Linux on TicWatch Pro?

Peter Gamma · Sep 22, 2020

I m interested in Linux watch. I cam across the TicWatch Pro 2020.

I compaired the specifications of the PinePhone, the PineTime and the TicWatch Pro:

The PinePhone uses an Allwinner A64 processor, which has four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.152GHz and a Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Its frame and case cover is made of plastic. It contains a 5 megapixel back camera and a 2 megapixel front camera and a USB-C port with USB 2.0 that supports DisplayPort alt-mode

PineTime Smartwatch

Display: IPS capacitive touchscreen, 1.3 inches (240 x 240 resolution)
Communication: Bluetooth 5 Low Energy.
Sensors: Accelerometer and Heart Rate Sensor.
Battery: LiPo 170-180 mAh.
CPU: 64MHz ARM Cortex-M4F.
SoC: NORDIC Semiconductor nRF52832 (or nRF52840)

TicWatch Pro 2020 specifications

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100
Display: 1.39 inches AMOLED with 400x400 pixels resolution Gorilla Glass 3
Operating system: Google Wear OS
RAM: 1GB
Storage: 4GB internal storage
Bands: 22mm leather/silicone hybrid
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2 LE, 801.11 b/g/n WiFi, GPS/Galileo/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC
Sensors: Accelerometer, Heart Rate Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor
Rugged ratings: IP68 dust/water resistant rating and MIL-STD 810G shock resistance
Battery: 415 mAh non-removable
Dimensions: 45 x 45 x 12.6mm and 222 grams
Colors: Shadow Black and Liquid Metal Silver

There is custom ROM for the TicWatch Pro available. It is quiet advanced with currently 402 pages:

https://xdaforums.com/smartwatch/other-smartwatches/rom-kernel-t3821013

The TicWatch Pro has a touch display, and it should be possible to run Linux on Android Wear on it, With such an advanced custom ROM, it should also be possible to access the watch buttons and control those from Linux.

With the current PineTime, it is not possible in an easy way to implement a Linux sports watch:

https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?...e+computer

with the Ticwatch Pro and Linux on Android, it would be easier.

Linux on Android wear:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rjvs4aFS5g

I started this discussion also in the PineTime forum:

https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=11570

and there is also a discussion on hackaday:

https://hackaday.com/2019/10/07/ask-hackaday-whats-the-perfect-hacker-smart-watch/

Peter Gamma · Sep 23, 2020

Someone already tried to install Linux Postmarked OS on the Tickwatch Pro:

https://xdaforums.com/smartwatch/other-smartwatches/wip-postmarketos-development-thread-t4149253

Deleted member 5582262 · Sep 25, 2020

In terms of Ticwatch, the Pro 3 has just been annouced based on the Wear 4100 so that will be much more powerful and capable as a device as well.

Peter Gamma · Sep 25, 2020

Ticwatch Pro with wear 4100 with more power and longer battery life from octobre 1th. 2020, that sounds exciting, and it is worth waiting for. :cowboy:

Deleted member 5582262 · Sep 25, 2020

Peter Gamma said:
Ticwatch Pro with wear 4100 with more power and longer battery life from octobre 1th. 2020, that sounds exciting, and it is worth waiting for.

For sure,

I have ordered it from their website and am excited for it to arrive. I've been watching / reading all the reviews and by all accounts its actually a smoothly operating watch out of the box on Wear OS without needing to be rooted and tweaked. That is before the Fall Wear OS update which is focusing on performance and stability which should make it better.

For this context of putting Linux on it, it just gives you a much more powerful platform to build on.

Peter Gamma · Sep 26, 2020

Happy that the Ticwatch Pro is updated regularly. For me personally, it is the most promising watch to run Linux on it. There are several options available for the Pinephone which sould also on a Linux Ticwatch Pro to make a professional sports watch out of it:

https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=10172&highlight=ble+bike+computer

Peter Gamma · Sep 27, 2020

Youtube always knows what I'm interested in the most. Today Youtube showed me a new review of the Ticwatch Pro with Snapdragon 4100:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byc-ERIcgK4

The reviewer says it is the most useful smartwatch to this date. It is a review of the new model with four separate optical sensors units, with twelve sensors. It shows what is possible to this date, and shows what Garmin watch users only can dream about

. I dream about a flagship smartwatch with Linux, which is fully user configurable. I hope you too.

Peter Gamma · Sep 27, 2020

Only few are currently interested in a Linux Ticwatch Pro watch. But don't forget John Lennons words in "imagine":

"You, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one"

Madjax2020 · Sep 27, 2020

Peter Gamma said:
Only few are currently interested in a Linux Ticwatch Pro watch. But don't forget John Lennons words in "imagine":

"You, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one"

I wish my TWP 4G would even work right to try and put Linux on it

Peter Gamma · Sep 27, 2020

I'm sorry for you. I hope your wish comes true and your TWP 4G will work again to put Linux on it, so thal all our dreams can come true.

Madjax2020 · Sep 27, 2020

Peter Gamma said:
I'm sorry for you. I hope your wish comes true and your TWP 4G will work again to put Linux on it, so thal all our dreams can come true.

Doubt it I need the stock firmware and I can't find it anywhere

Peter Gamma · Sep 28, 2020

Did you see this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVcu8fEJ0pU&t=167s

I did not go trough it completely, but you should be able to download the stock ROM somewhere.

Madjax2020 · Sep 28, 2020

Peter Gamma said:
Did you see this?

&t=167s

I did not go trough it completely, but you should be able to download the stock ROM somewhere.

Lol yes that's the ROM I'm trying to get off of. Waiting for the OP to post said stock images he may have. Thank you for even looking, appreciated.

Deleted member 5582262 · Sep 28, 2020

Peter Gamma said:
Youtube always knows what I'm interested in the most. Today Youtube showed me a new review of the Ticwatch Pro with Snapdragon 4100:

The reviewer says it is the most useful smartwatch to this date. It is a review of the new model with four separate optical sensors units, with twelve sensors. It shows what is possible to this date, and shows what Garmin watch users only can dream about. I dream about a flagship smartwatch with Linux, which is fully user configurable. I hope you too.

Yeah I've seen that review.

I got my shipping notification last night and should have my phone arriving on Wednesday by the end of the day.

I'm not sure if I'm going to root it but one thing I'm seeing is that if possible, you should keep a backup of the original stock ROM before doing anything to customise it.

This will be my first smart watch so not sure of the procedure but I'm guessing once there is a twrp IMG, we would fastboot boot it, take a backup of the ROM and then save it externally on computer and cloud just in case?

If it's working from pogo sticks for the charger (as opposed to microUSB or USB C) I wonder if it can be connected to the computer for data transfer and if it can, how fast/ slow that would be?

Sent from my OnePlus 7 Pro using XDA Labs

Peter Gamma · Sep 28, 2020

Is there no option to download the stock ROM

?

I’m happy to find here friends interested in the project of Linux on Ticwatch Pro. After many years of using Garmin watches, and not being able to access the sensor data in an easy way, after all of my feature requests where ignored by Garmin, for instance the option to be able to use the watch while charging, after all of my posts about a tool which would allow easy access to sensor data where deteted in the Garmin forum, after my Garmin account was inactivated completely after criticism about post deletion, I gave up these trials. I’ m currently using the android application a training tracker:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atrainingtracker

but it is quiet uncomfortable to import .csv data every day into a database software. I probably will change soon to Matlab. After many posts in the Matlab forum, Matlab finally gave in and added Bluetooth low energy support for sports sensors:

https://ch.mathworks.com/help/matlab/import_export/collect-data-from-fitness-monitoring-devices.html

Matlab has all the options I need. But who wants to carry around a laptop for sporting activities? I became interested in the Linux PinePhone, and there was good support in the Pine64 community which advised me what could be done with the Linux Pinephone.

The Pinetime which was promoted as a Linux Pinephone companion was not the device I’m looking for, since it does not allow an easy way to add external Bluetooth low energy sensors.

The time is here for a real Linux watch, and all sports watch options which run on the Pinephone should also run on a Linux Ticwatch Pro.

I’m not in a hurry to realize all these options, but still I’m very interested the development of the PinePhone an a Linux TicWatch Pro. Sports watch sensors have become my daily companions, and I suppose they will be companions for the rest of my life. Therefore I’m watching carefully the development in this field, and I’m happy to find here new friends who are sharing with me a passion for a Linux Ticwatch pro:good:.

Deleted member 5582262 · Sep 30, 2020

Just a heads up that my watch arrived this morning.

First impressions are really positive although I've never used a Wear OS or other smart watch before so don't really have a baseline for comparison.

It's not too heavy given the weight that has been shaved off, it's not too bulky (now looks like a normal bulky watch) and it's pretty smooth.

Excited to see what Google's upcoming update can do for this watch and what happens with custom ROM development!

Sent from my OnePlus 7 Pro using XDA Labs

Madjax2020 · Sep 30, 2020

rav101 said:
Just a heads up that my watch arrived this morning.

First impressions are really positive although I've never used a Wear OS or other smart watch before so don't really have a baseline for comparison.

It's not too heavy given the weight that has been shaved off, it's not too bulky (now looks like a normal bulky watch) and it's pretty smooth.

Excited to see what Google's upcoming update can do for this watch and what happens with custom ROM development!

That is a phat looking watch!!!!!!

Peter Gamma · Sep 30, 2020

There are many new reviews on youtube for the new snapdraon 4100 Ticwatch pro. I recommend also this review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZUm4c6zp5Q

but for my personally, all these feature become really interesting when they can be fully controlled by the user, for instance in combination with sensor data streaming to an MQTT brocker, etc.

There are so many smartwatches available with similar features. But would a Linux smartwatch which is fully user configurable not make sense the most? Having Python libraries and all the options of desktop developement tools, would that not be wonderful?

Madjax2020 · Sep 30, 2020

Peter Gamma said:
There are many new reviews on youtube for the new snapdraon 4100 Ticwatch pro. I recommend also this review:

but for my personally, all these feature become really interesting when they can be fully controlled by the user, for instance in combination with sensor data streaming to an MQTT brocker, etc.

There are so many smartwatches available with similar features. But would a Linux smartwatch which is fully user configurable not make sense the most? Having Python libraries and all the options of desktop developement tools, would that not be wonderful?

Is this 4G also?

Peter Gamma · Sep 30, 2020

No, its is not 4G. But the reviewer made a ranking of the smartwatches, if I got it wright it is about speed, and the snapdragon 4100 is at the second position, which is great. For Linux I would choose the fastest Ticwatch Pro with the biggest RAM memory.

Linux on TicWatch Pro?

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