BangleJS 2 - Linus from Linus Tech Tips wants a BangleJS 2 #5864
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Posted at 2021-12-26 by htky @gfwilliams seems like a good opportunity! Posted at 2021-12-26 by Serj Wow! Good news. I also asked them to pay attention to the Bangle.js, but most likely they did not see my comment :) Posted at 2021-12-27 by @gfwilliams This is great news! I'll get in touch with them when I return from holidays. Judging by some of their reviews I wonder if they'd end up roasting Bangle.js a bit - but we'll see - if they know what to expect then it could be great. Posted at 2021-12-27 by Serj Yes, the main thing is to make it clear that Bangle.js is not an Apple Watch or an Amazfit Bip, but a completely different product with its own advantages and some similar functionality. Closer to Pebble watch (second version of Bangle.js), but completely open source. Posted at 2021-12-27 by What-A-Whole-One I sent the merch message he read. He mentioned on the upside down build stream he was looking for a simple watch and missed his pebble. Posted at 2021-12-27 by @gfwilliams Excellent - thanks! Just dropped them an email so we'll see. I won't send anything until I'm back anyway, and potentially I might try and update the menu system beforehand so it's a bit less fiddly ;) Posted at 2021-12-28 by fanoushs-punching-bag Also, it might be a good idea to have a really good 'get started'. Perhaps it needs to be updated. For instance, swipe launcher is really good, also pattern launcher is good too and I have my pattern launcher to replace swipe launcher. If this was the default out of the box, it's very easy to understand. Posted at 2022-01-04 by @gfwilliams
What do you mean? You mean the apps that it comes with by default? Or just what is written on https://banglejs.com/start2? Posted at 2022-01-04 by fanoushs-punching-bag Actually that's pretty good. One possible addition would be a suggested install list of possible first apps to install (I'd recommend (Multi-clock, Anton Clock, Quiet Mode Schedule and Widget, Auto widget hide). My second suggestion is the initial load doesn't include some settings by default on, like the step counter widget; this could happen when you do the next initial load for your next batch of watches. Obviously you'll load the newest firmware, perhaps having some of these settings by default would be a better initial load. Posted at 2022-01-04 by Serj Yes, it would be nice to have more good pre-installed applications out of the box, more watch-faces + a couple of games like Clock-Tris. So that there is something to see before the app store, for a good first impression. Posted at 2022-01-04 by nicoboss well, in my case i was happy to receive the Bangle with not too much pre-installed apps, and then being able to wander and roam thru the different apps, to finally make it my own. Posted at 2022-01-04 by myownself Yet to get one but I was thinking this will probably be me. I like simple, light defaults. Posted at 2022-01-05 by @gfwilliams
Yes, this was my thinking really. Half the fun is making it your own... The Wiki does have a list of suggested apps: https://github.com/espruino/BangleApps/wiki Posted at 2022-02-07 by 7kasper Any updates? :-) Posted at 2022-02-08 by @gfwilliams Afraid not - I've sent them two messages so far offering to send them a free one for testing and no reply! Posted at 2022-02-11 by Izaic :( Posted at 2022-10-05 by @halemmerich I have just seen this on reddit: At 10:24 the Bangle 2 is very recognizable :) Posted at 2022-10-06 by Serj Wow! Great! I hope he and the team get serious about testing, as some apps and widgets make a huge difference to the user experience for the better. For example, Pattern Launcher, Widget Editor, Touchscreen Calibration, etc. For example, how can you immediately understand that you can do such things: combine an alarm clock + a widget that will show the time until the alarm is activated? In general, I hope that the potential of the Bangle.js2 will be fully revealed! Posted at 2022-10-07 by @gfwilliams That's awesome! I finally managed to get in contact (for some reason previous attempts to email them didn't work) and send them one, so we'll see what happens. I asked them to get in touch if there were any questions whatsoever, but obviously they'll want to remain impartial. But the fact Linus is wearing it is great! To a certain extent, even if he gives a scathing review it still makes others aware of its existence (but obviously I'd prefer they love it) Posted at 2022-10-17 by @gfwilliams Hi - just an update on this. LTT won't be featuring the Bangle - Linus did try it for a day or two (as you noticed!) but he found it too hard to use and buggy and so doesn't want to review it. So close! It's a bit of an eye-opener though - it feels like we go through phases of pushing for specific features (eg improving lunch time, configurable keyboards, messages, etc) and honestly probably the best thing we could do is to really focus on the experience for new users. Posted at 2022-10-17 by Serj It is a pity that the BJS2 watch is not tested by Anthony Young from the LTT team, because he is more geeky and technically advanced. That's right, for most users, BJS watch should be as friendly as possible right out of the box, and advanced users can always customize the watch for themselves. A simple case: let's say I'm not a technical user with an iPhone, I took the watch out of the box, and what's next? Where are the applications? That is, I have to google to understand that I cannot install apps from the browser, that I still need to buy an additional application just to install something on my watch. Full support only for android users, given that there are quite a lot of users with an iPhone, and it is not known whether there will be an analogue of GadgetBridge at all? Is popularization possible without full support for both platforms? There are some things that are not obvious, for example, I have to disconnect the bluetooth every time to install something from the BJS app store. Perhaps if the watch came with a booklet for use and settings, it would be a little easier for non-technical users to master? Since after setting the clock becomes much better than those that go by default, it’s hard to understand in a few days. Perhaps we need a separate thread where we will to discuss such problems, if there is a desire to expand the audience. I don't want watches to be just for geeks, on the contrary, it would be nice if the number of owners became more :) Posted at 2022-10-17 by @gfwilliams
Yes, he would have been more likely to be into it - but I guess it's Linus that decides what gets reviewed.
Yes, although I have a feeling it might just turn into a big long list of complaints without being super useful. We'll see. So far few of the complaints I have had have been very specific - where they are I tend to fix the docs pretty much the same day. I'd hoped that the wiki at https://github.com/espruino/BangleApps/wiki would have ended up being a good resource, but despite the large amount of people that requested it, only 3 people apart from me have ever edited it. Posted at 2022-10-17 by ususmichael Its time, that Tim Cook will finally wear a real smartwatch :-) Posted at 2022-10-18 by Hank I think there are some things that are just currently different from other watches. BangleJS works more or less independently from the phone. You can get the App Loader pretty much running instantly to upload apps which is awesome. Posted at 2022-10-18 by Serj @hank Interestingly, I also thought about the need for a separate thread with use cases, where users could share examples from their real life how they use the BJS watch, and also share their watch backups so that you can install a customized version of another person's watch and play around, it's easy to do :) Posted at 2022-10-19 by @gfwilliams There is a section on https://github.com/espruino/BangleApps/wiki#recommended-apps where I'd hoped some folks might fill in their favourite apps:
So if you're up for it, editing that with your suggestions would be really good. Personally, I'm not sure that a thread itself would be that useful - they pretty much always end up getting swamped in "hey, that's cool. But how would I do this?" posts that new users would have to scroll through. The Wiki would at least ensure we can keep some sanity so users could find the information quickly. Backups are a neat idea, but I do wonder if they'd just end up out of date really quickly? Posted at 2022-10-19 by Serj
At the very least, a more or less stable version of a fully customized watch for the needs of a certain person will saved, and all I will have to do is restore the other person's backup. Compatibility with different firmware versions is in question, but then you just need to install the latest firmware and then restore the backup. For a new user, this seems to be the easiest option to get a polished version of the BJS watch, and then play around, change apps. Posted at 2022-10-19 by @gfwilliams
I can totally see that having a list of use cases and then links to the apps to install and instructions for how to configure them would be great. But I just can't see that a 'black box' backup of a watch would help too much, especially as it would be out of date almost immediately, and the steps taken to configure it probably wouldn't have been documented. There's also a huge risk of someone accidentally including personal data... Posted at 2022-10-19 by @halemmerich How about having curated "Collections" in the apploader? Like an additional tab where you could install the Fitness-Collection and get Heart Rate Monitor,Run and Recorder for example. Posted at 2022-10-19 by user148369 The perception of users is often that they have a finished product in front of them that works like other smartwatches. However, the BangleJS2 is more of a WIP project that expects a lot from users. I read up a lot, talked to BangleJS2 owners on social media and watched videos before I bought mine. So I knew the smartwatch would not be a replacement for my Amazfit Bib (e.g. not really waterproof). But it really took a lot of hard work to figure it all out in advance. And yes, from my point of view there are still many construction sites. For example, the data analyses still have many issues (e.g. https://forum.espruino.com/huddles/3248580/#comment16653267, https://forum.espruino.com/huddles/3250653/#comment16700803). But I see very good approaches here on the part of the BangleJS actors. I like the idea of app recommendations. For example, I find the BW clock the best of all (almost as minimal as the default clock, but with more functions. Would be great to see this ideas from this thread https://forum.espruino.com/conversations/379724/?offset=25#comment16725363 in production some time). Perhaps the default apps can be put together a little differently in the future so that users can reach their goal more quickly. As for the trackers (heart rate and steps), I don't think there will be any quick improvements. It's just complicated. So to everyone involved, thanks for the great work and have fun. Posted at 2023-05-02 by @thyttan On the note of Backups/Collections mentioned in this conversation I'm creating a pseudo-app that kind of does this. Currently I'm doing it with all the apps I have installed, but eventually I'll remove many of them leaving the ones I consider core to the way I use my bangle. It works by adding all the apps as dependencies in metadata.json and adding some presets by uploading some app.json files for a couple of apps. Before installing it (please first do a backup of your own setup if you're to test this!) I do:
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Posted at 2021-12-26 by Izaic
As mentioned here on the WAN show stream
(1:14:35 in)
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