Pros? It is cheap, it uses USB-C, step counter and heart monitor work, bluetooth calls work.
Cons? App is a bit crap, but works with GadgetBridge. UI is a bit slow and janky. Lots of watch faces but you can’t design your own.
Full review on my blog later today.
I’m not discounting the negatives - I’m saying it is possible and feasible.
As I point out in the article, the Pixel watch is now on its third charging format. None of which seem to be compatible with Apple or Samsung.
There are also compromises with the pogo-pin connector. You can’t charge while wearing it. You have to bring along another cable. Bits of metal can be attracted to the magnets and cause mechanical or electrical damage.
I don’t know if you looked at the photo in my post - but there’s a rubber flap covering the USB-port.
I wrote the post above. So far, the USB-C watch has lasted over 3 days and still has over 50% battery power.
Obviously, at that price it isn’t running a cellular radio or GPS. BLE is amazingly efficient - as are the built in sensors.
And yet, I literally have one on my wrist now. It’s not noticeably bigger than the Pixel 3 watch.
Here’s a video of it in action - https://tube.tchncs.de/w/vYTnG6eKghnicdNj5nkhVx
I agree with all this. The thing which caused me to uninstall was suddenly being pushed lots of abusive message with disturbing contents.
When I complained about it, Matrix told me that my public complaints were hurting the ecosystem and I should be quiet.
The website claims 280mAh. That’s a smaller than the newest Pixel watches - but then it is only about 10% of the cost of those models.
Agreed! But that rather depends on what you want to use it for. This model is charge only. But it could be useful to use it as a USB drive to store music, or to get health data off it. The main advantage for my personal use-case is being able to charge while wearing it.
Yes! This does have always-on heart rate monitoring and step count. The screen is only on when you glance at it or tap the button.
Agreed! But as the Pixel watch has gone through three different charging standards, all of which are incompatible with other watches, we don’t seem to be any closer to solving that problem with wireless.
That’s a personal preference. My Pixel watch stand is fiddly to use - the magnets don’t always align. And the puck charger is pretty lightweight and moves around easily. By contrast, my lightweight USB-C cables don’t move my watch when it is charging directly.
I agree! But sometimes it is nice to experiment with things to see what works. And I’m very happy that this normal-sized watch is able to charge with the same cable I use for my toothbrush, eBook, headphones, fan, and phone.