So I want te find the most feature rich smartwatch that doesn’t send data to the manufacure. I have tried the Pinetime watch, but it died after 6 months.

Infinitytime (OS) was not realy that feature rish, so I want to secrufise an Open Source watch OS. But I still want to connect it with Open Source software, like gadged bridge.

What is my best option under €200? Maybe the Xioami Mi band 7 (€50) that is supported by gadgedbrigde?

  • Uranium 🟩
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    1 year ago

    Personally this has been the most feature rich/open source one I could find, and it’s what I ended up going for, there’s an opensource app store, direct integration with gadgetbridge, a decent always on display much like the amazfit bip S, which also means a long battery life.

    https://banglejs.com/

    • Giddy
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      131 year ago

      That’s the closest thing I’ve found to my dear departed Pebble

    • @[email protected]
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      81 year ago

      This is pretty amazing, I was not expecting it to be such a reasonable price considering the specs. What’s the battery life like?

      • Uranium 🟩
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        41 year ago

        It can get up to 4 weeks, though my experience is closer to 4 days to a couple of weeks, I think it depends heavily on what apps you’re using, how much you’re moving about and how much stuff you’re installing

      • @SeekPie
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        11 year ago

        On the website, it says the battery life’s 4 weeks.

    • Giddy
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      21 year ago

      That’s the closest thing I’ve found to my dear departed Pebble

      • @[email protected]
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        11 year ago

        Yep saw that but it said standby time which is not equivalent to normal usage battery life.

  • @[email protected]
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    231 year ago

    If you can find a Pebble, they still work perfectly and the manufacturer doesn’t even exist anymore!

    • @DoomBot5
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      71 year ago

      Hmm, fitbit bought most of the company, then Google bought them.

    • @[email protected]
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      21 year ago

      Shit! You just reminded me I have a Pebble Time, sitting in a drawer. I remember it being such a good watch, then I got distracted by the Samsung watch at the time.

      Might see if there’s any life in it and test it out with GadgetBridge.

        • @[email protected]
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          21 year ago

          Thanks for that. Came across Rebble while searching for answers to problems getting the Pebble working with GB earlier today, so definitely looks like it’s worth a go.

            • @[email protected]
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              21 year ago

              Just following up - Rebble is fantastic! Have revived the Pebble Time - will see how the battery goes over the next week or so. Thanks again for the tip!

              • @[email protected]
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                1 year ago

                Hey, you go it!

                FYI, you can financially support Rebble and get perks like being able to reply with voice to messages. I don’t personally do so but I know people who have had success with it.

                For comparison, my Pebble with everything turned off (like health tracking, apps, steps, alarms etc) and only BT on for notifications, I get about a week still

  • @[email protected]
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    1 year ago

    anything that’s compatible with Gadgetbridge should be okay. it keeps everything on your phone and doesn’t even request a network permission, so the device can’t phone home.

    incidentally, I’ve got the Mi Band 7 (connected via Gadgetbridge] and I quite like it.

    • @mulcahey
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      51 year ago

      This. I’ve been using the Fossil Collider HR with Gadgetbridge for over a year. I love it, and I love that it’s keeping my data safe

  • @MetalAirship
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    131 year ago

    Pebble is peak smartwatch. Fight me on it, I wont change my mind. Its just smart enough, without being too smart. Battery lasts for days, its waterproof, and side buttons instead if some impossible to use tiny-ass touchscreen. Perfection.

    • @Linus_Torvalds
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      1 year ago

      Pebble is a discontinued smartwatch developed by Pebble Technology Corporation.

      😶

    • Mike
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      21 year ago

      Fossil offers a hybrid smartwatch now to full those shoes. I really liked mine when I had one, but it didn’t fit my hands free needs well enough.

  • @[email protected]
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    121 year ago

    I’ve also used a pinetime running infinitime for the past year, and I agree that it’s not exactly feature rich. I like it though.

    I’ve heard that ‘bangle.js’ is an open source watch as well, with a decent feature set.

  • I’m in the same boat. The buttons on my Pebble Time Steel are going, and I don’t know what I’m going to replace it with.

    the Pinetime watch, but it died after 6 months.

    Oof, that’s a shame. That was on my list of possibilities.

    • @MetalAirship
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      21 year ago

      Ive been considering buying a new old stock “backup pebble” for when mine goes. Basically the perfect smartwatch

      • Yeah, there really is no decent alternative, yet. While I agree the LCD screen smartwatches look better and are more fancy, but I really like the e-Ink – always on, readable in full sun, and only having to charge it once a month or so. The hybrid idea is a decent alternative, but you lose customizable faces; I’m willing to sacrifice that for long battery life, though, so that’s probably where I’ll go next.

        I don’t understand why there isn’t more of a market for e-Ink watches, though. I mean, there are a bunch of us, but apparently not enough to sustain a company.

      • @[email protected]
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        11 year ago

        Do consider that if it’s never been used, the battery may be so dead that you have to replace it. I have had to do this with a new one I bought, and it seems to be a common issue for new old stock.

  • @[email protected]
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    71 year ago

    Been pretty happy with my Garmin Instinct. It has a cloud connection of course but seems pretty decent privacy wise.

    • @[email protected]
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      121 year ago

      I love my Garmin watches but they aren’t really known for privacy or security. They had a ransomware attack in 2020 and the Connect service was down. It’s speculated that they paid the ransom.

    • @0110010001100010
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      41 year ago

      Their support is top-notch as well. My Instinct started having serious battery life issues a few months out of warranty. They still replaced it no questions asked when I reached out to their support and asked if they offer a battery replacement service. That said, the Instinct at least isn’t a true smart watch. It doesn’t run apps, isn’t touchscreen, don’t have NFC, etc.

  • @randomTingler
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    71 year ago

    I would say amazefit is the better option, check the compatibility with gardggetbride before buying.

    I bought an Amazefit bip 3 years ago and am using Master for Amazefit, sadly the developer stopped updating the app. The watch/band supports only step counter, heart rate measure, sleep tracking. So, whatever options the app provides work fine for me.

    I need to look for other app options when I upgrade.

    • @[email protected]
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      41 year ago

      Sleep tracking? I’m ootl with smart watches in general so forgive this ignorant comment, but I assume for this to work…you have to sleep with the watch on?

        • @[email protected]
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          11 year ago

          Cool, thanks for the clarification. Did it take some getting used to and/or are you a pretty heavy sleeper? Interested in the sleep tracker aspect but unsure if it would be useful if it ended up disturbing sleeping more.

          • Dave.
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            41 year ago

            I wear my amazfit bip 24/7. It’s small and light, it’s not a chunky watch.

            Battery life of about two to three weeks means it can stay on my wrist without the nightly charging routine.

  • @[email protected]
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    51 year ago

    I’m waiting for the next batch of Watchy’s so i can’t say if it is any good, but I have high hopes. They have a handy spec comparison chart between Watchy, Pine time, Bangle.js, and the beloved Pebble.

    • exu
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      31 year ago

      I have a Watchy. It’s nice if you’d want to tinker easily, but it’s very bulky and cheap in feel even compared to a pinetime.

  • fmstrat
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    41 year ago

    What happens wit a Garmin watch if you uninstall the app? Mine still processes notifications/etc.

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝
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    21 year ago

    I’ve mad a MiBand 6 for a while now - seems solid and you could, in theory grab all the data from it and process it yourself (via the Notify app). I don’t know exactly how bolted down it is privacy-wise though.

    • @[email protected]
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      51 year ago

      MiBand 6

      The latest 7 looks very nice. 16 days battery life, 5 days with always-on apparently… sadly if you want to pair it with your phone, you need the Xiaomi App and then (as OP asked) you get trapped in privacy Hell and send all your data (Health, Location, User Content, Financial Information, Contact Info and identifiers) to china. At least on iOS as I can read in the App-Store description. Bummer. It looks like a nice watch.

      • @[email protected]
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        1 year ago

        You can just use gadgetbridge after the initial pairing and key generation. You need to install the xiaomi app once in some burner phone with empty contacts, or maybe you can pair it without giving it access to contacts first. Once you have the key (described in the gadgetbridge guide) you can just dump the official app and use GB without using any xiaomi data/servers.

      • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝
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        21 year ago

        You could always go with an older version - mine’s never been on the Xiaomi app and is merrily feeding the data to my Raspberry Pi.

        • @[email protected]
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          1 year ago

          Ah, thats good to know. I also saw a blog post for a way to use it without the App by using a modded App APK on Android were you can extract the auth-Key… but that was way to complicated. I wish there were an open standard for digital watches to enable sync of data with the OS of choice without going through a proprietary app. I will look into the RPI Solution. Thanks.

          • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝
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            21 year ago

            I imagine the manufacturers would fight that all the way to the courts.

            As best as I can tell Notify for Mi Band isn’t from Xiaomi, they produce a number of similar apps that give you control over your phone and a key that allows Home Assistant (and I am sure other services) to pull in the data and you are away. Apparently, it’s a relatively recent update that means you don’t have to do any workarounds - it’s straight through the app and should work for all Mi Bands and Amazfits.

  • @iopq
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    21 year ago

    I got two Xiaomi bands, I think it was band 4, but neither work after like two years

    Also sleep tracking sucks with gadget bridge, it was better with notify, so at that point it’s crap hardware with closed software

    • sobuddywhoneedsyou
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      01 year ago

      How does sleep tracking work with watches in general? Do you have to wear the watch as you sleep?

      • @iopq
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        21 year ago

        Yes, you do, it tracks your movement and heart rate