Hack your electronic paper smartwatch with this $ 50 open-source kit

If you like it Be like Steve Wozniak And you have your own watch, geeky genius, Squarofumi (SQFMI) might have the product for you: an open source Arduino-powered smartwatch with a 1.54-inch electronic paper display (Across Gizmodo). It’s called WatchyBoth hardware and software are completely customizable. However, you can use it right out of the box, as the PCB acts as a body and has points for attaching a watch strap. On top of that, it’s only $ 50, on sale for $ 45 at the time of writing.

SQFMI has sections for watch faces and cases, but at the moment they both only say “soon”, so if you’re thinking about this watch, you’ll definitely want to make sure you’re ready for a DIY project. Oh, and there’s also the fact that the watch doesn’t come assembled – you have to assemble it yourself, and tie the 200 x 200 display, PCB and 200 mAh battery together. There’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 3-axis accelerometer, and four buttons that can be used for navigation or any other functions you can dream of.

Graphic: SQFMI

If you have to assemble the hardware yourself that doesn’t scare you, one last thing to note: While the watch comes with preloaded software, if you want to make any changes to the watch face, you will have to download the Arduino IDE and program it yourself.

While some people may be turned off by all of the work required to run the watch, for some people this DIY method means that they will be able to get exactly what they want. If you want a watch with an iPod or Game Boy-like case, with matching interface, you can print out the 3D shell and clock face symbol yourself. It’s the kind of freedom you’re unlikely to get from most commercial smartwatches, even though Tizen watches and Wear OS offer downloadable faces.

SQFMI battery life estimates depend on your use case – it indicates that if you only keep time, you should get five to seven days, but if you fetch data frequently, you may only see two to three days. However, its open-source nature means you can always fit a bigger battery into it, or try some software improvements if there are features that you want to cut.

Photo: SQFMI

If you’re looking for this type of coding / DIY project, the Watchy is sold on Tindie. I recommend just checking the SQFMI website to make sure The amount of documents available It is enough to start.