With its successful series of laptops, notebooks, single-board PCs and Linux smartphones, Pine64 is back with yet another incredible launch. The company is going to introduce smartwatches based on the Linux operating system, which are focused solely on the needs of developers.
Mostly known as Pine Microsystems, Inc., an American company sells and manufactures computer hardware and software. After the company’s first product, Pine A64, a single-board computer in 2015, the company continued to be called the same. He later released the heirs of the Pine family, which included laptops and smartphones for the public.
PineTime smartwatch
The PineTime project came to attention in September 2019 when the company announced this on its official Twitter account. This news came right after Pine64 unveiled the existence of its PinePhone. In the coming year, thanks to the success of the Librem 5 and PinePhone smartphones, which will soon be available on the market, this is the perfect time to introduce a companion device that will be used with other Linux devices.
Here’s what the tweet looked like:
In this post, Pine64 along with the announcement also mentioned their search for developers who can help them work with FreeRTOS and MBEDsupport. In addition, they described in detail what the final product will look like. In other recent news, Pine64 shared important specifications, insider details, and a possible release date.
From what we know, developers have already begun working on smartwatches, and they will be released soon. Here’s a first look at the incredible Linux smartwatch.
PineTime: Development steps
According to the company, Pine64 Smartwatch is planned to be developed in two stages. The first phase included the development kit project, which was already released in October 2019. Meanwhile, the second phase includes the final product, PineTime Smartwatch, which is likely to enter the market in the first quarter of 2020. However, this may depend on changes in the development stages and market requirements.
Check out some exclusive photos from the first step below:
PineTime: Specification SmartWatch PineTime is an open-source product created by the community in collaboration with Linux and wearable RTOS developers.
Here is a detailed list of smartwatch specifications below:
- Body and insides
Dimensions: 37.5 mm x 40 mm x 11 mm
Weight: 0.38 kg
Internal assembly: plastic and zinc alloy
Environmental effect: IP67, waterproof
- Display
Display Type: IPS Touch with RGB 65K colors
Size: 3 inches
Resolution: 240 x 240 pixels, 1: 1 ratio
- Memory
Internal: 512 KB Flash and 64 KB RAM
Additional memory: 4MB Flash
- Work platform
Operating system: various open-source RTOSs, including Zephyr, FreeRTOS, Mynewt, Mbed, and NuttX
Chip system: NORDIC Semiconductor – nRF52832
Processor: 64 MHz ARM Cortex-M4F
- Features
Sensors: Heart Rate Sensor, Accelerometer
Drive: Vibrator
- Battery
Built-in LiPo 180mAh battery Charging: USB Type-A with a proprietary 2-pin connector
Bluetooth 5
Development Phase 1 At the moment, even after studying all the specifications, it is too early to predict how the final product will work in terms of functionality and performance. The Free RTOS kernel used here is a real-time operating system designed for microcontrollers and microprocessors. Whereas Mbed OS is an open-source operating system specifically used for embedded devices and IoT.
Manufacturers reviewed the NORDIC SOC hardware platform and Bluetooth Low Energy for connecting devices to other Pine64 smart devices. The smartwatch will include a variety of sensors, PPG planar switching and a touch-screen LCD for ease of use.
Initially, the PineTime smartwatch will act as a companion device with the Pinebook Pro laptop, to which they will easily connect and synchronize. In addition, it will also be compatible with the soon-to-be-launched PinePhone Linux smartphone.