hand, it is very easy to open it quickly check your notifications; which reinforces the addiction.
So, that’s the thing. People do not find it annoying.
So … as an experiment, I am trying out how easy / difficult it is to break the habbit.
A small sidenote when (or if) I manage to get my garmin vivosmart HR charges, it does rapport activity per week, number of steps and number of floors I went up on foot per day, even without a smartphone app. So that’s at least something :-)
