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I know people love their Pebble watches, and I met Eric a few years ago, but what are they bringing back that competes in todays market? I admit, I have a Garm

I know people love their Pebble watches, and I met Eric a few years ago, but what are they bringing back that competes in todays market? I admit, I have a Garmin watch, so I don't suffer the battery issues that other smartwatch users have. What am I missing?

mikestew 1y ago
As an owner of a Kickstarter edition (and a few more after that one), I am also at a loss. One can get an Amazfit for $80 that does all that and more, and it apparently has multi week battery life as well. I’m not saying the price is everything, but what’s the value proposition for a new Pebble?
- apparent 1y ago
  I looked into Amazfits, and the UI is not great in English. It was clearly designed for the Chinese market, and the international edition was an afterthought. The screen is also totally different from the Pebble. If you put an Amazfit in always-on mode, the battery won't last nearly as long as the Pebble. Also, the Amazfit not as readable when outside. More importantly, any device that is going to have access to my real-time GPS location needs to be as trustworthy as possible. Most apps can be prevented from getting your location because your smartphone will only give it to apps when you grant permission. But an app that syncs with your GPS-enabled watch doesn't need permission to get your location because it already has it. I don't fool myself into thinking that anyone is especially interested in tracking me. But given the choice between Eric and a Chinese company I don't know anything about, I choose Eric.
apparent 1y ago
I have a Garmin and I look forward to getting a Pebble. IMO the UI is much better for both notification navigation and audio playback. These are the two things I use my watch for the most. It is also better than my Garmin on battery life (10 days or so versus 30 days). It obviously doesn't have the specialized features for fitness tracking that the Garmin has, so I'll still slap that one on even after the Pebble arrives. But if I had to choose one to wear all the time, it would be the Pebble hands-down. I find the Garmin's UI to be annoyingly limited.
vrighter 1y ago
everything, imo. It had the perfect balance of features.

mikestew 1y ago

As an owner of a Kickstarter edition (and a few more after that one), I am also at a loss. One can get an Amazfit for $80 that does all that and more, and it apparently has multi week battery life as well. I’m not saying the price is everything, but what’s the value proposition for a new Pebble?

apparent 1y ago
I looked into Amazfits, and the UI is not great in English. It was clearly designed for the Chinese market, and the international edition was an afterthought. The screen is also totally different from the Pebble. If you put an Amazfit in always-on mode, the battery won't last nearly as long as the Pebble. Also, the Amazfit not as readable when outside. More importantly, any device that is going to have access to my real-time GPS location needs to be as trustworthy as possible. Most apps can be prevented from getting your location because your smartphone will only give it to apps when you grant permission. But an app that syncs with your GPS-enabled watch doesn't need permission to get your location because it already has it. I don't fool myself into thinking that anyone is especially interested in tracking me. But given the choice between Eric and a Chinese company I don't know anything about, I choose Eric.

apparent 1y ago

I have a Garmin and I look forward to getting a Pebble. IMO the UI is much better for both notification navigation and audio playback. These are the two things I use my watch for the most. It is also better than my Garmin on battery life (10 days or so versus 30 days). It obviously doesn't have the specialized features for fitness tracking that the Garmin has, so I'll still slap that one on even after the Pebble arrives. But if I had to choose one to wear all the time, it would be the Pebble hands-down. I find the Garmin's UI to be annoyingly limited.

vrighter 1y ago

everything, imo. It had the perfect balance of features.