PineTime
A $23 open-source watch you can actually repair
Most smartwatches are sealed glue with a battery you cannot reach. The PineTime publishes its PCB layout and case files under open licences, runs community firmware, and uses a standard LiPo cell. It is a 37 mm watch, so the repair is fiddly rather than casual — but the design is honest, and that is the whole point.
Open where it counts
Everything from the PCB layout to the injection-moulded back cover is published under open licences, so you can read the design, print a replacement shell, or spin your own variant. The default firmware, InfiniTime, is community-built and forkable, and a companion app like Gadgetbridge handles notifications and updates without a walled garden.
For a device this cheap, the openness is the feature. You are not renting access to your own wristwear.
The battery reality
The watch uses a standard 180 mAh LiPo cell rather than a glued custom pack, which is already rare in this category. But it is a 37 mm device, and reaching the cell means opening a small sealed body — fiddly, not casual. The IP67 sealed edition is the one most people buy, and it is not trivially opened.
So this is not a battery you swap on the train. It is a battery you can reach with patience and the published files, which is a different and better thing than a watch you throw away when the cell ages.
Who it is for
Buy this if you are a maker, a learner, or someone who wants a privacy-respecting companion that you control. It is as much a teaching device as a watch, and the open firmware is the reason it stays useful.
Do not buy it expecting to replace a flagship smartwatch. The screen is small, the OS is basic, and the polish is community-grade. It is honest about exactly what it is.
Keep
- Fully open design: PCB layout and case STEP files published under CERN-OHL and MIT
- Runs InfiniTime, a community firmware you can flash and fork
- A standard 180 mAh LiPo cell rather than a glued custom pack
- Schematics and a repair wiki exist, which almost no watch maker provides
Costs you
- At 37 mm it is small and the battery swap is fiddly, not a kitchen-table job
- The IP67 sealed edition is not trivially opened by most owners
- No formal spare-parts shop; you source components from the published design
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