It's been a while since the last update. I took a break over the summer, so not much happened for a few months.

The new ZSWatch 1.0 is here! The hardware is finalized. I expect to get the final build in a week or so, and since it only has a small change, I expect it to be the final one. The case is released and there is a full assembly guide. On the software side, a lot has landed since the last post: heart rate, power consumption improvements, animated watchfaces, voice replies to notifications, a Chat app, and a security audit and an accessibility review.

Let's break it down.

The first real "reworked" ZSWatch prototype is assembled, running, and confirmed working! This is the small watch PCB we have been working toward after validating the larger DevKit. We also have an initial case, the heart-rate extension PCB is working, the speaker is alive, and the companion app has some new microphone and watchface features.

Let's break it down.

The ZSWatch DevKit is finally ready to order at Elecrow!. Documentation has been improved a lot. On the software side, we've been experimenting with something pretty exciting: dynamically loading apps onto the watch, no reflashing required. Let's break it all down.

The ZSWatch DevKit is almost ready for ordering, we've completed the heart rate integration into the main firmware, created a new app picker UI, finished the health PCB add-on with a new audio codec (meaning we will have a speaker), and we built a dedicated companion app. Let's break it all down!

As usual, a lot has landed since our last update, but much of it hasn’t been very visual, so the updates here have been quiet. On hardware, we focused on revision two of the Devkit and the heart‑rate test PCB. On software, we optimized power (especially reducing XIP power draw), improved firmware updates over BLE and USB (WebSerial), and added a couple of apps. We also built a dedicated production test application to verify hardware functions during manufacturing. Below is a quick tour, plus a short technical deep‑dive on how XIP works on ZSWatch and why it matters for battery life.

Let’s dive into the details...

We’ve made great progress on the hardware front! Our new development kit is the next step toward a more refined ZSWatch, and it allows us to test key features before shrinking everything down to the final form factor.

This Devkit isn’t just for internal testing, it’s also for developers who want to get an early start building software for ZSWatch. It gives full access to all interfaces, and we’ll be sharing more info soon on how to get one.

Let’s dive into the details....

It's now been two months since our last update and a new one is very much due!

We’ve hit two major milestones:

• A prototype PCB for health tracking
• Firmware updates over USB and BLE

Let’s dive into the details....

We will be doing a redesign of much of the ZSWatch hardware. Before getting too deep into it we would like to collect some feedback and ideas. Please fill in the form below.

For the last few months there have not been much progress in ZSWatch. But that's about to change because we have received 50 000 € from the NLnet Foundation to take ZSWatch to the next level!

NGI0 Commons Fund, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet program. Learn more at the NLnet project page.

We support organisations and people who contribute to an open internet for all. We fund projects that help fix the internet through open hardware, open software, open standards, open science and open data.

Which ZSWatch falls pretty well under.

Here we go into more details about what this means.

If you have not heard of ZSWatch before, here is an intro!