Bangle.js with a microphone (?)

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  • I would pay ~1.7x the current price for a version with a microphone, even if you dropped the GPS or accel. to make room for it.
    Is there any (relatively simple) way to hack a microphone in there? I'm not looking for ultra-high quality sound/bitrates. Recognizing some voice commands and recording audio notes (for those with short memories) are the use cases.
    I did not find anything in my cursory Google search that implied a microphone / piezo could be rigged up with an ADC and implemented.

  • Yes, it's something I really wanted to add out of the box as well, although it does present some challenges for waterproofing. Unfortunately I can't get it designed in to the actual watch as I'm just not shifting the volumes of devices that I can get something custom made (most manufacturers want 10x what I'm selling before they'll consider something custom).

    However, on the Bangle you could add something without too much pain if you were willing to sacrifice the heart rate monitor.

    You can see on https://www.espruino.com/Bangle.js+Techn­ical#heart-rate-monitor-pcb that on the left-hand side there's HRM power, GND, and the analog output of the HRM. If you unsoldered those two resistors (next to the 'R4' text) then you could solder on a powered MEMS microphone.

    It'd be fiddly for sure, but it's definitely doable. The microcontroller already has an ADC internally on that pin, so you could read in ~8kHz audio data - although realistically you probably want the lowest sample rate you can because of the small amount of RAM available

  • Is it possible for us to also add more RAM to it?

  • Not really, no. The new Bangle.js 2 that's launching does have a lot more RAM though (256k vs 64k) so that would be the easiest change.

    Having said that, the new Bangle doesn't have screws to allow it to be opened, so doing a hardware mod like adding a microphone isn't really an option.

  • If adding a microphone to bangle js 2 would the hard part be adding it or getting inside the watch?

  • Both I'm afraid - there are no obvious places to wire one on, and the screen is glued on, so you need to use a hot air gun and a lot of care to remove it.

    If someone were super motivated they could maybe create a flex PCB that plugged in instead of the heart rate monitor, but it's a lot of work!

  • Hello,
    I just bought one bangle js 2 today.
    I also would have liked to have à microphone vs GPS. I need heart rate... 😉
    By thé way I had a Pebble in the pasr and love it. It would be great if thé Pebble OS could be porte lot of nice screens and app.

  • Hi - what do you want the microphone for? Recording voice notes, or for things like Google Assistant?

    I'm afraid actually porting Pebble OS is unlikely to be much of an option - but if there are particularly useful apps or nice clock faces please feel free to suggest them on the forum - for example on https://forum.espruino.com/conversations­/381378/#comment16774020 - and maybe someone will be able to implement them.

  • Hello, thanks for asking.
    I would like it as a tool to measure surrounding sound for triggering events.
    No need to use vocal assistant.

    I'll report nice clock face on the forum.

  • Is there someone who has done the resoldering and added a microphone because it is still not clear for me where to attach the wiring. I have bought this mems microphone(hope this is the good one…) but if someone has some detailed description or photo that would be helpfull! Thanks in advance!


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  • Do you have a Bangle.js 1? As I'd said above it's very tricky with a v2, even to get inside - but on the v1 there is some help at http://www.espruino.com/Bangle.js+Techni­cal#heart-rate-monitor-pcb

  • Hi Gorden! Not yet but I want to order a Bangle.js 1 but before I order I would like to know how😅

  • And If it is possible with this mems microphone and where the different outputs has to be attatcht before I ruin the bangle.js

  • Well, we're not actively making the Bangle.js 1 any more and are just selling through the last ones.

    If I'm totally honest, adding a mems microphone to the Bangle is not something I would recommend. Apart from the obvious physical issue of how you fit it in the case such that it can actually hear anything (and destroying the waterproofing) there isn't a great deal of RAM in there for recording sounds, and there's also the question of what you do with the sound when it's recorded.

    If you really want to do audio on a programmable watch, I'd probably take a look at some of the Android-based watches out there

  • my samsung A33 5G cost around euro 250,
    those apple watch cost euro 700, wear os from samsung is euro 200+, from china's xiaomi is euro 150+.
    buying these is like buying a 2nd phone, which is smaller and put on the wrist.

    the idea of bangle v2 for me is like a "remote control button".

    I put my phone in my chest's pocket, back camera facing front,
    and it got mic and speaker/headphone.

    someone wrote a bangle app of google assistant GA, (but my samsung cant use GA,
    it's using samsung's brileyx?).
    double tap the bangle's clock face will start up the GA or brileyx, with voice input.
    that's how it should be.

    btw, chatgpt's android app is banned in my country, otherwise a double tap could start up chatgpt with voice input, so we could have a "jarvus" like AI 24x7 like in Ironman.

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Bangle.js with a microphone (?)

Posted by Avatar for user133541 @user133541

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