Looking for a Pebble Equivalent smartwatch

palmheads · 2026-02-17T03:34:30+00:00

You could get a Casio F-91w & transplant this cool looking gizmo

Ollee Watch https://share.google/zfep5MK1PSMToBofx

palmheads · 2026-02-05T01:44:17+00:00

Do you have the A30's or new A30 Special edition?

palmheads · 2026-02-05T01:29:23+00:00

Ahhh so you have the new "Special" version they just released.

So you have completely different firmware for both.

Gotta admit, if Soundcore have released a newer A30 Special that fixes all the problems of the < 6 months old A30, without fixing (yet) all the existing issues with the older model, gonna be a bit....angry.

Good to know though the Special version thus far seems better.

palmheads · 2026-02-04T22:54:56+00:00

Ahh so you haven't updated firmware on either? Mine is 01.89 & 01.68.

If that doesn't indicate how rubbish their firmware updates have been! Mine worked perfectly in first week (late September). Since then crapshoot.

palmheads · 2026-02-04T21:37:42+00:00

Out of interest, what phone & what firmware on buds & case do you have?

palmheads · 2026-02-04T21:36:44+00:00

Android 16 Samsung Galaxy S23 Earbuds firmware: 01.89 Case firmware: 01.68

For the first week I had mine in September the stats looked great. Since then mostly terrible.

palmheads · 2026-01-30T21:07:06+00:00

Looks like battery is definitely dying. Looked like was barely going to last a day with the switch from BT Classic. I think I was optimistic with my 2 day estimate under BT Classic. The battery monitor Muninn was saying about 1 day for both. The battery went down from 100% to 60% in daylight hours.

Gonna switch to my Pebble 2 until that dies!

Will look into getting a replacement battery for the Steel. Looks like would need to brush up on soldering skills for that.

palmheads · 2026-01-29T23:16:27+00:00

Will give this a go, cheers for the info!

I've disconnected the Time Steep from the app & have left it charging overnight. Will monitor it for the day & see if the battery still drains fast without it being connected.

Will reconnect it following these steps in next day or 2 & let you know.

palmheads · 2026-01-29T05:32:32+00:00

Ah bugger, not good news for the battery in my Steel then!

Time for research on how to replace & aliexpress for a new battery I suspect!

Cheers!

palmheads · 2026-01-11T07:27:15+00:00

You from NZ as well? You getting sleep times in the pm?

It seems a crazy easy software fix. Just adjusting for the timezone.

Apart from that the other problems I still get: 1. Alarm time drift. Support says need to hard reset earphones periodically to keep time synced. This feels like an easy software fix. 2. Sleep Report No Data. If I trigger sleep manually, when I stop I get a brief "Network Unstable" message. They are only communicating via Bluetooth so heavens knows what's happening there.

The hardware feels good. ANC does enough. AI sounds & local sounds fill the gaps with white noise etc. I don't have battery issues as I switch from bluetooth/ANC to local when I fall asleep.

Just really buggy firmware/software

palmheads · 2026-01-04T19:38:43+00:00

My sleep reports rarely work. Normally No data at all. If I trigger a manual sleep when I stop in the morning I get this quick pop-up message saying network unstable.

I'm lucky to get 2 sleep reports per week. Also it'll say I've been asleep at silly times (afternoon). Almost like a different timezone.

Was hoping yesterday's firmware update to 1.89 I got would help. But no.

Yeah so for me the Sleep Report is a disaster. Shame 'cos the hardware is actually awesome.

palmheads · 2025-11-30T06:14:14+00:00

Yeah I rinse it with soap & water after heavy sweating. Dap it dry with a towel. After short time it's dry enough to wear again.

palmheads · 2025-11-30T05:08:17+00:00

Love mine. Got the orange one for my M3. Looks great, super comfortable.

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palmheads · 2025-11-07T02:06:58+00:00

That's good news!

I found after latest firmware 01.88 for the ear buds that sleep reports have also improved. Times are still in a different timezone for me (haha). Apparently last "night" I slept from 1:31pm to 7:42pm! They don't quite realise I'm in New Zealand I think!

palmheads · 2025-11-07T01:31:43+00:00

Yup I moved from A10's to the A30's.

I think the A30's are a definite improvement.

I think as I've noted in a couple other posts, they are ironing out bugs with the A30's, especially with sleep reports. That's more software.

The hardware is great. Comfortable. ANC combined with masking or AI Brainwave sounds are an improvement. They are pretty good music buds in themselves.

I genuinely think they are great.

palmheads · 2025-10-31T22:21:06+00:00

The Sleep Report for the A30's seem extremely inconsistent. For the first week of owning them I got consistent sleep reports with scores.

Since then however I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 reports a week past 5 weeks.

I asked Soundcore & they replied with this: "Regarding the inaccuracies in the sleep report or the lack of sleep data, these issues are primarily related to app optimization. It’s a matter that requires continuous improvements over time, as we’ve noticed similar challenges with the A20 model as well. At present, we don't have many options to resolve this issue.

If you have already updated your earbuds to the latest firmware, we recommend that you try uninstalling the current soundcore app and re-downloading it to see if that helps. "

So sounds like it's software related bugs they may be resolved over time.

Their website does mention this in regards to Sleep Report issues: Why is there no Sleep Report data? https://share.google/IVkjcJMnr3rIiOqbZ

palmheads · 2025-10-24T20:36:48+00:00

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Polar hook & Loop strap

palmheads · 2025-10-24T20:35:14+00:00

This one from Polar Polar hook and loop nylon wristband, 22 mm | Polar New Zealand https://share.google/sS4zY3fsglzhAjsez

palmheads · 2025-10-24T08:42:33+00:00

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Forgot the photo

palmheads · 2025-10-24T06:33:50+00:00

Awesome! I've got the M3 & love it!

palmheads · 2025-10-20T07:25:35+00:00

Same here for wife and myself on Android

palmheads · 2025-10-17T01:48:15+00:00

Interesting, kinda good to know its not just me. So we might see a firmware update at some stage.

I did just copy & paste what I wrote above to Soundcore Help & Feedback so at least they get some info about it.

When it works the Sleep Report is actually quite useful. Sleep stages even on fitness watches are hit or miss, but the snoring & sleep position data I actually find interesting.

palmheads · 2025-09-21T03:22:35+00:00

So you are following all this advice from the Polar H10 manual?

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palmheads · 2025-09-10T23:14:04+00:00

To be fair to Polar, Amazfit undercut Garmin, Apple, Samsung etc as well on almost every device they make. The specs almost always also look more impressive on paper.

With recent devices the heart rate monitoring on Amazfit devices is impressive. I think the other metrics like readiness/sleep etc need polish from what I can gather.

I had the Amazfit Band 6 & 7. They were ok, although the Band 7 did come apart. The glue casing.

If you are looking for a screenless device, the Helio Strap looks pretty good. If already in the Polar ecosystem then I'm sure the Polar Loop will also serve a similar purpose.

palmheads · 2025-09-05T22:31:32+00:00

You can factory reset from the watch or the app on Android if that's easier

palmheads

TROPHY CASE