3 ms·

This blog post [1] makes it seem like the cheaper model has a barometer and compass, but the more expensive one does not. Anyone know if that is true? 1: https

This blog post [1] makes it seem like the cheaper model has a barometer and compass, but the more expensive one does not. Anyone know if that is true? 1: https://ericmigi.com/blog/introducing-two-new-pebbleos-watches https://ericmigi.com/blog/introducing-two-new-pebbleos-watch...

margalabargala 2y ago
Everything appears to point that way, yes. This thread is full of people complaining how these aren't like their preferred watches, in terms of design, face shape, no GPS, etc. I think this is a much more valid criticism in that their expensive flagship watch is not like their cheaper watch.
- apparent 2y ago
  Is there anything else lacking? I ordered the color one without much thought and only saw the barometer/compass bit afterward.
- macNchz 2y ago
  It's kind of weird segmentation, but, given neither has GPS, I wonder how many people who'd seriously consider buying one of these really care about having a compass & barometer. Are those often important features to someone who doesn't care about GPS?
  - hn8726 2y ago
    You can track elevation with barometer which is nice for casual hiking in the mountains
    - inasio 2y ago
      I had an old Suunto from before they went to crap, by far my favourite function was vertical speed, and it relied only on the accelerometer (the watch had GPS, but turning it on killed battery life). I still tried a couple of newer models but they removed that function.
      - stavros 2y ago
        The accelerometer? How can the accelerometer measure speed? It would drift to massive error very quickly.
        TickleSteve 2y ago
        vertical speed likely relied on the barometer rather than the accelerometer for exactly that reason.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - apparent 2y ago
    It would be nice to track elevation change/stairs climbed during hiking, even if you don't care about GPS. I'll probably hang onto my old Garmin for exercise though, so this is sorta moot for me. Mostly it was just surprising to see that the pricier one was not a superset of the cheaper one.
  - tecleandor 2y ago
    Having a compass and a barometer could be a "happy accident" of already having an all in one sensor that does all that things. The compass could be easily related to an accelerometer used for detecting watch position (a function commonly used in smartwatches to power on the screen on certain positions that suggest you're looking at it) or detecting "steps". Not so sure about where could you also get the barometric pressure sensor...
    - margalabargala 2y ago
      Both models have a 6-axis accelerometer, only one has compass reading.
  - dTal 2y ago
    The barometer is "nice to have". The compass is non-negotiable. It is extremely useful once you get used to remembering that you have one. Example: you have arrived at a train station in a new city. You have planned your route - you need to catch a bus from a stop on the west side of the station. You alight on the platform and there are multiple exits - you are completely disoriented. Turn left or right?
  - ZeWaka 2y ago
    Barometers can help predict incoming weather fronts - something I use on my phone while backpacking.
    - macNchz 2y ago
      For sure, barometers are useful, I'm an avid backpacker and make use of the one in my watch for sudden weather changes and altitude, but if I'm buying a $150+ smartwatch to take backpacking, I just wouldn't really consider one without GPS.
  - pbmonster 2y ago
    In theory, you could pull GPS data from a connected smartphone, right? Most smartphones don't come with a barometer, and the compass actually needs to be fixed to the display to make sense.
    - hn8726 2y ago
      Personally I try to disable GPS in my smartphone when hiking unless I need to check the maps — I prefer to have my communication device not dead when I need it, and modern smartphones are terrible with battery life
- delecti 2y ago
  > This thread is full of people complaining how these aren't like their preferred watches Which is funny to me because that's explicitly the point. > These watches are not made for everyone. We want to be upfront with you about what to expect. It's probably the most frustrating part of smartwatches. Everyone has a different list of mandatory features, and few seem to accept that their list isn't universal. Unlike phones where just about all of them have just about all the features, the smartwatch market is a wild west. It makes finding the right one for you a lot of work, and it's understandably disappointing when a watch checks all but one or two of your "must have"s.
  - margalabargala 2y ago
    The thing that really frustrates me right now about this is that between the two watches, basically all of my boxes are ticked, but some of those boxes are mutually exclusive between the watches. When a product has two price points, like this, it's usually expected that the more expensive one is strictly "better" than the cheaper one in some ways. That isn't the case here, and it makes everything more difficult. Most of us are conditioned to look at the more expensive version, and say "are these extra features worth $X extra" and decide that way. With these watches, I have to try to think about whether I would use a compass or heart rate monitor more.
  - MostlyStable 2y ago
    >unlike phones where just about all of them have just about all the features I knew my preferences were niche, but I didn't think they were that niche. There hasn't been a phone with even half my ideal feature list (that works in the US) in probably close to a decade, and even if I abandon my more niche "nice to haves", there are essentially no new phones, and that's even before I add in that I'd really like it to be relatively repairable. And yes, there _used_ to be phones that had my entire feature list, so it's not a completely crazy list. It's just that phone makers have converged a pretty standard feature list with not too many companies coloring outside the lines. If you want that particular feature list, then sure, everyone has "all the features", but there is a whole universe of additional features that phones could (and some did) have, that they no longer do.
- ajolly 2y ago
  The issue I'm seeing is many people were expecting the watch that was advertised in the old Kickstarter. The "pebble 2" from the Kickstarter -> "core 2 time" The "pebble 2 time" is nowhere to be found. (The pebble 2 time was supposed to be the same underlying hardware, but a much classier case, slightly different form factor). They look much more like a normal watch, versus the pebble style feels like a geek toy. I still get compliments on my pebble time round to this day! I've been wearing my

margalabargala 2y ago

Everything appears to point that way, yes. This thread is full of people complaining how these aren't like their preferred watches, in terms of design, face shape, no GPS, etc. I think this is a much more valid criticism in that their expensive flagship watch is not like their cheaper watch.

apparent 2y ago
Is there anything else lacking? I ordered the color one without much thought and only saw the barometer/compass bit afterward.
macNchz 2y ago
It's kind of weird segmentation, but, given neither has GPS, I wonder how many people who'd seriously consider buying one of these really care about having a compass & barometer. Are those often important features to someone who doesn't care about GPS?
- hn8726 2y ago
  You can track elevation with barometer which is nice for casual hiking in the mountains
  - inasio 2y ago
    I had an old Suunto from before they went to crap, by far my favourite function was vertical speed, and it relied only on the accelerometer (the watch had GPS, but turning it on killed battery life). I still tried a couple of newer models but they removed that function.
    - stavros 2y ago
      The accelerometer? How can the accelerometer measure speed? It would drift to massive error very quickly.
      - TickleSteve 2y ago
        vertical speed likely relied on the barometer rather than the accelerometer for exactly that reason.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- apparent 2y ago
  It would be nice to track elevation change/stairs climbed during hiking, even if you don't care about GPS. I'll probably hang onto my old Garmin for exercise though, so this is sorta moot for me. Mostly it was just surprising to see that the pricier one was not a superset of the cheaper one.
- tecleandor 2y ago
  Having a compass and a barometer could be a "happy accident" of already having an all in one sensor that does all that things. The compass could be easily related to an accelerometer used for detecting watch position (a function commonly used in smartwatches to power on the screen on certain positions that suggest you're looking at it) or detecting "steps". Not so sure about where could you also get the barometric pressure sensor...
  - margalabargala 2y ago
    Both models have a 6-axis accelerometer, only one has compass reading.
- dTal 2y ago
  The barometer is "nice to have". The compass is non-negotiable. It is extremely useful once you get used to remembering that you have one. Example: you have arrived at a train station in a new city. You have planned your route - you need to catch a bus from a stop on the west side of the station. You alight on the platform and there are multiple exits - you are completely disoriented. Turn left or right?
- ZeWaka 2y ago
  Barometers can help predict incoming weather fronts - something I use on my phone while backpacking.
  - macNchz 2y ago
    For sure, barometers are useful, I'm an avid backpacker and make use of the one in my watch for sudden weather changes and altitude, but if I'm buying a $150+ smartwatch to take backpacking, I just wouldn't really consider one without GPS.
- pbmonster 2y ago
  In theory, you could pull GPS data from a connected smartphone, right? Most smartphones don't come with a barometer, and the compass actually needs to be fixed to the display to make sense.
  - hn8726 2y ago
    Personally I try to disable GPS in my smartphone when hiking unless I need to check the maps — I prefer to have my communication device not dead when I need it, and modern smartphones are terrible with battery life
delecti 2y ago
> This thread is full of people complaining how these aren't like their preferred watches Which is funny to me because that's explicitly the point. > These watches are not made for everyone. We want to be upfront with you about what to expect. It's probably the most frustrating part of smartwatches. Everyone has a different list of mandatory features, and few seem to accept that their list isn't universal. Unlike phones where just about all of them have just about all the features, the smartwatch market is a wild west. It makes finding the right one for you a lot of work, and it's understandably disappointing when a watch checks all but one or two of your "must have"s.
- margalabargala 2y ago
  The thing that really frustrates me right now about this is that between the two watches, basically all of my boxes are ticked, but some of those boxes are mutually exclusive between the watches. When a product has two price points, like this, it's usually expected that the more expensive one is strictly "better" than the cheaper one in some ways. That isn't the case here, and it makes everything more difficult. Most of us are conditioned to look at the more expensive version, and say "are these extra features worth $X extra" and decide that way. With these watches, I have to try to think about whether I would use a compass or heart rate monitor more.
- MostlyStable 2y ago
  >unlike phones where just about all of them have just about all the features I knew my preferences were niche, but I didn't think they were that niche. There hasn't been a phone with even half my ideal feature list (that works in the US) in probably close to a decade, and even if I abandon my more niche "nice to haves", there are essentially no new phones, and that's even before I add in that I'd really like it to be relatively repairable. And yes, there _used_ to be phones that had my entire feature list, so it's not a completely crazy list. It's just that phone makers have converged a pretty standard feature list with not too many companies coloring outside the lines. If you want that particular feature list, then sure, everyone has "all the features", but there is a whole universe of additional features that phones could (and some did) have, that they no longer do.
ajolly 2y ago
The issue I'm seeing is many people were expecting the watch that was advertised in the old Kickstarter. The "pebble 2" from the Kickstarter -> "core 2 time" The "pebble 2 time" is nowhere to be found. (The pebble 2 time was supposed to be the same underlying hardware, but a much classier case, slightly different form factor). They look much more like a normal watch, versus the pebble style feels like a geek toy. I still get compliments on my pebble time round to this day! I've been wearing my