Originally I wanted to build my own watch rather than getting a regular smartwatch. But as the price of the Pebble Time dropped over the past months, I couldn't resist buying one. Even if it was only to see how it compares to my watch.

The Pebble Time was without a doubt the main inspiration for this project. The case is almost the exact width and length, only the thickness was not doable. Chronio's screen has a much lower pixel density and is only black/white. Then again it is 24% larger than the Pebble's, reducing the bezel size noticeably. In terms of processing power and features, the watches are not really comparable. The ATmega328 is no match against a Cortex M4, which can handle color graphics and animations but has a high power consumption. This is where Chronio has its biggest advantage: battery life. It can display the time for several months until the battery needs to be replaced. The current prototype has been running for 6 weeks now. However the Pebble Time lasts a week on a charge, which is still a lot compared to Android Wear or Apple devices. Disabling Bluetooth extends its battery life to about a month.

In conclusion, the project was a great way to learn about low power electronics. It may not be the best watch to wear on a daily basis, but building it was a lot of fun and I would definitely consider the project a success as I already exceeded the month of planned battery life.