5 ms·

Yeah, that's really not great at all! From their website: > Wait, it's single use? Yes. We know this sounds a bit odd, but in this particular circumstance we b

Yeah, that's really not great at all! From their website: > Wait, it's single use? Yes. We know this sounds a bit odd, but in this particular circumstance we believe it's the best solution to the given set of constraints I don't want to be too harsh, since it seems like the pebble team are working hard at producing some exciting tech. But intentionally making a single use device is phenomenally irresponsible in today's climate. I know they say they'll recycle them, but it'd be naive to expect anything other than a tonne of these becoming e-waste.

NuclearPM 3mo ago
What do you mean by “today’s climate”?
- the_sleaze_ 3mo ago
  Western Europe is experiencing a record setting deadly heatwave, for one interpretation.
  - t0bia_s 3mo ago
    Currently in middle of Europe we have about 25°C. There was few days where we had about 38°C. Nothing deadly.
    - ornornor 3mo ago
      38 in daytime and 30 at night kills.
      - t0bia_s 3mo ago
        Freezing during winter kills about 8 times more. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48524696 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48524696
- TehCorwiz 3mo ago
  The EU just mandated cell phones must have user replaceable batteries by 2027: https://www.cereport.eu/news/european-union/91054 https://www.cereport.eu/news/european-union/91054 So making this single use is kinda flying into the wind in that regard.
  - jerlam 3mo ago
    The EU just backtracked on user replaceable batteries for wearables. https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/07/14/apple-watch-meta-glasses-airpods-get-reprieve-from-eu-replaceable-battery-law https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/07/14/apple-watch-meta-...
- benrutter 3mo ago
  I was thinking about the combination of: - Human impact on the environment, which e-waste is a big part of, is causing damage to wildlife, and serious climate change. - There's huge awareness of and push back against bad hardware practices (often around non-replacable batteries) so they must have at least considered this.
- ornornor 3mo ago
  It’s a tad hot in some places lately, and getting hotter.
  - t0bia_s 3mo ago
    Yes, it's summer.
    - ornornor 3mo ago
      Ah yes, the hottest summer ever. Probably nothing to worry about.
      - t0bia_s 3mo ago
        Not yet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_year-round_heat_and_drought_of_1540_in_Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_year-round_heat_and_drough...
        ornornor 3mo ago
        That was… once, 500 years ago. The hottest summer before this year was 2023. The one before that a few years before.
        t0bia_s 3mo ago
        It was not once. HOT WEATHER. Many a man has mopped his brow during the summer months of 1884, declaring it was the hottest weather the world ever knew, which, of course, would not be true for the extreme heat in the records of the past, which has not been approached during the late summer. In 627, the heat was so great in France and Germany, says the London Standard, that all springs dried up, water became so scarce that many people died of thirst. In 879, work in the field had to be given up; agricultural laborers persisting in their work were struck down in a few minutes—so powerful was the sun. In 993, the sun's rays were so fierce that vegetation burned up as under the action of fire. In 1000, rivers ran dry; under the protracted heat, the fish were left dry in heaps and putrefied in a few hours. Men and animals venturing in the sun in the summer of 1022 fell down dying. In 1132, not only did the rivers dry up, but the ground cracked and became baked to the hardness of stone. The Rhine in Alsace nearly dried up. Italy was visited with terrific heat in 1139; vegetation and plants were burned up. During the battle of Bela in 1200, there were more victims made by the sun than by weapons; men fell down sunstruck in regular rows. The sun of 1277 was also severe; there was an absolute dearth of forage. In 1303 and 1304, the Rhine, Loire, and Seine ran dry. In 1615, the heat throughout Europe became excessive; Scotland suffered particularly. In 1625, men and beasts died in scores. Meat could be cooked by merely exposing it to the sun. Not a soul dared to venture out between noon and 4 PM. In 1718, many shops had to be closed; the theatres were never opened for several months. Not a drop of water fell during six months. In 1753, the thermometer rose to one hundred and eighteen degrees. In 1779, the heat at Bologna was so great that a large number of people died. In July 1793, the heat became intolerable; vegetables were burned up and fruit dried upon the trees. The furniture and woodwork in dwelling houses cracked and split up; meat became bad in an hour. In Paris, in 1846, the thermometer marked one hundred and twenty-five degrees in the sun. The summers of 1859, 1860, 1869, 1870, 1874, etc., although excessively hot, were not attended by any disaster. https://books.google.cz/books?id=Cr9XAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA473 https://books.google.cz/books?id=Cr9XAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA473
Rebelgecko 3mo ago
I was initially put off by the lack of recharging too, but I've changed my mind a bit. I think the amount of ewaste is pretty small. My uneducated guess is that it's probably about the same as a musical birthday card. And unlike a singing card that probably gets used a dozen times and thrown away, the Index can be used >10,000 times before it's time to recycle it (assuming it lives up to the specs) For comparison, check out the rechargable Stream ring. It's bulkier, costs >2x as much (before including subscription... The sub alone costs more than buying an index every 2 years), and needs to be recharged every night. It's sort of in line with Pebbles advantage over other smart watches- doesn't need to sleep on a charger every night
wolpoli 3mo ago
Constraints include needing to keep component cost low and ensuring that they could sell more hardware in 2 years.
- conorcleary 3mo ago
  Both true; could just the very top of the receiving end components of a wireless charge system be added to the watch with the rest on a dock?
Dayshine 3mo ago
A phone has 10-20x if not more weight of electronics. I assume you will use your phone for 20-40 years?
- Timon3 3mo ago
  The ring can record for 12-15 hours before it's empty. I'd guess it's incredibly rare that people throw away their phone before reaching 15h * 20 = 12.5 days of active screen time.
- benrutter 3mo ago
  Of course!
Schwolop 3mo ago
They weigh 5g. A tonne of them is two hundred million of them. I very much doubt that many will be e-waste.
- benrutter 3mo ago
  [dead]

NuclearPM 3mo ago

What do you mean by “today’s climate”?

the_sleaze_ 3mo ago
Western Europe is experiencing a record setting deadly heatwave, for one interpretation.
- t0bia_s 3mo ago
  Currently in middle of Europe we have about 25°C. There was few days where we had about 38°C. Nothing deadly.
  - ornornor 3mo ago
    38 in daytime and 30 at night kills.
    - t0bia_s 3mo ago
      Freezing during winter kills about 8 times more. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48524696 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48524696
TehCorwiz 3mo ago
The EU just mandated cell phones must have user replaceable batteries by 2027: https://www.cereport.eu/news/european-union/91054 https://www.cereport.eu/news/european-union/91054 So making this single use is kinda flying into the wind in that regard.
- jerlam 3mo ago
  The EU just backtracked on user replaceable batteries for wearables. https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/07/14/apple-watch-meta-glasses-airpods-get-reprieve-from-eu-replaceable-battery-law https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/07/14/apple-watch-meta-...
benrutter 3mo ago
I was thinking about the combination of: - Human impact on the environment, which e-waste is a big part of, is causing damage to wildlife, and serious climate change. - There's huge awareness of and push back against bad hardware practices (often around non-replacable batteries) so they must have at least considered this.
ornornor 3mo ago
It’s a tad hot in some places lately, and getting hotter.
- t0bia_s 3mo ago
  Yes, it's summer.
  - ornornor 3mo ago
    Ah yes, the hottest summer ever. Probably nothing to worry about.
    - t0bia_s 3mo ago
      Not yet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_year-round_heat_and_drought_of_1540_in_Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_year-round_heat_and_drough...
      - ornornor 3mo ago
        That was… once, 500 years ago. The hottest summer before this year was 2023. The one before that a few years before.
        t0bia_s 3mo ago
        It was not once. HOT WEATHER. Many a man has mopped his brow during the summer months of 1884, declaring it was the hottest weather the world ever knew, which, of course, would not be true for the extreme heat in the records of the past, which has not been approached during the late summer. In 627, the heat was so great in France and Germany, says the London Standard, that all springs dried up, water became so scarce that many people died of thirst. In 879, work in the field had to be given up; agricultural laborers persisting in their work were struck down in a few minutes—so powerful was the sun. In 993, the sun's rays were so fierce that vegetation burned up as under the action of fire. In 1000, rivers ran dry; under the protracted heat, the fish were left dry in heaps and putrefied in a few hours. Men and animals venturing in the sun in the summer of 1022 fell down dying. In 1132, not only did the rivers dry up, but the ground cracked and became baked to the hardness of stone. The Rhine in Alsace nearly dried up. Italy was visited with terrific heat in 1139; vegetation and plants were burned up. During the battle of Bela in 1200, there were more victims made by the sun than by weapons; men fell down sunstruck in regular rows. The sun of 1277 was also severe; there was an absolute dearth of forage. In 1303 and 1304, the Rhine, Loire, and Seine ran dry. In 1615, the heat throughout Europe became excessive; Scotland suffered particularly. In 1625, men and beasts died in scores. Meat could be cooked by merely exposing it to the sun. Not a soul dared to venture out between noon and 4 PM. In 1718, many shops had to be closed; the theatres were never opened for several months. Not a drop of water fell during six months. In 1753, the thermometer rose to one hundred and eighteen degrees. In 1779, the heat at Bologna was so great that a large number of people died. In July 1793, the heat became intolerable; vegetables were burned up and fruit dried upon the trees. The furniture and woodwork in dwelling houses cracked and split up; meat became bad in an hour. In Paris, in 1846, the thermometer marked one hundred and twenty-five degrees in the sun. The summers of 1859, 1860, 1869, 1870, 1874, etc., although excessively hot, were not attended by any disaster. https://books.google.cz/books?id=Cr9XAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA473 https://books.google.cz/books?id=Cr9XAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA473

Rebelgecko 3mo ago

I was initially put off by the lack of recharging too, but I've changed my mind a bit. I think the amount of ewaste is pretty small. My uneducated guess is that it's probably about the same as a musical birthday card. And unlike a singing card that probably gets used a dozen times and thrown away, the Index can be used >10,000 times before it's time to recycle it (assuming it lives up to the specs) For comparison, check out the rechargable Stream ring. It's bulkier, costs >2x as much (before including subscription... The sub alone costs more than buying an index every 2 years), and needs to be recharged every night. It's sort of in line with Pebbles advantage over other smart watches- doesn't need to sleep on a charger every night

wolpoli 3mo ago

Constraints include needing to keep component cost low and ensuring that they could sell more hardware in 2 years.

conorcleary 3mo ago
Both true; could just the very top of the receiving end components of a wireless charge system be added to the watch with the rest on a dock?

Dayshine 3mo ago

A phone has 10-20x if not more weight of electronics. I assume you will use your phone for 20-40 years?

Timon3 3mo ago
The ring can record for 12-15 hours before it's empty. I'd guess it's incredibly rare that people throw away their phone before reaching 15h * 20 = 12.5 days of active screen time.
benrutter 3mo ago
Of course!

Schwolop 3mo ago

They weigh 5g. A tonne of them is two hundred million of them. I very much doubt that many will be e-waste.

benrutter 3mo ago
[dead]