Smartwatch for sideloading

October 20, 2024 3:24 AM

I'm looking to play with the data from and put my own software on a smartwatch. I assume Android.

I am open to build-it kits, buy am otherwise probably required by work to buy a major brand, so I've been looking at the Samsung FE. I don't think I need cellular or e-sim. Will this suit my needs or do you have better suggestions, I'm willing to break budget or brand for especially good reasons like unique sensor data or a good hacking community, Arduino compatibility or whatever.

posted by J.R. Hartley to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Crowd Supply have a couple of projects -- Sensor Watch Pro and HealthyPi Move.
posted by k3ninho at 5:58 AM on October 20 [1 favorite]

The most hackable kit I've tried is the Bangle.js2. As a daily watch, it's actually kind of lousy and slow to respond. I'm pretty sure the pedometer is also completely wrong. However, it has a simple development environment and accessible debugging pins. So even an amateur like me has been able to add features.
posted by Snijglau at 9:50 AM on October 20

I know Garmin has the ability to create apps for the watch, so you can add your own SW. I would presume their API enables you to access data from the watch, enabling you to play with the data. Might be worth looking into: https://developer.garmin.com
posted by skunk pig at 10:44 AM on October 20

Response by poster: Those all look like interesting options! I am going to be letting students use it and I suspect the learning curve might be smallest with android OS, anyone know if side-loading works with the FE or with Samsung android watches in general?
posted by J.R. Hartley at 12:00 PM on October 20

Hypothetically, there's the the PineTime.
posted by kschang at 6:52 PM on October 22