AsteroidOS offers an open-source alternative to Google’s Wear OS

After four years of development, AsteroidOS 1.0, an open-source smartwatch operating system is now available in its first stable build.

“This project has steadily grown and gathered contributions from about 100 contributors from all around the world, all united behind the idea of an open wearable platform,” wrote creator Florent Revest on the operating system’s blog.

Currently, the OS can be installed as an alternative operating system on the following watches:

• Asus ZenWatch 1
• LG G Watch Urbane
• LG G Watch
• LG G watch R
• Asus ZenWatch 2
• Asus ZenWatch 3
• Sony Smartwatch 3

There are full instructions for installation on each watch on the website, but fair warning, it’ll require a bit of technical know-how.

For those who are game to try, but would rather not fully replace the previous operating system, AsteroidOS provides the option of a dual-boot mode.

As for features, the simplistic AsteroidOS 1.0 delivers all the basic functions of a smartwatch — phone notifications, agenda, alarm clock, calculator, music remote control, settings, stopwatch, timer and weather.

Plus, the swipe gestures look a little more intuitive than Wear OS (formerly known as Android Wear), perhaps simply by the virtue of there being less options — but I’ve yet to give it a test drive.

Some less basic features are supposed to come soon, with always-on display, grouped notifications and calendar synchronization all in development.

The features can be synchronized using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) with Android phones through a companion app called ASteroidOSSync, available via APK.

Source: AsteroidOS