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Ask HN: Is the Pebble Time Too Far Behind Apple Watch?

8 points by jkw 12y ago

I understand that they might serve different customer segments, especially since Apple Watch is not available for Android phones. But I would love to get everyone's thoughts as well.

sp332 12y ago
I have the old chunky Pebble, and I really like it. It does get a week of battery life, and I can charge it while I'm wearing it (the charger is on the side). It's actively supported and will even get the new "Timeline" interface that's been announced for the new Pebble Time. Oh and it's $100. They've explicitly positioned themselves as the anti-Apple Watch. https://web.archive.org/web/20141001213546/https://getpebble.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141001213546/https://getpebble... Edit: In addition to all that, we haven't even seen the custom sensors third parties will make for the Pebble.
wodenokoto 12y ago
I think there are plenty of iOS users that can appreciate week long battery, always on clock face and visibility in strong sun light. I doubt that sales numbers will be close, but I think there is plenty of room for pebble.
- clarky07 12y ago
  I have one, and I actually don't like the week long battery, or at least it isn't actually helpful for me. It's silly really, as I could just as easily charge it every night, but since I don't have to I don't. Then I forget and it eventually runs out. Charging the Apple Watch every night won't be a problem for me. It'll just be a thing I do alongside my phone.
  - sp332 12y ago
    The low battery indicator turns on with 20% battery left, that's a whole day to remember to charge it. And it only takes 2 hours for a full charge.
    - clarky07 12y ago
      and yet if it's in the middle of the day i'm going to dismiss the notification and go on. Since it's not part of the routine, I still forget to charge it that night.
FLGMwt 12y ago
TBH, after spending about three months with a Pebble, I'd ask the inverse (not that sales of the Apple Watch won't eclipse the Pebble, event at 17 mil for the Time's kickstarter). I just have some pretty big issues with the app architecture for the Apple Watch. Every interaction with the Apple Watch apps has to make a round trip to the phone and the workflow for what can happen on the watch has to be figured out design/build time, which kind of limits the things you can do and gives me concerns about latency. These things might not end up being issues, but IMHO, I think Pebble has a lot more potential to do interesting things.

8 points by jkw 12y ago

I understand that they might serve different customer segments, especially since Apple Watch is not available for Android phones. But I would love to get everyone's thoughts as well.

sp332 12y ago

I have the old chunky Pebble, and I really like it. It does get a week of battery life, and I can charge it while I'm wearing it (the charger is on the side). It's actively supported and will even get the new "Timeline" interface that's been announced for the new Pebble Time. Oh and it's $100. They've explicitly positioned themselves as the anti-Apple Watch. https://web.archive.org/web/20141001213546/https://getpebble.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141001213546/https://getpebble... Edit: In addition to all that, we haven't even seen the custom sensors third parties will make for the Pebble.

wodenokoto 12y ago

I think there are plenty of iOS users that can appreciate week long battery, always on clock face and visibility in strong sun light. I doubt that sales numbers will be close, but I think there is plenty of room for pebble.

clarky07 12y ago
I have one, and I actually don't like the week long battery, or at least it isn't actually helpful for me. It's silly really, as I could just as easily charge it every night, but since I don't have to I don't. Then I forget and it eventually runs out. Charging the Apple Watch every night won't be a problem for me. It'll just be a thing I do alongside my phone.
- sp332 12y ago
  The low battery indicator turns on with 20% battery left, that's a whole day to remember to charge it. And it only takes 2 hours for a full charge.
  - clarky07 12y ago
    and yet if it's in the middle of the day i'm going to dismiss the notification and go on. Since it's not part of the routine, I still forget to charge it that night.

FLGMwt 12y ago

TBH, after spending about three months with a Pebble, I'd ask the inverse (not that sales of the Apple Watch won't eclipse the Pebble, event at 17 mil for the Time's kickstarter). I just have some pretty big issues with the app architecture for the Apple Watch. Every interaction with the Apple Watch apps has to make a round trip to the phone and the workflow for what can happen on the watch has to be figured out design/build time, which kind of limits the things you can do and gives me concerns about latency. These things might not end up being issues, but IMHO, I think Pebble has a lot more potential to do interesting things.