I demand BangleJS3!

The change in barometric pressure causes a sudden change in the weather.
And for the altitude, as we said.
If it was reliable I think it is a good point in favor.

I'm using the barometer.

Even made a clock face that shows falling/rising pressure (coming to an app loader near you soon!).
@uname said :

If it was reliable I think it is a good point in favor.

I'm reading it every ten minutes, and applying a median filter with window-size of 3 samples (=30 minutes). This irons out most outliers, this way I find the barometer to be quite reliable.

Not a crucial feature, but interesting.

@user141090 do you have what is usually called "storm alert" with your clock face?

@uname (I'm user141090 - just changed the default user name to something that makes sense). Well, functionally it might be a "storm alert". It just displays the change over the past 3 hours along with the current value in a subdial behind the clock dial.

You can check it out in my repo. It's split in two apps. First is a background widget to handle barometer readings :
https://github.com/indridieinarsson/BangleApps/tree/master/apps/widbarom
And then the clock face :
https://github.com/indridieinarsson/BangleApps/tree/master/apps/ieclock
which relies heavily on the clock construction kit (https://github.com/rozek/banglejs-2-analog-clock-construction-kit).

I don't use the barometric sensor, because I bought the Bangle.JS2 for these reasons, in that order:
-Battery lifetime
-Always on display
-Hackable

So, yes, waterproof would be on top of my wishlist. But I really like my new watch and it has all I want. I'm so happy.

Does anyone actually care about the barometer?

It's nice to have, but in general as with all barometers the readings are kind of useless because you need either altitude fixed or air pressure fixed to calc altitude. So real world use cases are rare. This is not a Bangle issue, but a basic problem. I like the touch screen: On my watch I have to use the button only for restart.

But in general: For me Bangle 2 is perfect as it is. I really appreciate your work on v1 and v2.
If I want a perfectly designed watch I would buy an Apple Watch. Limitations give interesting hacking problems. If you ever plan to make v3 I think you have to decide whether to make a hacker or an end user product. V2 is now somehow in between.

you need either altitude fixed or air pressure fixed to calc altitude.

some of us might like to have relative height. Also you can get the absolute height from GNSS. You can then feed height from baro and GNSS in a e.g. kalman filter.

This is my first non-Pebble smartwatch, so my experience with the Pebble Time and the Pebble2 shapes my expectations, considerably.

The Pebble Time had a microphone that you could use to reply to text messages. You spoke into the mic on the watch and the app on your phone converted it to text, then sent the text back to the watch for confirmation. If you hit the ok button, the text got sent as a reply.

It was a cute feature, but it didn't always work very well. It stopped working at all once Pebble shut down their servers. I don't remember if the Pebble2 had a mic or not. Once I realized how unreliable the transcription was, I quit trying to use it.

re: barometer

I think it's kind of nifty, and potentially a nice feature to have.

That said, I don't have anything installed yet that uses it yet (I just got my Bangle2 last week) and might or might not actually end up using it. If support for it went away in the future, I suspect I wouldn't be terribly disappointed.

thanks @Indridi!

Does anyone actually care about the barometer?

I'm not bothered about it. I cant think of any really useful use cases for it.
Lets just say I've never bothered to try it.

RE: colours & display: Is there sub-pixel rendering support? What's the layout of the LCD like?

The data sheet for the display is here: https://www.j-display.com/product/pdf/Datasheet/5LPM013M126C_specification_ver03.pdf

If I had to choose between more colours and more pixels I'd choose more colours. The display is already 194DPI (near enough to 200DPI) - basically the same as a 4K 24" screen. There's also the memory and power needed to generate and drive the display to consider.

Japan Display have a 64-colour version of what the Bangle2 has (dimensions are the same, pinout is slightly different, but still an SPI interface): https://www.j-display.com/product/pdf/Datasheet/5LPM013M601B_specification_ver01.pdf

Japan Display have a 64-colour version of what the Bangle2 has

That's great, thanks! I didn't even realise that was the case. I'm certain last time I looked at https://www.j-display.com/english/product/reflective.html only the 8 color version was listed.

I think that's actually pretty attainable for a Bangle.js 3 then - as far as SMA (the CM) are concerned it's probably just a matter of changing the part number they order as the physical dimensions and even pinout look the same.

Does anyone actually care about the barometer?

✋ But, of course, water resistance is better, especially is you can get barometric data via the internet, in case you need them (which I think might be the case in the future 🤞 )

I love the BangleJS 2 and for having backed 7 kickstarter projects I can tell you, you handled it very well and delivered a good product. It's my favorite from the 7 I backed.
This thread is great to give ideas. But when you will be looking to make a new BangleJS you should do a proper survey to know which features are most wanted.

What I really like about my Banglejs 2 is:

• The always on display
  
• All the open source software and apps (watch side)
  
• Most of the hardware features (HRM, GPS, accelerometer)
  
  

What I don't like:

• The lack of colors (a 64 color display would be great)
  
• Not fully waterproof
  
• Feel kind of slow sometimes ("Loading..." message on a lot of actions)
  
• The integration with Gadgetbrigde is somehow lacking (works well when connected but don't load any history from the watch)
  
  

What I don't need:

• The barometer
  
• The speaker
  
  

What else would I like the most for the next model:

• An oximeter
  
• Bigger resolution display
  

Another + for more buttons. With the ability to turn touch off completely, if not it becomes close to useless to use when wet.

Dragging that out of the nethers.

I have also been a Pebble user. After my pebble showed severe battery issues I found BangleJS2.

I guess I'll have to echo what most people already said:
I miss/would like/have to criticise

• the 3+1 buttons
  
• the vibration motor seems very weak to me
  
• having to disconnect from Gadgetbridge to be able to get the app manager
  
• waterproofness
  
  

I really like:

• hackability/openness (I am starting to teach my nephew+niece) a little programming, currently with a Calliope Mini, but will look into the BangleJS for that as well (only problem here is, that i don't live close to them).
  
• standard watchbands
  
• always on-display (although I'm used to that from the Pebble)
  
• the low weight (It's so much lighter than the pebble)
  
  

What would be my priorities for future iteration?

1. water proofness
   
2. buttons!!!
   
3. always on-display
   
4. heart rate sensor
   .
   
5. barometer (I guess this is an edge case thing, some people will want it, but for most people this will be more of a toy than anything else.)
   

A survey would indeed help shape JS3 into what most current users would like to see. And having the older alternatives is good for those who want the specialty items (like the barometer, or full color LCD). It depends on what Bangle's intended use really is.. a smart watch for hackers, or a hackable smart watch (they sound similar, but they're different!)

Myself, I am into the visual, and would enjoy the screen to be physically larger, hopefully without making the case TOO much larger. That would help touch screen behaviour as well. With more pixels (240x240 or greater) one can forgive the lack of colors (as anti-aliasing would be less necessary). I found the 64 color screen on the DK08 to be fantastic, if a tad too small and (sadly) low contrast (watches must be visible INDOORS on cloudy, dark Canadian "days"!)

That said, I also want to thank Gordon (and team!) for the fantastic work they've done and continue to do. I will certainly be a Kickstarter when the BJ3 is ready.

with a combination of online meeting tools / screen sharing, and the Web IDE relay, you can probably still teach them remotely?

I will certainly be a Kickstarter when the BJ3 is ready.

I ... don't think BJ is the best shorthand for the BangleJS 🙄

with a combination of online meeting tools / screen sharing, and the Web IDE relay, you can probably still teach them remotely?

They are not that technically interested yet, but the idea that something they do makes it onto a physical device in the real world they can interact with is captivating. They don't really have a concept of "everything is designed and procuded by someone". The physical "I can touch that" part is quite important for their motivation.

Agreed.... on both counts!

Bangle 2 is a brilliant device for my opinion. For Bangle 3 my main petition is: a bigger screen (1.5 to 1.8 inches) make more use of the surface of the watch.

An interesting idea, Andrew. The Bayer filter concept makes sense, but could there be a CMYK version of that concept? As comfortable as I am working/thinking in RGB, LCDs work on the principle of subtractive color, so perhaps we could get more out of an LCD display by thinking in terms of the subtractive model. Of course that would mean finding a manufacturer who
produces that type of screen. Do CMYK LCD displays even exist?

I'm not aware of CMYK displays. Maybe actual e-paper displays that default to white and need to subtract colours to work (like actual paper and printing). I think we're mostly likely to get an upgraded display via the 64-colour one I found, since it's basically exactly the same as the current one, except for the extra colours.

I saw something recently about CMYK epaper but I think that's a reasonably new thing - and I haven't seen any LCDs with it (since you'd effectively have to stack 3 LCD panels).

Realistically we'd have to be selling maybe 1000x more watches even to start thinking about getting a custom LCD made, so we're stuck with off the shelf options at the moment.

As @andrewg_oz says the 64 color one seems to be almost a slot-in upgrade so is by far the most likely, but even so if it adds 25% to the cost of the watch (which is likely) I think it's going to be hard to justify.