And that requires more space than a typical port. In a compact device that is difficult. A flashlight is literally one of the simplest electronic devices there is and bulk is often a plus for comfort.

And yet, I literally have one on my wrist now. It's not noticeably bigger than the Pixel 3 watch.

Here's a video of it in action - https://tube.tchncs.de/w/vYTnG6eKghnicdNj5nkhVx

Clearly we need MicroUSB-C /s

I miss my pebble. It was such a good watch. It would last a week on one charge with eink.

The power connector was the fiddliest thing in the world and proprietary so when it failed and the batter failed soon after...the watch was dead.

Ive heard it works with solar too? Does it stop working after a certain timeperiod of just go into low power mode until it gets enough sun?

I don't know about the lesser Garmin models but I have a Fenix 6 Pro Solar and there isn't enough panel surface area on it to indefinitely power the watch. Garmin only state that it "extends" the battery life by a few days. I haven't tested it to see if you power the thing off completely if it will refill the battery from dead by any meaningful amount but I suspect not.

Not all of them have the solar option. In fact, very few of their lineup do.

Also: Garmin recently enshittified by simultaneously adding an AI slop component that works by taking all of your recorded fitness and location data and doing gods know what with it, as well as a paid subscription tier to their obligatory smartphone app -- the latter after explicitly promising for many years that they wouldn't. So not only is their hardware expensive (and their owners are now rightly pissed), they're also liars. I would not give them any money until they shape up, if I were you. Assuming they ever do...

A flashlight is literally one of the simplest electronic devices there is

You might be surprised at everything going on inside a modern flashlight. I'll grant that it's probably easier to find room for extra seals around the port than in a smartwatch though.

From listening to a 1hr presentation by a furry in VR chat. Its likely because USB C is bloated. Its to complicated if all you need is power delivery in a small form factor.

You could use a usb c connector and not comply with the rest of the spec maybe idk shit about electronics.

don't give them ideas

I miss my pebble. It was such a good watch. It would last a week on one charge with eink.

The power connector was the fiddliest thing in the world and proprietary so when it failed and the batter failed soon after...the watch was dead.

Ive heard it works with solar too? Does it stop working after a certain timeperiod of just go into low power mode until it gets enough sun?

From listening to a 1hr presentation by a furry in VR chat. Its likely because USB C is bloated. Its to complicated if all you need is power delivery in a small form factor.

You could use a usb c connector and not comply with the rest of the spec maybe idk shit about electronics.

Also: Garmin recently enshittified by simultaneously adding an AI slop component that works by taking all of your recorded fitness and location data and doing gods know what with it, as well as a paid subscription tier to their obligatory smartphone app -- the latter after explicitly promising for many years that they wouldn't. So not only is their hardware expensive (and their owners are now rightly pissed), they're also liars. I would not give them any money until they shape up, if I were you. Assuming they ever do...

Gadgetbridge works with most Garmin models. I have the Instinct 2 Solar and have never created a Garmin account or downloader the app.

A flashlight is literally one of the simplest electronic devices there is

You might be surprised at everything going on inside a modern flashlight. I'll grant that it's probably easier to find room for extra seals around the port than in a smartwatch though.

As I understand it you can do USB-C at a basic 5V level with 2 resistors, and for a watch that would be plenty of power.

It does not work with either my Fenix 6 Pro Solar (specifically that one, other Fenix 6 variants are listed as working) nor the Forerunner 230 that somebody just gave me. Both of which are a drag, and I can't be arsed with learning how to add my own support right now at this minute.

Honestly, I've just been using my Fenix unconnected and it's really surprising all it can still do. The only function I don't have that I cared about was receiving notifications. The sensors and topo map and all still work fine and you can even still track rides and hikes, but you have to offload thr GPX tracks via USB and figure out what to so with them yourself.

It's almost like the dumbass limitations of the app are all just artificial, to the surprise of absolutely no one.

yeah but that wouldnt be USB C because usb C is a standard that requires a ton of different things like double way data and power rails and handle 60watts etc. If you just need 5v then you can do it in a much smaller way via another connector or even wirelessly.

I'm gonna assume you know more about this and I do because i cant even light up an LED in a circuit.