Most smartwatches and wearables are quite expensive. You can spend hundreds of dollars on an Apple Watch 6, for instance. Anyone in the market for a wearable who wants something cheap and something with a more DIY nature will want to check out Watchy. The device is an E-Paper watch that uses open-source hardware and software.
The bare-bones design uses a PCB as the watch body allowing it to be worn as is, or it can be customized with different 3D printed cases and watch straps. While it’s a functional wearable, it’s also a wearable development platform. The E-Paper display promises a crisp image that’s clearly visible under bright light and requires no power between updates.
The screen has a 200×200 pixel display that is monochrome. Watchy uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE connectivity and connects with Internet APIs for weather, news, traffic, maps, Spotify, and others. It comes with documentation and Arduino code examples to demonstrate all hardware features.
New watch faces and examples are updated to the Watchy GitHub repository. The watch is small enough that it should fit comfortably on most wrists with a display measuring 1.54-inches. The features include a three-axis accelerometer with gesture detection and a real-time clock for accurate timekeeping along with calendar and alarm functions.
Watchy also has a vibration motor for alerts, an integrated USB-serial adapter for programming on the go, and four tactile buttons. One of the best aspects of the wearable is that the hardware costs $44.99. That includes the E-Paper display, fully assembled PCB, battery, double sided tape, and watch strap. As of writing, it’s out of stock, but users can enter an email to be notified when it’s available again.