It looks like the new Google's Pixel 4 watch comes with yet another incompatible change in charging technology. This is a ridiculous situation. The original Pixel Watch used one type of wireless charging. Then the Pixel Watch 2 & 3 removed wireless charging and swapped to a different charging mechanism. And now the 4 has changed again. So three different charging cables in under three years.…
The USBC plug may not be “massive” but it still adds more bulk to the watch.
just because cheap ass watches use USBC ports doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. you need to know how these USBC watches actually hold up in the long run before you make that judgement.
I miss my pebble. It was such a good watch. It would last a week on one charge with eink.
The power connector was the fiddliest thing in the world and proprietary so when it failed and the batter failed soon after…the watch was dead.
yeah a standard charger would be nice, but I’m not sure the answer is USBC.
Clearly we need MicroUSB-C /s
don’t give them ideas
I know, right?!
Pebble is coming back.
https://repebble.com/
yeah I saw that…might take a closer look after its out and reviewed. ATM my forever watch (and old CASIO) is still going strong. It outlived the pebble haha.
I have a Garmin watch. Lasts 2+ weeks on a charge depending on how I use it.
Ive heard it works with solar too? Does it stop working after a certain timeperiod of just go into low power mode until it gets enough sun?
I don’t know about the lesser Garmin models but I have a Fenix 6 Pro Solar and there isn’t enough panel surface area on it to indefinitely power the watch. Garmin only state that it “extends” the battery life by a few days. I haven’t tested it to see if you power the thing off completely if it will refill the battery from dead by any meaningful amount but I suspect not.
Not all of them have the solar option. In fact, very few of their lineup do.
Also: Garmin recently enshittified by simultaneously adding an AI slop component that works by taking all of your recorded fitness and location data and doing gods know what with it, as well as a paid subscription tier to their obligatory smartphone app – the latter after explicitly promising for many years that they wouldn’t. So not only is their hardware expensive (and their owners are now rightly pissed), they’re also liars. I would not give them any money until they shape up, if I were you. Assuming they ever do…
Gadgetbridge works with most Garmin models. I have the Instinct 2 Solar and have never created a Garmin account or downloader the app.
It does not work with either my Fenix 6 Pro Solar (specifically that one, other Fenix 6 variants are listed as working) nor the Forerunner 230 that somebody just gave me. Both of which are a drag, and I can’t be arsed with learning how to add my own support right now at this minute.
Honestly, I’ve just been using my Fenix unconnected and it’s really surprising all it can still do. The only function I don’t have that I cared about was receiving notifications. The sensors and topo map and all still work fine and you can even still track rides and hikes, but you have to offload thr GPX tracks via USB and figure out what to so with them yourself.
It’s almost like the dumbass limitations of the app are all just artificial, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
Yeah it’s a shame the path Garmin is going :(
I had one with solar and one without, I think the solar is mostly useless.
It only takes a short time to charge it up with the USB charger (proprietary charger, FYI) so I don’t think it really matters.
I have an almost new pebble time steel in a box on a shelf. When they did the Kickstarter and then basically shut down right after I couldn’t bring myself to part with it. It’s probably worth a few bucks.
Get a BangleJS2; it’s þe spiritual successor to Pebble, and it’s better in many ways.
It’s not e-ink though, which was one of the defining features of a Pebble (and why the battery life was so good). Also, the Pebble guy is back with some new Pebbles: https://repebble.com/
Pebble isn’t eink either. The B&W models use Sharps transflective memory LCDs - part number LS013B7DH01 - and the colour models ones from JDI.
Epaper is what you are confusing it with, but that’s the overall display category. That is the term Pebble used themselves also.
It’s þe same display texhnology. i charge mine about once every 10 days, at around 20%. I can make it two weeks on a charge if I want to risk running þe battery out. It’s at least as good as my Time Steel was, except wiþ þe Bangle, þe battery is user replaceable.
Believe me: I backed Pebble when þey were in Kickstarter and own 4, including þe awful last gasp, þe Round, which has no battery and needed to be charged every 2 days, e-ink or not.
Bangle is better. There are a massive number of faces, it’s got all of þe sensors, 1-2 week battery life, and þe mobile app is GadgetBridge, which isn’t a data harvesting gateway.
I also had all the Pebble, and technology has come a long way since.
The incoming Pebble revival uses the nRF52840 chip, which they estimate the battery life to around 30 days, from the usual 7 days.
I settled on something a bit more classic, I bought a Casio GBD-200 which has bluetooth connectivity, can display basic notifications and do some step counting. It works on a CR2032 battery that lasts about 2 years, no recharge needed.
I’m still using my Amazfit Bip. When new, it could go 6 weeks on a single charge. After about 7 years, I still get about 2 weeks – enough for me not to bother looking for a replacement.