Pebble is still alive. The brand that officially made the first move to bring the idea of a smartwatch into reality via Kickstarter is thriving despite having bigger competitions. There are people who choose Pebble because it’s simple and does the most basic job they want from a wearable. The Pebble community continues to grow although we’re not sure how many watches the startup has sold the past years.
Now that there are too many smartwatch models available in the market, it may be difficult to decide which new one to get. I’d still go for the Pebble because it’s not complicated and it’s now made more affordable. The Pebble Time Round is down to $199 while the Pebble Time is now only $149–a few months after launch.
The Pebble watches feature the Pebble Health app that is currently widely used by most Pebble Time users. About 90% of them have installed the app and are taking advantage of the features. A software update is on the horizon that is said to include a special Health section in the app, running activities, and activity history.
The Pebble Time Round can very well rival the latest round smartwatches from the top brands. With the new price, we’re certain more people will just settle for the Pebble instead. Right now, there is no problem with coming up with a hi-tech and highly usable smartwatch that’s also stylish and functional. The battle now is on the price. Before those Chinese OEMs introduce their ultra affordable wearables, the bigger names should take advantage by coming up with their own and deliver at such low prices.
SOURCE: Pebble
I have the Time Steel, as a kickstarter backer, and do enjoy it.
Mostly I enjoy that it has nearly 10 days of battery life, so charging isn’t a frequent thing.
It does scratch easily though, and nothing about it is life-altering – on days I forget to wear my watch, I’m not feeling handicapped. Mostly, since I keep my phone on vibrate, it means I feel more of my notifications, and it is handy being able to see texts as they arrive.
There are fewer apps and watch faces than I thought, since Pebble is the most mature player in the game, and isn’t platform or manufacturer specific. I’m also disappointed that there’s no smartstraps or smartstrap-like-accessories that are useful, since that modular expansion concept seems like a “couldabeen” revolutionary feature.
Maybe with the price cut I can see what a standard plastic Pebble drops to – being water resistant, that one would be a great substitute for sports or workshop where I otherwise take it off to risk scratching it.
But my main point is – ALL smartwatches need to have price cuts, until their value proposition becomes something more valuable than one that you hardly miss when you leave it home.