This watch is a personal project that I have worked on for fun over the last few years. The goal is to build a bluetooth smartwatch that has all the features that I would ever want on a watch, all in a compact format that I can actually wear around all day.
This is the third major code "refactor" (full code rewrite), named Paris because I was in Paris when I started working on it (I'm trying to do a cool version name thing). The goal of this version is to be more careful as I add features. I started with a solid base that fetched the time using wifi, and then used ESP32-S3 light sleep to turn off the cpu while asleep, which allowed for a three day battery life, but without being able to receive notifications over Bluetooth from my phone. Since then, I have been careful about optimizing all processes for efficiency, and eventually added Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity to my phone, using modem sleep on the ESP32-S3 to maintain a bluetooth connection while still using very low power.
- 240x240 Touchscreen
- LVGL UI
- Linear brightness control (or exponential? your eyes are weird)
- USB-C Charging
- ~17 hour battery life
- Mediocre battery level estimation
- Bluetooth LE using Gadgetbridge
- Haptic Vibration Motor
- 5 unique watch faces
- Adjustable global accent color/theme
- Stopwatch, Timer, and Alarms
- Weather (from phone)
- Music Control (from phone, only visible while media is playing)
- Calculator
- IMU G-Force visualization
- Schedule (daily repeating schedules set in config.json, shows on compatible watch faces)
- Home assistant controls (also configured in config.json)
- Dice (shake wrist to toss dice)
- Metronome
- Flashlight (White screen with max brightness)
Initially, the G-Watch just emulated a Bangle.js watch, but now it is it's own device in Gadgetbridge via the custom fork
- Stock Features
- Phone Notifications
- Music Control
- Weather
- View watch battery level on phone
- Set alarms from Phone
- Find Phone from Watch
- Find Watch from Phone
- Added in the fork
- Notification icons (app icon or contact profile picture)
- Music album art/cover
- G-Watch device type
- Config editor (view and edit config.json file)
When I started this project, the Lilygo T-Watch 2021 was the only option on the market for a round screen + processor combo, but then Waveshare released their ESP32-S3 Dev Board with 1.28in LCD which after desoldering some connectors is significantly thinner than the Lilygo option due to the more integrated processor.
Specs (Waveshare)
- ESP32-S3R2 240MHz SoC with 16MB of flash and 2MB of PSRAM
- GC9A01 1.28in round LCD with CST816S capacitive touchscreen
- QMI8658 6-axis IMU
- 600mAh LiPo Battery
- Small ERM Vibration Motor
The shell of the watch is entirely 3D-Printed, I have made two different case styles, one that looks more like a modern smartwatch, with connectors for flexible 3d printed TPU Bands, and one that I designed to look like the Minus-8 Diver 2.0, with a band made of solid PLA links, and uses pieces of filament as the connection pins.
Onshape Links: Diver, Smartwatch