I’m looking for a watch that is able to do basic “smart” things like show notifications and ping my phone if I misplace it. A timer/stopwatch would also be good, and a long lasting battery.
I have no interest in an Apple watch or Galaxy watch, so I’m looking for something comparatively cheap.
I would suggest to look at the models supported by Gadgetbridge and pick one from there. I know I can trust Gadgetbridge not to leak my data since it doesn’t ask for network permission.
https://gadgetbridge.org/gadgets/
I used it for several years, through multiple gadgets (in chronological order)
I’d second the recommendation for Gadgetbridge and would add most of the Amazfit watches to the list. I have the Amazfit GTS 4 and it has run flawlessly with Gadgetbridge.
I thought about using Amazfit products but all the new ones require Huami/Xiaomi server pairing. How was that process?
I just used a throwaway email to initially sign up to get the Key, then deleted the app. Was very easy.
How was the Bangle JS2? What made you switch away from it?
Initially the software wasn’t very stable, but that was fixed over time. Overall I liked it a lot, and the available “apps” for it all filled a niche I looked for.
I switched because I wanted to go back to a more classic watch I can simply wear and forget about. I don’t have all the bells and whistles from the BangleJS2, but now I have a watch to see my notifications and step counter that I don’t need to recharge every week, the battery (CR2032) is said to last about 2 years in the GBD-200.
I miss the pebble and fsck Fitbit for killing it.
I more dissapointed that Pebble was unable to find a viable financial path forward :(