This $199 GPS sports watch is repairable, modular, and open-source
The Una Watch costs less than most Garmin watches now that its price has been lowered from the Kickstarter offer of $350 to $199, but its modular, repairable.
By Dillip Chowdary • Oct 03, 2026 • Source: The Verge
Sequent Labs has introduced the Una Watch, a $199 GPS sports watch built around a philosophy that most wearable manufacturers have abandoned: the right to repair. The device ships with a modular architecture that lets owners swap components, a 1.2-inch MIP LCD display, and up to 10 days of battery life — specs that put it squarely in the same conversation as mainstream GPS watches at a fraction of the cost.
This piece covers what the Una Watch is, how its open-source and modular design differs from traditional sports wearables, and what builders and hardware enthusiasts should know before placing an order or picking up a screwdriver.
What This $199 GPS sports watch is repairable shipped
Sequent Labs launched the Una Watch as a modular, repairable GPS sports watch priced at $199 — down from its original Kickstarter offer of $350. The reduction makes the watch significantly more accessible, positioning it as a budget alternative to devices like the Garmin Forerunner 70 while offering hardware capabilities that Garmin does not. The watch carries GPS for outdoor tracking, a 1.2-inch MIP LCD display optimised for outdoor readability, and a claimed battery life of up to 10 days on a single charge.
The open-source dimension is what separates the Una Watch from nearly every other device in this category. Sequent Labs has made the hardware schematics, firmware source code, and module specifications publicly available. That means the watch is not just repairable in theory — it is repairable with documented part interfaces and community support, rather than depending on a proprietary repair ecosystem or manufacturer goodwill.
What changed for builders in This $199 GPS sports watch is repairable
| Attribute | Previous (Kickstarter) | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $350 | $199 |
| Display | 1.2-inch MIP LCD | 1.2-inch MIP LCD |
| Battery life | Up to 10 days | Up to 10 days |
| Source availability | Not stated | Open-source |
The price drop from $350 to $199 is the most immediate change for prospective buyers, but the structural change for builders is the open-source release of the hardware design. Anyone with the schematics can now design compatible modules, write custom firmware, or extend the watch's functionality beyond what Sequent Labs ships by default. This positions the Una Watch less as a finished product and more as a platform — a distinction that matters significantly for the embedded-hardware and maker communities.

Compared to the Garmin Forerunner 70, which occupies a similar market position on price and battery life, the Una Watch offers no proprietary lock-in. Garmin's ecosystem requires authorised repair centres for most hardware work; the Una Watch's modular design means a user with basic tools and the published schematics can disassemble, diagnose, and reassemble the device independently.
How to install or upgrade This $199 GPS sports watch is repairable
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The Una Watch is a physical product, so acquisition starts with an order through Sequent Labs rather than a package manager. At $199, it is available directly and does not require a Kickstarter backing tier. Builders who want to work with the firmware before the hardware arrives can clone the open-source repository and begin reading or modifying the codebase ahead of time.
```bash
# Clone the Una Watch open-source firmware repository
git clone https://github.com/sequentlabs/una-watchFollow the README for toolchain setup and flashing instructions
```For firmware updates on a physical device, the documentation in the repository covers the flashing process. Because the schematics are public, third-party tooling compatible with the hardware's microcontroller family may also apply — builders should verify the exact chip against the published schematic before assuming generic toolchain compatibility.
Gotchas and compatibility in This $199 GPS sports watch is repairable
The MIP LCD display used in the Una Watch is a reflective technology optimised for outdoor daylight visibility and low power draw, but it performs differently from the AMOLED displays found on premium wearables. Builders and users accustomed to high-brightness always-on displays will find the MIP panel requires ambient light to read comfortably, which is a genuine tradeoff rather than a defect. Battery life figures of up to 10 days assume standard usage; GPS-intensive workouts will reduce that estimate significantly, as is true of every watch in this category.
Module compatibility is an open question at this stage. The modular design promises swappable components, but the ecosystem of third-party modules depends on community adoption. Early buyers should treat the current module catalogue as what Sequent Labs ships, not a mature marketplace. Anyone planning to build a custom module should review the published hardware interface specifications carefully before committing to a design, since breaking changes to the module bus between firmware versions could affect compatibility.
What to watch after This $199 GPS sports watch is repairable
The Una Watch's long-term success as a platform depends on whether the maker and embedded-hardware community builds around the open-source release. Sequent Labs has provided the foundation — schematics, firmware, module specs — but third-party modules, community firmware forks, and compatible accessories will determine how useful the modular promise actually becomes. Watching the GitHub repository activity and any community forums Sequent Labs establishes will signal whether adoption is accelerating or stalling.
On the competitive side, the $199 price point puts pressure on entry-level Garmin and Coros devices that offer comparable GPS and battery life without the repairability story. If Sequent Labs can sustain that price while growing the module ecosystem, it could pull a meaningful share of the builder and sustainability-conscious buyer segments — two groups that mainstream wearable brands have consistently underserved.
Developer Action Items
- ☐ Diff the official changelog for GPS sports watch repairable 1.2 before you bump — APIs, defaults, and removed flags only.
- ☐ Install through the vendor's documented channel in staging; keep a one-command rollback and time-box the canary.
- ☐ Grep your repo for old flag names, lockfile pins, and plugin versions that the notes mark as breaking.
- ☐ Prefer the first patch cut over the day-zero tag unless you have a reason to be on the leading edge.
- ☐ If The Verge did not name a region, plan, or SKU, screenshot the official availability line before you promise it to users.
Author
Dillip Chowdary
Writes Tech Bytes coverage of AI, engineering, and the tools that actually ship. Editor of Tech Pulse Daily.
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