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This smartwatch isn't really all that smart by today's standards. I would really miss the mod cons I have on my current smartwatch. Payments over NFC, dual-ban

This smartwatch isn't really all that smart by today's standards. I would really miss the mod cons I have on my current smartwatch. Payments over NFC, dual-band GPS tracking, 4G LTE connectivity. The Pebble (and repebble) trades all that in for a multi-week battery life. But the minor hassle of once-every-two-days charging on my galaxy watch really isn't enough to forego all these powerful features for me.

micromacrofoot 1y ago
It is for me, I don't care about any of those features. I just want a watch I can customize a bit that gets notifications and can do rudimentary heart rate monitoring. If I have to charge it more than once a week I won't wear it.
me_online 1y ago
The battery life alone suggests otherwise.
dwayne_dibley 1y ago
I too would miss GPS, BUT I've still never found anything that really fills the pebble shaped hole in my life. My Garmin compromises the other stuff (battery, widgets, calendar, display readability etc.). Everything is a trade off.
bigstrat2003 1y ago
Conversely, I don't care about any of those features, and I do care about long battery life. It's great that different devices catering to different users exist. I don't think the fact that they are aiming at different users from you makes it "not smart", it just makes it not suitable for your use.
- wkat4242 1y ago
  Don't get me wrong, I backed the first Pebble on kickstarter. Still have it. It was a great watch for the time. I loved it. But these days I just have bigger requirements. The whole heartrate thing I don't even care about. Notifications are the main thing, but route tracking, integration with my alarm system and above all payments are just things I can't do without anymore. I had an Amazfit for a while which also had a 3-week battery life (though no apps) but it missed the payment option. The charging is not a big deal for me because I only wear my watch outside anyway. And it charges in 30 minutes. It makes it easy for me to keep it charged also because it becomes a routine. With the amazfit it was often empty when I needed it. But yeah it is great that there are devices for everyone.
  - 627467 1y ago
    > Notifications are the main thing Maybe you mean types of notifications that I'm not used to using, because notifications were the first thing I would turn off on any smart watch I've used (pebble, Amazfit, galaxy). The last thing I need if to have yet another device (now being worn) vibrating every 5min for some message. Truth be told I use the least smart feature of the watch: the alarm. I can set quite granular schedules for my alarms and that means no one else needs to wake up but me. The health tracking I barely care, but since I'm wearing it I track it. I could imagine using the payment feature tho, to avoid taking the phone out.
    - wkat4242 1y ago
      > Maybe you mean types of notifications that I'm not used to using, because notifications were the first thing I would turn off on any smart watch I've used (pebble, Amazfit, galaxy). The last thing I need if to have yet another device (now being worn) vibrating every 5min for some message. At least on my smartwatch (Samsung one) I can choose which notifications I want to forward to the watch. And I have all the ones I don't care about turned off anyway, even on my phone. For me it replaces a lot of my smartphone (which I only use outdoors anyway, at home I have a real computer). The ability of the galaxy watch to also show pictures in notifications is a big plus (my old pebbles could not do that, not sure about the new repebbles) The notifications on my watch are the main reason I have it. It avoids looking at my phone every time something comes in. It's not too often because I block so much and I don't use social media. I don't care much about the health tracking, though I do sometimes use the sleep tracking. Especially the SpO2 tracking is handy because I have apnea. It does bother me that Samsung doesn't make it possible to turn off their health "gamifications" (every day I get nonsense messages like "Will you meet your goal today?", "You're halfway your goal, keep going!"). I still have to see if I can turn that crap off via ADB.
- nandkeypull 1y ago
  Same, I love Pebble and Pebble-like devices precisely because they have long battery life. I don't want or need payments on my watch. I'm also not a fitness junkie, so I don't use GPS tracking either. I mainly enjoy the well-designed UX Pebble provides and its simple functionality like alarms, stopwatch, and notifications. With watches that need charging every one or two days, I get this Sisyphean feeling that I am owning a constantly dying device with a battery indicator that exists solely to be charged. The amount of functionality a watch can provide me (versus a smartphone) just doesn't justify the amount of charging I need to do. Maybe I'm not a smartwatch power user like OP. But the Pebble and its ilk are a great fit for the niche audience I belong to.
  - nradov 1y ago
    There are other full featured smart watches like the Garmin Enduro 3 with several weeks of battery life (or even longer with solar charging). Of course it's larger and more expensive. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/851039 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/851039 No one really needs payments on their watch but I'm surprised that anyone wouldn't want it. It's quite convenient, and gives you a backup option in case you forget your wallet or something.
    - stavros 1y ago
      In case I forget my wallet and my phone! I'd quite like a credit-card NFC sticker for my phone, though, that'd be a nice backup.
      - wkat4242 1y ago
        The big benefit though is that you have additional authentication on the phone or watch. I love having it on my watch, it's just so useful. Especially because I live in a city full of pickpockets. No need to take my phone out.
pedalpete 1y ago
I'd add that it also ignores that Garmin already has multi-week battery life with most of these features and more. The only thing they don't have is 4G yet, but I believe next year's devices have been reported to have it.

micromacrofoot 1y ago

It is for me, I don't care about any of those features. I just want a watch I can customize a bit that gets notifications and can do rudimentary heart rate monitoring. If I have to charge it more than once a week I won't wear it.

me_online 1y ago

The battery life alone suggests otherwise.

dwayne_dibley 1y ago

I too would miss GPS, BUT I've still never found anything that really fills the pebble shaped hole in my life. My Garmin compromises the other stuff (battery, widgets, calendar, display readability etc.). Everything is a trade off.

bigstrat2003 1y ago

Conversely, I don't care about any of those features, and I do care about long battery life. It's great that different devices catering to different users exist. I don't think the fact that they are aiming at different users from you makes it "not smart", it just makes it not suitable for your use.

wkat4242 1y ago
Don't get me wrong, I backed the first Pebble on kickstarter. Still have it. It was a great watch for the time. I loved it. But these days I just have bigger requirements. The whole heartrate thing I don't even care about. Notifications are the main thing, but route tracking, integration with my alarm system and above all payments are just things I can't do without anymore. I had an Amazfit for a while which also had a 3-week battery life (though no apps) but it missed the payment option. The charging is not a big deal for me because I only wear my watch outside anyway. And it charges in 30 minutes. It makes it easy for me to keep it charged also because it becomes a routine. With the amazfit it was often empty when I needed it. But yeah it is great that there are devices for everyone.
- 627467 1y ago
  > Notifications are the main thing Maybe you mean types of notifications that I'm not used to using, because notifications were the first thing I would turn off on any smart watch I've used (pebble, Amazfit, galaxy). The last thing I need if to have yet another device (now being worn) vibrating every 5min for some message. Truth be told I use the least smart feature of the watch: the alarm. I can set quite granular schedules for my alarms and that means no one else needs to wake up but me. The health tracking I barely care, but since I'm wearing it I track it. I could imagine using the payment feature tho, to avoid taking the phone out.
  - wkat4242 1y ago
    > Maybe you mean types of notifications that I'm not used to using, because notifications were the first thing I would turn off on any smart watch I've used (pebble, Amazfit, galaxy). The last thing I need if to have yet another device (now being worn) vibrating every 5min for some message. At least on my smartwatch (Samsung one) I can choose which notifications I want to forward to the watch. And I have all the ones I don't care about turned off anyway, even on my phone. For me it replaces a lot of my smartphone (which I only use outdoors anyway, at home I have a real computer). The ability of the galaxy watch to also show pictures in notifications is a big plus (my old pebbles could not do that, not sure about the new repebbles) The notifications on my watch are the main reason I have it. It avoids looking at my phone every time something comes in. It's not too often because I block so much and I don't use social media. I don't care much about the health tracking, though I do sometimes use the sleep tracking. Especially the SpO2 tracking is handy because I have apnea. It does bother me that Samsung doesn't make it possible to turn off their health "gamifications" (every day I get nonsense messages like "Will you meet your goal today?", "You're halfway your goal, keep going!"). I still have to see if I can turn that crap off via ADB.
nandkeypull 1y ago
Same, I love Pebble and Pebble-like devices precisely because they have long battery life. I don't want or need payments on my watch. I'm also not a fitness junkie, so I don't use GPS tracking either. I mainly enjoy the well-designed UX Pebble provides and its simple functionality like alarms, stopwatch, and notifications. With watches that need charging every one or two days, I get this Sisyphean feeling that I am owning a constantly dying device with a battery indicator that exists solely to be charged. The amount of functionality a watch can provide me (versus a smartphone) just doesn't justify the amount of charging I need to do. Maybe I'm not a smartwatch power user like OP. But the Pebble and its ilk are a great fit for the niche audience I belong to.
- nradov 1y ago
  There are other full featured smart watches like the Garmin Enduro 3 with several weeks of battery life (or even longer with solar charging). Of course it's larger and more expensive. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/851039 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/851039 No one really needs payments on their watch but I'm surprised that anyone wouldn't want it. It's quite convenient, and gives you a backup option in case you forget your wallet or something.
  - stavros 1y ago
    In case I forget my wallet and my phone! I'd quite like a credit-card NFC sticker for my phone, though, that'd be a nice backup.
    - wkat4242 1y ago
      The big benefit though is that you have additional authentication on the phone or watch. I love having it on my watch, it's just so useful. Especially because I live in a city full of pickpockets. No need to take my phone out.

pedalpete 1y ago

I'd add that it also ignores that Garmin already has multi-week battery life with most of these features and more. The only thing they don't have is 4G yet, but I believe next year's devices have been reported to have it.