PineTime Pro smartwatch features dual-core Cortex-M33 MCU, 2.13-inch AMOLED, GPS, and more – CNX Software

Pine64 announced the development of the PineTime Pro smartwatch, powered by a dual-core Cortex-M33 microcontroller with Bluetooth 5.2 Classic and LE and 800KB SRAM. The watch also has a 2.13-inch AMOLED display, GPS support, a heart rate monitor, and a 6-axis motion sensor.

It is an update to the PineTime project that was revealed in September 2019, and is one of the most popular Pine64 tools thanks to open source software projects such as InfiniTime firmware. For reference, the PineTime ships with a Nordic nRF52 Arm Cortex-M4 Bluetooth MCU with 64 KB SRAM, a 1.3-inch IPS display, and a basic HRM and accelerometer. PineTime Pro is a great upgrade that should support more firmware versions.

PineTime Pro Specifications:

• SoC – An 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 with a resolution of 502 x 410
• Audio – Microphone and speaker
• GNSS – GPS is supported
• Sensors
  • A heart rate sensor with the ability to measure blood oxygen
  • 6-axis IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor
• The rest
  • The digital crown also functions as an additional button
  • A moving engine
• Power Supply / Debug
  • 4-pin connector for power and debugging (SWD)/programming
  • I²C battery charger
• Dimensions – TBD

PineTime Pro will benefit from InfiniTime and WaspOS firmware available for PineTime, as its developers already have it. It should be very easy to add new features with additional SRAM, PSRAM, and flash. It may eventually support PebbleOS, though no one seems to be working on the port at this time.

Pine64 views PineTime and PineTime Pro as two separate product offerings, and both will continue to exist, although some tools may now be dedicated to the Pro version.

Apart from the specifications, the developers of Pine64 did not grow much in the source of microcontrollers, but it looks like a custom chip for smartwatches, and the SDK will be open:

Things became more concrete when PineStore started to collaborate with a major smartwatch manufacturer in China that had developed its own chip. That collaboration has been invaluable so far: PineStore and the community have been working together on hardware design, and documentation and SDK tools have been shared to help software development continue. All these tools will also be available to the public once the tool goes into production.

Other major watch manufacturers in China include Huawei, Xiaomi, Imoo, and Huami, but I couldn’t find any watch with a single-core Cortex-M33 MCU and 800 KB SRAM. A Huawei/HiSilicon chip would complicate distribution outside of China, so it’s unlikely to be used in the PineTime Pro, which narrows the list down a bit. However, we will have to wait and see to find out more.

We don’t have any information about the launch date either, as it’s still early days, low-level drivers and demo code are still being worked on. Hopefully it will start later this year. A few more details can be found in the announcement.

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time employee, before leaving his job as a software engineering manager, and started writing daily content, and reviewing full time later in 2011.

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