Thank you for all the replies. I was asking about it because my daughter has an iphone 5s on its last legs so we are looking at all of our options. At this point I think I will get her an iphone SE 2020 or 2016 and then pray tidepool gets approval so we can start looping in an FDA approved way. I was going to choose Android, but it looks like Tidepool will support iOS first.
The primary reason I have avoided the DIY looping is because it seems like she will have to carry an additional gadget (RilyeLink) than just phone + pod + dexcom. The phone is already a heavy shackle for her. We avoided tube pumps for a similar reason, although the wait has been so long for the omnipod Horizon that it may have been a mistake in hind sight.
Hopefully a smart watch will gain full dexcom support soon. It is difficult handing a smart phone to a young child. A watch would be far better.
There was a rumor a few weeks ago that Apple was adding some sort of non-invasive blood glucose monitoring to the next Apple Watch (which would be released in September, if Apple follows the schedule as all previous Apple Watch releases).
Itâs possible that this is a misunderstanding of some sort of watch/CGM integration, which would technically mean that the watch does not invasively collect BG but leaves the invasiveness to the CGM. Most likely, the rumor is just plain false, but itâs something to keep an eye on just in case.
They limit the apps to just their own apps and donât allow access to the Google Play store (as far as I can tell), but I wonder if they could be convinced to allow specialty health apps to be installed. The phone is only $99 which makes its inevitable destruction by kids a bit easier to bear.
We are using the Iphone 6s Tracfone ($120 at bestbuy) for our little guy. The parental controls are so helpful for setting limits. We have him use the google voice app, for texting, so we can monitor the messages remotely. We are very happy with the iphone 6s and itâs G6 compatibility for communicating with the transmitter (for him), and the Follow app (for me). We both use the 6S on the Tracfone plan, which is surprisingly affordable, and itâs just month to month payment. .
I have been using the Sony Smartwatch 3, SWR50, for more than 4 years, first with the Dexcom G5 and now the G6. This watch has been a perfect standalone collector for both versions of the Dexcom. Of course it uses the Wear OS with an Android phone. I have also recently discovered that it will also communicate with cell coverage. I was suspicious of this feature since many years ago Verizon offered this watch at a discount. The only problem I have had with the watch is the battery. I also solved this problem by selectively using a replacement battery. It is now back to more than 40 hours of battery life.
Hmm, so I took out the Bluejay X2 last week, charged it up, connected to my phone, and set it to the be the collector in the phone slot. So my phone only gets data FROM the Bluejay watch.
Well, my watch has a 97% capture rate, and I imagine some of the missed ones were my fault where I left my watch charging and walked off and out of range.
I am still on the same watch build, 2093. But I am pretty sure xdrip on my phone was updated compared to my previous time using this watch.
I wish the watch had an alarm on it, and a better way to silence the xdrip alarms. The battery life is somewhat short, but charges pretty fast.
But it does itâs job as a simple collector and it tells the time.
I didnât run it out, or really time it, but at least a day and a half. Which, in terms of most other watches, is not bad.
My ultimate goal for battery life is charge the watch on Friday, and have it last until Monday.
My Samsung S3 watch does this all the time.
The Bluejay watch uses a weird little magnetic charger. They are cheap, and I ordered extra when I got my watch, but I dislike having to charge a watch daily.
I just hate having to wear TWO watches! I use my S3 watch for alarms, etc. And the bluejay for BG.
So all you can get out of the Bluejay is time and blood sugar. Bummer. The ones that last a long time sure look big, I guess most of that space is taken up with the larger battery.
Well, BG looks VERY nice. You get the graph, arrow, delta, time from collection, etc. I actually LIKE how it presents the data.
Time and date are the only extras.
Keep in mind, this is also a very inexpensive watch.
I donât really class this as a smart watch, per se. It is a very good collector that you wear on your wrist.
It can backlog data and backfill in to your phoneâs xdrip when they are in contact. The more data held on the watch, the more battery drain.
Also, this watch is listed as Beta. Not a final product. Now whether that is for liability or for the idea of an actual launch of a full production watch, I donât know.
This is however a GREAT solution for a simple low cost collector that doesnât have to be a phone. Good for kids, or people that canât have their phone on them 24/7.
I need to do things where I DONâT want to have my phone with me, but still see my BG. This watch works great for this purpose.
I would like a more multipurpose watch though.
And for anyone that is not using a pump that connects to the Dexcom G5/6, the Bluejay watch for a darn good job connecting to this slot. And you can still have a phone connected in the phone slot.
It is nothing more then two choices in xdrip to select whether it takes the phone slot or not.
Ok, well, after a number of days of having this watch running again and it has been flawless!
I think this is probably a mutli-pronged problem/solution on my end.
First, I didnât know what I was doing and changed every setting known to man in Xdrip while messing with it.
I imagine I have a different version of xdrip than I had before. This could be the entire reason honestly.
This time I started it up how I know itâs supposed to be, and it has just flat out WORKED!
Remember, data, time, BG number/graph/arrows is all you will see. I know it can show more xdrip data, but I donât have experience with basal/bolus, etc on xdrip/watch, so I cannot comment on that.
No alarms, or pretty much any thing else.
It will alarm based on xdrip settings if you want it to.
Ironically, I have spent much time trying to keep my Sony watch from running down the battery by performing other functions outside of xDrip+. Kindle and other programs insist on installing on the watch, and the older version of Adroid Wear that it uses wonât let me uninstall them. I carry a phone with a huge battery and use it for alarms and the rest, so itâs frustrating that I canât prevent apps from using the watch.
Randy; I also use the Sony SWR50 for a Dexcom collector. I also use the watch for a lot of other stuff. After a couple of years of use the original battery charge life started to drastically drop from 60% change after 16 hours to only about 10 to 20% after only 12 hours. I discovered that the original battery, 240 mAh, was failing and many replacements were not any better. I found a battery that is identified as Losoncoer 800 mAh works even better than the original. It seems to be not the normal remanufactured battery but a new design, even a different color. I believe this battery is also identified as Hsabat. Both are identifed as the correct battery for the Sony Smartwatch 3.
Thanks, @dmac. I have heard of replacement batteries but have not needed one yet. Will look for the Losoncoer/Hsabat when I do. Still getting full days from my original.
