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The PineTime from Pine64

The PineTime is a smart watch. But it is not just any smart watch. What makes the PineTime special is that its hardware and software are open source, something that has never been done before with a smartwatch. It is amazing to see more and more of the smart "gadgets" that we use gaining open source and most importantly, privacy-respecting, alternatives.

So what does the PineTime have to offer? Well, it ships with the GPLv3 licensed InfiniTime firmware, but changing it to an alternative such as Wasp OS in trivial. InfiniTime comes with most of the apps you would expect from a smartwatch. Here are some of the apps and settings I find most interesting:

3 different watch faces
notifications that can be synced with your phone
raise to wake the screen functionality
step counter
heart rate monitor
a paint app (???)
Pong
2048
a metronome which is quite ticklish
and media controls for your phone

Very impressive for a smartwatch that costs only $35. The chassis is also reasonable looking and the wristband is comfortable. It is missing few features when compared to smart watches that cost $300+ more, but I think the best feature of the PineTime is that you get lots of functionality without having to be tracked by a big tech company. My only complaints are that it can be a bit buggy, espectially when trying to flash alternative firmware, but it was nothing severe enough to brick the device.

Useful links:

PineTime wiki

InfiniTime Github

Wasp OS Github