He Spectra is a new smart watch Designed from the ground up to be hackable and easy to repair. It was created by Pocuter, a company that has spent the last few years honing its expertise in building small electronic devices like its tiny computer a computer. What makes the Spectra unique is that it is repairable, but has a design that mirrors the Apple Watch, which is much more difficult to access.
The wearable is now available for pre-order through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and is expected to ship in July 2025. Early backers can reserve one at a discount of around $209, while the price Total comes out to around $272. The Spectra is the company's one. seventh Kickstarter campaignbut it also seems to be one of the most ambitious. Three years after developing the prototype, the hardware still hasn't been fully finalized, so while there may be less risk in backing this one, there is still some.
Driven by a Expressif ESP32-S3 Processor “maximized with 8 MB of RAM and 32 MB of executable flash memory,” the Spectra has a 368×448 AMOLED display, a digital crown, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, fitness tracking and environmental sensors, and a microSD slot in the interior that allows, in theory, to increase storage to half a terabyte with a memory card. All of this is housed within a CNC-milled aluminum frame for which the company plans to sell upgrades, including a stainless steel alternative.
The Spectra's internal design also prioritizes battery access, iFixit found, with a baseplate that pulls out of the way and the use of spring-loaded contacts instead of a cable that needs to be disconnected. Small devices like wearables and headphones often have batteries that are notoriously difficult to change, but like Fairphone's Fairbuds, perhaps Spectra will encourage other companies to change that.
The Pocuter team “plans to offer replacement options for each part,” he told iFixit, which shared the easy An unassembled smartwatch prototype is built and then disassembled. (Pocuter has not specified whether the final clock will be shipped pre-assembled.) Seven Phillips head screws hold it all together, instead of glues and epoxies that often make repairs overly complicated or downright impossible.
The wearable will also run a custom operating system called SpectraOS based on JavaScript. Promised features include an interactive debugger that streamlines application development, a secure application sandbox, and support for Linux, macOS, and Windows. You won't have access to Apple's or Google's robust app stores, so getting the most out of Spectra may benefit from some coding experience, not just basic screwdriver skills.
