7 ms·

My Pebble mood tracker app from 2016

88 points by bberenberg 3y ago

poglet 3y ago
I miss physical buttons interfacing with apps. There are many apps that would benefit from this, as mentioned in the article.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  When Pebble died, I switched to a Garmin watch. It replicated the features of the Pebble that I held most dear, most importantly, the long battery life and physical buttons. Sadly, it isn't possible to develop apps for it, though. To this day, there isn't a watch that adequately replaced the full glory that is the Pebble.
  - TickleSteve 3y ago
    Garmin has an app store & SDK,its absolutely possible to develop apps for it.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      Not for my model. I have an Instinct, which is their cheapest line and doesn't allow app development. Their more expensive offerings do, though, you're right. I went for the Instinct because I use it heavily when backpacking in the wilderness, and it's the most rugged. Plus, it's inexpensive enough that if I bash it against a rock or something and destroy it, it's not a crisis.
  - FatherPaulStone 3y ago
    I did the same, and I still miss my pebble, I miss how well it handled my calendar - and agenda. Now after a number of years with my fenix 5, without it really changing, I'm eyeing up an apple watch, to fill that agenda shaped hole on my wrist/
    - gnicholas 3y ago
      Same. Wish Apple made an AWU that was less focused on rugged sports and more focused on maximizing battery life. It’s bizarre that xiaomi and amazfit make nice looking watches with 8x as much battery life as an Apple Watch. What is Apple’s problem? I would have stuck with the amazfit but the physical buttons won’t control music (and I don’t trust their data policy enough to wear a gps-enabled device on my person 24/7).
pedalpete 3y ago
@bberenberg - you may be interested in https://sahha.ai/ https://sahha.ai/ They're building a developer API to measure wellness and mood without user input. I'm considering maybe trying it in an app we're developing, but I have no affiliation with them (aside from being in the same part of the world Aus/Nz).
- bberenberg 3y ago
  Based on the quote > Our models are trained on a validated clinical rating scale but instead of needing the user to fill out a questionnaire the models predict the score based on the user’s digital phenotype. > Sahha produces this digital phenotype by producing a holistic picture of the user’s movement, sleep and phone usage. I don’t believe this will do anything helpful for my interests, though I can see how this could be used in a surveillance method to adjust things like insurance pricing. [1] https://developer.sahha.ai/docs/data-science https://developer.sahha.ai/docs/data-science
z3t4 3y ago
Should have a look at espruino and banglejs
_ea1k 3y ago
I still use the Pebble as my main smartwatch. I tried out a ticwatch, but got tired of it pretty quickly. The Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel were really great devices, with a great balance of capability and battery life. The fact that it can easily last a day on a small fraction of the battery has often unexpected benefits too. Forgot to charge? np, just charge while doing something else for ~10 minutes and it will get you through the day anyway. Even less if it just needs to last overnight to use as an alarm the next day.
- afavour 3y ago
  I’ve had an Apple Watch for years but I very rarely use it for anything I couldn’t do with my Pebble Time Round all those years ago. Set timers, control music, check the weather… all possible with a device that was cheaper, had a longer lasting battery and looked better (subjective opinion of course). RIP Pebble. You were always doomed because you couldn’t have the kind of OS integration a first party device could, but you were the little watch that could.
  - _ea1k 3y ago
    TBH, OS integration on Android wasn't too bad. They were able to leverage a lot of the exposed Android Wear APIs. But they were really slow to embrace fitness usage and a lot of people found them less attractive than the Fitbit.
  - amatecha 3y ago
    I've always felt the Pebble was superior to the Apple Watch for controlling music playback, because you could control the playback with tactile buttons you can operate without looking at. With the Apple Watch you don't really have any choice but to raise your wrist (to make the screen turn on), look at the screen to know where to tap, and tap precisely on the right spot on the screen. With the Pebble you can just feel for the upper button and push on it. One of the ways in which my "upgrade" to an Apple Watch was actually a downgrade :\
    - gnicholas 3y ago
joshmn 3y ago
Tangentially related: I'm extremely very interested in working with something like this for people with Alexithymia and related phenomena. I have the tech skills but have the condition which makes development a bit difficult; email in profile.
- brianjking 3y ago
  Now I'm wondering if I have Alexithymia. How did you get diagnosed?
jawns 3y ago
I love my Pebble Time watch, and for the first several years I used all the bells and whistles: the sleep tracking, the Bluetooth alerts, even the mini games (like Tetris) from the Pebble Store. But after about 6 years of ownership, I noticed that my battery could only hold a charge for 3-4 days, compared with 10-12 when I first got it. Then I realized that I wasn't regularly paying attention to the sleep tracking data. And the Bluetooth alerts were a little noisy, especially since I'm in front of a laptop for most of my workday. And once Pebble went out of business and the Rebble app store became more of a gamble, I realized it had been a while since I used any apps. So about a month ago, I bought a simple $40 Timex watch. And it dawned on me that it has the three things I really want: a clock, an always-on display, and a super long battery life. I'm not entirely abandoning my Pebble. It's still nice to wear when I'm out and about and don't want to constantly check my phone for notifications. But it's nice to know that when it finally wears out for good, I've got an acceptable backup.
- reidjs 3y ago
  Big fan of my new solar powered G Shock. Auto syncs time via radio signal and supposedly a 10-15 yr battery life
- user_named 3y ago
  I also just swapped my Xiaomi Smart Band for a Timex. I realized that none of the data had any use to me.
- fredley 3y ago
  I now wear a cheap (~£20) vintage mechanical watch. It tells the time. It does need charging every day or two, but charging only takes a few seconds and doesn't require an adapter or power socket.
  - Kaibeezy 3y ago
    Citizen Eco-Drive (<$20 eBay). Trickle charges off the bar light filtering through my Glenfarclas 105.
brianjking 3y ago
You're making me miss my Pebble again. There was a project I was looking at a little bit ago of someone who made a Pebble replacement, but I can't recall the name right now.
- mr337 3y ago
  Was it Rebble[1]? 1 - https://rebble.io/ https://rebble.io/
  - brianjking 3y ago
    Found it! Watchy is the name, have you heard of it? https://watchy.sqfmi.com/ https://watchy.sqfmi.com/ https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/SQFMI/SQFMI-WATCHY-10?qs=DRkmTr78QARN9VSJRzqRxw%3D%3D https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/SQFMI/SQFMI-WATCHY-10?q...
    - 4ggr0 3y ago
      Oh no, why did you post this. Now I want to buy one :( i dont need it i dont need it i dont need it... EDIT: Okay I lasted 5 minutes. Looking forward to assembling it :)
    - afandian 3y ago
      I've got one. For what it is, I recommend it. The fit and finish is very nice, especially for the price. It's a little bulky, and not waterproof. Not an every-day watch. The software is basic, but I was able to recompile it and re-upload the same day it arrived in the post. If that appeals to you, you should get one! I have a fantasy about creating some kind of habit tracker app for it. One day...
8en 3y ago
Hi, I'm working on How We Feel. I'm eager to make it more useful. If there is anyone on this thread interested in helping, please send a note to ben@howwefeel.org. So far, I've learned that the biggest benefit of mood tracking is the process of tracking: taking a moment to reflect on how you feel, name the emotion, and think about why you feel the way you do. The next big opportunity is to teach people effective strategies for dealing with their emotions in a healthy way (even if that just means accepting the emotion without judgement). As an aside, I also loved my Pebble and physical buttons :D
- decko 3y ago
  I recently discovered How We Feel so I just wanted to thank you for your work. I really enjoy using the app! I found a small bug in the analyze tab though. If you look at e.g. weekly and select a tab that is not the left most one, then scroll down, then tap the top of the display (the universal scroll to the top feature of iOS), the content disappears.
  - 8en 3y ago
    Thanks for finding this bug. We'll get it fixed soon.
- sdfhbdf 3y ago
  Hey thanks for work on the app! Is there any possibility of translating the app to different languages? I can drop a note to email if you want, since as I understand you are based on Yale's Mood Meter - https://moodmeterapp.com/science/ https://moodmeterapp.com/science/ - it might have some more or less official translations in some languages.
  - 8en 3y ago
    Yes, we will do translations in the future!
diego_moita 3y ago
When Pebble went down I bought 4 Pebble Time Steel, 1 Pebble Time and 1 Pebble classic on eBay. One Time Steel is kaput (don't wear Pebbles on hot jacuzzis), am using the second and the others are in the drawer waiting for their turn. I hope to have Pebbles for the rest of my life.
- bane 3y ago
  I just learned about the Watchy e-paper watches and feel like they scratch much the same itch. https://watchy.sqfmi.com/ https://watchy.sqfmi.com/
  - ljf 3y ago
    Based on the esp32 - so I'm pleased to see they can get such good battery life out of it https://watchy.sqfmi.com/docs/battery-life/#:~:text=Certain%20watch%20faces%20also%20turn,last%20between%202%2D3%20days https://watchy.sqfmi.com/docs/battery-life/#:~:text=Certain%....
- andrelaszlo 3y ago
  I miss my Pebble Time Round. Also broke when I wore it in a jacuzzi. What I miss the most was that the UI was so good. I could do many things without even looking at the watch, even setting a timer I think. On my latest watches the UI for setting the timer is terrible.
trollied 3y ago
I suspect this blog entry was written this week due to a prominent YouTuber doing a history video featuring Pebble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRdMQwQT47k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRdMQwQT47k "Pebble Smartwatch: From $230 Million to Zero"
- bberenberg 3y ago
  I have been writing this for a year and don’t really watch YouTube, but will go watch and see if there’s something new to learn.
superultra 3y ago
Tangential but nevertheless related: I appreciate how as a culture we’re finally realizing, and sharing, as the author does here, that alcohol is not always a positive. In fact, for most people, it has a significant negative impact on mood and health. I used to drink more but seeing broader studies and anecdotal notes like this helps me socially and culturally moderate in a healthier way.
UnicornsOnLSD 3y ago
> the Digital Crown on an Apple Watch could in theory be a great input. However, ... it's hard to know how far you have rotated it without looking for some kind of visual feedback from the watch You could make each step give haptic feedback, which seems to be standard behaviour for stuff like time pickers

88 points by bberenberg 3y ago

I miss physical buttons interfacing with apps. There are many apps that would benefit from this, as mentioned in the article.

JohnFen 3y ago
When Pebble died, I switched to a Garmin watch. It replicated the features of the Pebble that I held most dear, most importantly, the long battery life and physical buttons. Sadly, it isn't possible to develop apps for it, though. To this day, there isn't a watch that adequately replaced the full glory that is the Pebble.
- TickleSteve 3y ago
  Garmin has an app store & SDK,its absolutely possible to develop apps for it.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    Not for my model. I have an Instinct, which is their cheapest line and doesn't allow app development. Their more expensive offerings do, though, you're right. I went for the Instinct because I use it heavily when backpacking in the wilderness, and it's the most rugged. Plus, it's inexpensive enough that if I bash it against a rock or something and destroy it, it's not a crisis.
- FatherPaulStone 3y ago
  I did the same, and I still miss my pebble, I miss how well it handled my calendar - and agenda. Now after a number of years with my fenix 5, without it really changing, I'm eyeing up an apple watch, to fill that agenda shaped hole on my wrist/
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    Same. Wish Apple made an AWU that was less focused on rugged sports and more focused on maximizing battery life. It’s bizarre that xiaomi and amazfit make nice looking watches with 8x as much battery life as an Apple Watch. What is Apple’s problem? I would have stuck with the amazfit but the physical buttons won’t control music (and I don’t trust their data policy enough to wear a gps-enabled device on my person 24/7).

pedalpete 3y ago

@bberenberg - you may be interested in https://sahha.ai/ https://sahha.ai/ They're building a developer API to measure wellness and mood without user input. I'm considering maybe trying it in an app we're developing, but I have no affiliation with them (aside from being in the same part of the world Aus/Nz).

bberenberg 3y ago
Based on the quote > Our models are trained on a validated clinical rating scale but instead of needing the user to fill out a questionnaire the models predict the score based on the user’s digital phenotype. > Sahha produces this digital phenotype by producing a holistic picture of the user’s movement, sleep and phone usage. I don’t believe this will do anything helpful for my interests, though I can see how this could be used in a surveillance method to adjust things like insurance pricing. [1] https://developer.sahha.ai/docs/data-science https://developer.sahha.ai/docs/data-science

z3t4 3y ago

Should have a look at espruino and banglejs

_ea1k 3y ago

I still use the Pebble as my main smartwatch. I tried out a ticwatch, but got tired of it pretty quickly. The Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel were really great devices, with a great balance of capability and battery life. The fact that it can easily last a day on a small fraction of the battery has often unexpected benefits too. Forgot to charge? np, just charge while doing something else for ~10 minutes and it will get you through the day anyway. Even less if it just needs to last overnight to use as an alarm the next day.

afavour 3y ago
I’ve had an Apple Watch for years but I very rarely use it for anything I couldn’t do with my Pebble Time Round all those years ago. Set timers, control music, check the weather… all possible with a device that was cheaper, had a longer lasting battery and looked better (subjective opinion of course). RIP Pebble. You were always doomed because you couldn’t have the kind of OS integration a first party device could, but you were the little watch that could.
- _ea1k 3y ago
  TBH, OS integration on Android wasn't too bad. They were able to leverage a lot of the exposed Android Wear APIs. But they were really slow to embrace fitness usage and a lot of people found them less attractive than the Fitbit.
- amatecha 3y ago
  I've always felt the Pebble was superior to the Apple Watch for controlling music playback, because you could control the playback with tactile buttons you can operate without looking at. With the Apple Watch you don't really have any choice but to raise your wrist (to make the screen turn on), look at the screen to know where to tap, and tap precisely on the right spot on the screen. With the Pebble you can just feel for the upper button and push on it. One of the ways in which my "upgrade" to an Apple Watch was actually a downgrade :\
  - gnicholas 3y ago

joshmn 3y ago

Tangentially related: I'm extremely very interested in working with something like this for people with Alexithymia and related phenomena. I have the tech skills but have the condition which makes development a bit difficult; email in profile.

brianjking 3y ago
Now I'm wondering if I have Alexithymia. How did you get diagnosed?

jawns 3y ago

I love my Pebble Time watch, and for the first several years I used all the bells and whistles: the sleep tracking, the Bluetooth alerts, even the mini games (like Tetris) from the Pebble Store. But after about 6 years of ownership, I noticed that my battery could only hold a charge for 3-4 days, compared with 10-12 when I first got it. Then I realized that I wasn't regularly paying attention to the sleep tracking data. And the Bluetooth alerts were a little noisy, especially since I'm in front of a laptop for most of my workday. And once Pebble went out of business and the Rebble app store became more of a gamble, I realized it had been a while since I used any apps. So about a month ago, I bought a simple $40 Timex watch. And it dawned on me that it has the three things I really want: a clock, an always-on display, and a super long battery life. I'm not entirely abandoning my Pebble. It's still nice to wear when I'm out and about and don't want to constantly check my phone for notifications. But it's nice to know that when it finally wears out for good, I've got an acceptable backup.

reidjs 3y ago
Big fan of my new solar powered G Shock. Auto syncs time via radio signal and supposedly a 10-15 yr battery life
user_named 3y ago
I also just swapped my Xiaomi Smart Band for a Timex. I realized that none of the data had any use to me.
fredley 3y ago
I now wear a cheap (~£20) vintage mechanical watch. It tells the time. It does need charging every day or two, but charging only takes a few seconds and doesn't require an adapter or power socket.
- Kaibeezy 3y ago
  Citizen Eco-Drive (<$20 eBay). Trickle charges off the bar light filtering through my Glenfarclas 105.

brianjking 3y ago

You're making me miss my Pebble again. There was a project I was looking at a little bit ago of someone who made a Pebble replacement, but I can't recall the name right now.

mr337 3y ago
Was it Rebble[1]? 1 - https://rebble.io/ https://rebble.io/
- brianjking 3y ago
  Found it! Watchy is the name, have you heard of it? https://watchy.sqfmi.com/ https://watchy.sqfmi.com/ https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/SQFMI/SQFMI-WATCHY-10?qs=DRkmTr78QARN9VSJRzqRxw%3D%3D https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/SQFMI/SQFMI-WATCHY-10?q...
  - 4ggr0 3y ago
    Oh no, why did you post this. Now I want to buy one :( i dont need it i dont need it i dont need it... EDIT: Okay I lasted 5 minutes. Looking forward to assembling it :)
  - afandian 3y ago
    I've got one. For what it is, I recommend it. The fit and finish is very nice, especially for the price. It's a little bulky, and not waterproof. Not an every-day watch. The software is basic, but I was able to recompile it and re-upload the same day it arrived in the post. If that appeals to you, you should get one! I have a fantasy about creating some kind of habit tracker app for it. One day...

8en 3y ago

Hi, I'm working on How We Feel. I'm eager to make it more useful. If there is anyone on this thread interested in helping, please send a note to ben@howwefeel.org. So far, I've learned that the biggest benefit of mood tracking is the process of tracking: taking a moment to reflect on how you feel, name the emotion, and think about why you feel the way you do. The next big opportunity is to teach people effective strategies for dealing with their emotions in a healthy way (even if that just means accepting the emotion without judgement). As an aside, I also loved my Pebble and physical buttons :D

decko 3y ago
I recently discovered How We Feel so I just wanted to thank you for your work. I really enjoy using the app! I found a small bug in the analyze tab though. If you look at e.g. weekly and select a tab that is not the left most one, then scroll down, then tap the top of the display (the universal scroll to the top feature of iOS), the content disappears.
- 8en 3y ago
  Thanks for finding this bug. We'll get it fixed soon.
sdfhbdf 3y ago
Hey thanks for work on the app! Is there any possibility of translating the app to different languages? I can drop a note to email if you want, since as I understand you are based on Yale's Mood Meter - https://moodmeterapp.com/science/ https://moodmeterapp.com/science/ - it might have some more or less official translations in some languages.
- 8en 3y ago
  Yes, we will do translations in the future!

diego_moita 3y ago

When Pebble went down I bought 4 Pebble Time Steel, 1 Pebble Time and 1 Pebble classic on eBay. One Time Steel is kaput (don't wear Pebbles on hot jacuzzis), am using the second and the others are in the drawer waiting for their turn. I hope to have Pebbles for the rest of my life.

bane 3y ago
I just learned about the Watchy e-paper watches and feel like they scratch much the same itch. https://watchy.sqfmi.com/ https://watchy.sqfmi.com/
- ljf 3y ago
  Based on the esp32 - so I'm pleased to see they can get such good battery life out of it https://watchy.sqfmi.com/docs/battery-life/#:~:text=Certain%20watch%20faces%20also%20turn,last%20between%202%2D3%20days https://watchy.sqfmi.com/docs/battery-life/#:~:text=Certain%....
andrelaszlo 3y ago
I miss my Pebble Time Round. Also broke when I wore it in a jacuzzi. What I miss the most was that the UI was so good. I could do many things without even looking at the watch, even setting a timer I think. On my latest watches the UI for setting the timer is terrible.

trollied 3y ago

I suspect this blog entry was written this week due to a prominent YouTuber doing a history video featuring Pebble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRdMQwQT47k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRdMQwQT47k "Pebble Smartwatch: From $230 Million to Zero"

bberenberg 3y ago
I have been writing this for a year and don’t really watch YouTube, but will go watch and see if there’s something new to learn.

superultra 3y ago

Tangential but nevertheless related: I appreciate how as a culture we’re finally realizing, and sharing, as the author does here, that alcohol is not always a positive. In fact, for most people, it has a significant negative impact on mood and health. I used to drink more but seeing broader studies and anecdotal notes like this helps me socially and culturally moderate in a healthier way.

UnicornsOnLSD 3y ago

> the Digital Crown on an Apple Watch could in theory be a great input. However, ... it's hard to know how far you have rotated it without looking for some kind of visual feedback from the watch You could make each step give haptic feedback, which seems to be standard behaviour for stuff like time pickers