Pine64 has revealed advancements in the PineTime Pro smartwatch, featuring a dual-core Cortex-M33 microcontroller with Bluetooth 5.2 Classic and LE, and 800KB SRAM. The device includes a 2.13-inch AMOLED display, GPS capabilities, a heart rate monitor, and a 6-axis motion sensor.
This is an enhancement of the PineTime project introduced in September 2019 and is among the most favored Pine64 products due to open-source software initiatives like InfiniTime firmware. Comparatively, the PineTime originally launched with a Nordic nRF52 Arm Cortex-M4 Bluetooth MCU, 64 KB of SRAM, a 1.3-inch screen, and basic HRM and accelerometer. The PineTime Pro represents a significant upgrade, likely accommodating a broader range of firmware.
PineTime Pro specifications:
– SoC – Unnamed wireless MCU
– CPU – Arm Cortex-M33 MCU @ up to 200 MHz
– Memory – 800 KB SRAM
– Wireless – Bluetooth 5.2 Classic (BR/EDR) & Low Energy (additional Cortex-M33)
– Memory – 8 MB PSRAM
– Storage – 8 MB QSPI flash
– Display – 2.13-inch AMOLED touch screen display with 502 x 410 resolution
– Audio – Microphone and speaker
– GNSS – GPS supported
– Sensors
– Heart rate sensor with blood oxygen measurement capability
– 6-axis IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor
– Misc
– Digital crown that also acts as an extra button
– Vibration motor
– Power Supply / Debug
– 4-pin connector for power and debugging (SWD)/programming
– I²C battery charger
– Dimensions – TBD
The PineTime Pro will benefit from both InfiniTime and WaspOS firmware, as developers are actively working on it. Adding new features will become more feasible with additional SRAM, PSRAM, and flash. Although there’s no official work on a PebbleOS port, it could potentially be supported in the future.
Pine64 sees the PineTime and PineTime Pro as distinct offerings, both continuing to exist, but with possibly more resources now focused on the Pro model.
Beyond the specifications, Pine64 developers haven’t elaborated much on the microcontroller source, though it’s suggested to be a custom smartwatch chip with an open SDK. A collaboration with a large Chinese smartwatch manufacturer has been beneficial, contributing to hardware design and sharing documentation and SDK resources to advance software development. These resources will be available to the community once the device enters production.
Some large watch makers in China include Huawei, Xiaomi, Imoo, and Huami, but no watch currently uses a dual-core Cortex-M33 MCU with 800 KB SRAM. A Huawei/HiSilicon chip would complicate distribution outside China, so it likely won’t be in the PineTime Pro, narrowing down the options. We’ll need to wait for more information.
There is no launch date announced yet as it remains early in the process with low-level drivers and demo code still in development. A launch later this year is anticipated. More details can be found in the announcement.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor. He later left his job as a software engineering manager to write news and reviews full-time in 2011.
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