I've always thought it ludicrous that a smartwatch (like the Apple watch) should have to be charged daily - makes it pretty much useless to me, especially if it can't even tell the time! I realise that the latest Apple watches last longer but I still find them overengineered and ridiculous.

Since nobody else seems to have mentioned it, I'll mention that I've been delighted to have an AmazFit Bip (with a 176x176 colour e-ink transflective screen) on my wrist for almost 4 years now (I previously had a Pebble) and it still goes at least 3 weeks between charges (previously more like 4 weeks) despite being connected to Bluetooth, taking my pulse every few minutes, and selectively relaying notifications to my wrist.

See https://m.gsmarena.com/amazfit_bip_review_another_shot_at_th... for details but many models have been released in the years since 2018, with higher resolution screens, they last even longer between charges ("up to 45 days") plus allow you to reply with preset messages and control music (sadly lacking from the model I have especially since the Pebble could do that) so perhaps I should treat myself to an upgrade sometime.

> with a 176x176 colour e-ink transflective screen

Citation needed. afaik no such technology as "e-ink transflective screen" exists yet although there were some startups trying to propose such concepts.

I think you mean "transflective lcd screen" which is not e-ink.

> No other smart watch had that feature, and (almost) no other smart watch has it today in 2022.

That's not really true, unless your definition of a smartwatch is limited to Apple/Android devices with LED displays. I use Garmin Fenix with a transflective display which lasts about 2 weeks on a single charge. However, like with Pebble, there are some tradeoffs: the display is not as bright (but clearly visible in the sun), it has less colors, and the screen resolution is lower.

There are two definitions of "smart" :

- having a wide set of capabilities

- being sufficiently open so that an "ecosystem" of third party developers can form

I assume that Garmin Fenix succeeds at the first one, but fails the second ?

It may not be as open as the Pebble, but Garmin does have a development ecosystem - :

https://developer.garmin.com/

Numerous Garmin smart watches sold since at least 2019 have over week of battery life. Mine would probably last 2 weeks if I didn't use the GPS every day.

I have a Garmin Instinct, the battery life is insane. Using the GPS for on average an hour a day I get a week to a week and a half on one charge. Without using the GPS at all it can go 3-4 weeks.

> The super lightweight C-based runtime and eInk display combination was a genius move.

Pebble didn't use eInk. It used transflective LCD.

Personally I think it was a mistake to market the transflective LCD as "E-Paper" when eInk was already an established product. They're very different technologies and people still get them confused.

I agree. I suspect someone at Pebble did that on purpose because I asked specifically about this during their kickstarter and they declined to change their wording.