I'm looking for a watch that is able to do basic "smart" things like show notifications and ping my phone if I misplace it. A timer/stopwatch would also be good, and a long lasting battery.
I have no interest in an Apple watch or Galaxy watch, so I'm looking for something comparatively cheap.
I’ve heard good things about Gadgetbridge but can’t speak to it myself
I would highly consider leveraging the AsteroidOS project -- a privacy-focused linux smart watch effort -- on one of their approved devices. That link should bring you straight to the watches they support.
Pine Time works well with Pine Phone, but only has basic functionality with other Android devices, like notifications. Not much else last I looked, but I may be out of sync with the community's development efforts.
The Bangle.js 2 smart watch is another open source device you could look into.
What would be the best for pixel 8 running grapheneOS? (I’m unsure if the pixel watch can run third-party firmware).
Fully recommend the bangle.js
Super simple, hackable smartwatch. Perfectly compatible with gadgetbridge etc.
Had no issues whatsoever since I bought it a year or so ago
That one looks cool! GPS receiver makes it interesting compared to the pine time.
I doubt that any of the smartwatches is really private, at least it can't be more private than your phone by definition.