Despite the hardware limitations, it would be amazing to watch the community continue to add new features and fix bugs past the 7 years mark.
The project has 141 contributors, 50 patches and 2800 stars on github and 1393 members in the matrix channel.
I'm really impressed that the watch gets 2-3 updates a year with the screenshots showing an advanced operating system despite the low spec sheet.
It would really be a bad look for Apple when the original Pinetime (Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 64MHz 32-bit CPU, 240x240 LCD IPS, 512KB + 4MB STORAGE, 64KB RAM, 170-180 mAh BATTERY, 5.0/LE BLUETOOTH, Accelerometer, Heart rate sensor SENSORS) outlasts the Series 4 longevity-wise (Apple S4 Dual-core 64-bit CPU, PowerVR GPU, 448x368 pixels OLED, 16GB STORAGE, 1GB RAM 292 mAh, 5.0/LE BLUETOOTH, Accelerometer, Gyro, Heart Rate, Barometer SENSORS)
Whats the point of having all that beefy hardware if Apple doesn't fully utilize it and locks the new features/watch faces behind the new models to get you to spend more. Meanwhile the Pinetime has a unlocked bootloader with multiple operating systems to choose from.
Before I heard the project, I was planning to get the Apple Watch Ultra 4 in 2026 with blood glucose tracking but I now know the Pinetime is a much better choice in the end since the watch is much cheaper and the open source nature greatly hastens the innovation and takes full advantage of the hardware.
I have been using one with an alternate OS / Privacy focused setup of older hardware (Pixel 7 with Graphene, older Bluetooth headphones and a Pinetime). Switching back and forth between that config and a pretty current Samsung config.
It's interesting how much of the current smartwatch features are really just bloat in my day to day. I really only want to track steps, heartbeat when needed and receive messages.
I can do most of that with either and the battery life + simple design of the Pinetime has me considering a full move to their platform (phone, watch, buds).
I run bangle for most of my advanced config and it's decent. Makes some of the under the hood stuff a bit easier.
I think for the price of a pinewatch most users who are already looking at the hardware will get at least their investment back on checking the platform out and dipping in to the community around it.