I wonder if Android Wear wouldn't work as an OS basis for this - lower power requirements, probably allows black-and-white screens. The problem there is that Android Wear is absolute hot garbage that can't decide if it's stand-alone or companion to your phone.
Why is not just targeting raw AOSP instead of Google Android not considered? It seems like you could use modern hardware with that... is it the lack of Play Store that's the dealbreaker?