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3 hours ago
1
Last week, at my local Linux User Group meeting, we were discussing alternative operating systems for phones. Those who had a play with it were rather impressed with my OnePlus 6 running postmarketOS.
And then someone mentioned that there was a way to get Linux running on (some) smartwatches: AsteroidOS.
I promised, there and then, that I did not need another project, or another device running Linux, and that I absolutely would not be getting involved in it.
Five days later…
Just over 100 hours later, having successfully scored a well supported watch (a TicWatch Pro 2020) for a very reasonable price secondhand (and in pristine condition!), I had a watch running AsteroidOS.
So much for my ironclad resolve.
Installing AsteroidOS is a breeze
Honestly, installing AsteroidOS was so straightforward (for me; to someone who has never tried to flash a mobile device before, it might be a bit more daunting) that I was almost disappointed.
But, well, the instructions on their wiki were spot on, and it Just Worked.
Before my wife had even sighed and said “Neil, what are you doing now?”, I’d done it.
10 minutes from opening the box with the watch in it, and I was running Linux.
As they suggested, I first went with dual-booting, running AsteroidOS alongside WearOS, which was what came with the watch.
(And, yes, we live in a world where one can dual-boot Linux on a watch. Nice.)
After a few minutes of testing, I just bit the bullet and installed AsteroidOS as the only OS, and I haven’t looked back.
Setting it up
My first impression - which remains the case - is that a lot of thought has been given to the user experience.
Setting up - including setting the date and time on the watch, since it did not have an Internet connection or a device with which to sync at the moment - was easy, and it had a nice demo/tutorial for how to interact with it.
Only one of the two buttons is supported, but that has not posed a problem so far.
Pairing it with Android via Gadgetbridge
It paired without a problem with Gadgetbridge.
It mirrors the notifications on my phone, which is fine.
There is an AsteroidOS specific client but, since I already have Gadgetbridge on my phone, I just used that.
I have yet to see if I can pair it with my postmarketOS device; that is a project for the future.
Configuring it over SSH
Most because I can, I connected it back to my computer, and then ssh’d into it via RNDIS.
Again, the documentation was good.
I uninstalled one of the default applications, and installed another, just to get the hang of it.
I also configured Wi-Fi on the watch, using connmanctl, and yes, I could then ssh into my watch over Wi-Fi, without a USB connection. But I quickly turned off Wi-Fi again, as it consumed a lot of battery power.
Battery life is fine(ish) with Wi-Fi turned off
So far today, I have had the watch on (and thus off the charger) for 12 hours.
It has 77% battery remaining.
By my rough maths - rather than real world experience - this suggests that it should be good for a couple of days without re-charging, but no more than this.
That’s not terrible, but nor is it great.
But then I am used to a PineTime, and also a Colmi P80, both of which can go for a week or so without a charge.
(When I had Wi-Fi turned on, the battery would have struggled to get through a whole day.)
Functionality
I have very basic requirements for a “smart” watch: I just want something which will alert me to calls and messages (XMPP, Signal etc), and calendar appointments.
Anything else is either a bonus, or unnecessary / unwelcome, depending on what it is.
It tells the time. I quite like the dual screen, having a basic display for the time, and a secondary display for the Linux GUI, which I can activate with a tap or a press of the top button.
I’m used to basic smart watches, and, because of my very limited requirements, both my PineTime and my Colmi P80 did the job just fine. Even secondhand, my TicWatch cost twice as much as either of these did new.
AsteroidOS on the TicWatch supports the heart rate monitor, and it appears to have a step tracker too (although, despite walking around with it on my wrist, it tells me that I haven’t logged any steps today).
The Colmi P80 offers more, if that is important, and it gets displayed nicely via Gadgetbridge. The Colmi smart ring that I got a while back does very well in this regard too.
I don’t really want/need a fitness tracker, and, after the initial novelty of all the data from the Colmi watch/ring wore off, I didn’t bother checking or syncing it again. So I don’t miss its absence on AsteroidOS.
If I did want that, or I wanted the convenience of USB-C charging (as the TicWatch’s charging dock is bulky, and USB-A), the Colmi P80 would be a better choice.
Thoughts so far
I’ve been using it for two days now.
I like it. If I can get it working with postmarketOS, I’ll be even more pleased.
It does not look ostentatious, nor so bland that it almost stands out (PineTime).
But one thing it does do, which the Colmi watch did not, is that it makes me smile.
There is something very much appealing to me about having liberated yet another device, to make use of it while running Linux and other Free software.
That might just be a Neil thing, but I am Neil, and it is a thing, and I like it.
