
Why Pebble Time, Not Android Is Apple Watch's Biggest Competition - crdr88
http://www.macworld.com/article/2889211/why-pebble-time-is-a-bigger-threat-to-the-apple-watch-than-android-wear.html
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icefox
The reason why I keep watching what Pebble does is because for Apple and
Google the watch could be just an accessory to their main event like
ChromeCast and AppleTv. But for Pebble their watch and its capability is their
bread and butter. When Apple and Google would be satisfied checking it off the
feature list Pebble meanwhile will continue to innovate and try cannibalizing
the phone, implementing feature (maybe good, maybe bad) that used to be on the
phone, but now on the watch. While today there is talk about off loading
computing to the phone it wont be long before the watch will be good enough.

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JamesBaxter
I think Pebble's biggest selling point is that it works on iOS and Android.

I don't think that many change ecosystem on purpose after deciding iPhone or
Android (they're too invested fairly quickly) but I'm sure many people get a
cheap Android phone when they lose or break their iPhone.

It will be a painful realisation when the iWatch won't connect to a temporary
Android phone.

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stpe
Just because you rarely change ecosystem, I don't believe it is the biggest
selling point.

To me, it is that the Pebble simply works, and does it well. I've tried
wearing an Android-based smartwatch - while great hardware (except battery
time) - it simply didn't work that well. I think that is the biggest selling
point.

On the other hand, I remember having my Pebble in a drawer for most of the
first year. But once SDK 2 was released, things started to happen and it
became really useful in itself and the apps/watchfaces available.

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Oletros
> it simply didn't work that well.

Can I ask what wasn't working that well?

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Fiahil
I wear a moto360 everyday since october, and I really like the "hardware part"
of the watch (it looks good and feels nice). But, the software (or whatever it
is), is a complete mess. The UI (card display, gestures) is made for square
screens, not round ones. The voice control either doesn't work because of my
accent/noisy surroundings or it makes you look like a very very strange
person. For a long time, there was an issue that kept the time displayed on
the watch's ambient screen from updating (so you would get "jumps" of several
minutes when the watch activated).

I could go on for a long time, but I think you get the idea: it is just not a
finished product.

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post_break
If I could get a pebble that looked like a moto 360 I'd be in. But to me it
should be a watch/jewelry first, and smart second.

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soylentcola
This is what I realized after picking up a Moto360 on sale a few months ago.
I'd held off on buying a smart watch due to the common complaints people
seemed to have: battery life, usefulness, etc.

But honestly I saw it on sale for $175 and kind of wanted a new gadget so I
pulled the trigger. Since then it's funny because the issues most people have
(apps and such) have been the least important things about it for me.

I don't mind laying it on the cradle when I go to bed every night and the same
complaint some people have (it doesn't do much that I can't just do on my
phone) means that I won't miss it terribly if I forget the charger on a trip
out of town and the battery dies after a day or so.

Really what I like about it is that it's a watch...that I can change the face
on. The hardware looks nice and I can pick faces that show all sorts of info
at a glance. I've even spent a little time with apps like Facer and Watchmaker
and some Photoshop/Illustrator to make my own faces. It really is neat. I can
have my watch show an animated X-Wing flying down an 8-bit trench with a
digital countdown-style time readout on top or I can make it look like a
minimalist analog watch with a little weather icon made to look like part of
the display. I can show weather/radar or a visualization of the temperature
over the next 24 hours as a ring around the face. There's really no end since
you can just program it to look like whatever you want.

And yeah, I get little notices about traffic or Amazon deliveries and other
typical Google Now stuff but that's just icing. I hate to say it but even as a
function-over-form kind of guy, I'm actually pretty cool with something where
one of the main functions is being able to play around with the form.

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archagon
I don't know if this is a common sentiment — it hasn't been brought up at all
in the Apple podcasts that I listen to — but my primary interest in getting a
smartwatch is customizable faces. Watches are interesting because they're
little mechanical microcosms that sit on your wrist; with a computer, you can
simulate the movement and do so much more on top of that. This also has the
potential of opening up a whole new app market.

Pebble can already do this (albeit imperfectly) while the Apple watch is
_years_ away from having an always-on display.

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icesoldier
This is pretty much the primary reason I would ever get a smartwatch. Once I
can put Tokyoflash-esque [1] faces on the watch, then I would consider jumping
in.

[1]:
[http://www.tokyoflash.com/en/watches/1/](http://www.tokyoflash.com/en/watches/1/)

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mathgeek
While I love Pebble, I feel like this is similar to when the iPhone (and iPod
Touch, which was also a huge deal at the time due to the popularity of MP3
players) came out and suddenly made people realize just how much a well-
designed touchscreen UI could change their interactions with an historically
button-based product.

I think the battery life is going to still be the catching point that nips
apple's momentum, but we shall see.

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madeofpalk
There's an argument to be made that its easier to charge a device every night,
than wonder if your 30% will get you through to the next day and figure out
when you should charge it.

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IanCal
At 20% on the pebble in the evening I'm pretty confident I can make it through
the next day, but that's not really your point I suppose.

I really don't get that argument, you can easily charge it up every day if you
want to. It stops you worrying if you're going away for a few days though, I
know if I charge up my pebble before the weekend I can go away without
worrying about needing a charger. I don't have to worry about my watch in the
evening because I've used it quite a bit today.

It's like saying that Hummers have the advantage because you have to keep
stopping for fuel every petrol station, rather than wondering if you can make
it to the next one.

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zwily
My iPad ends up completely drained all the time because I don't need to charge
it every night. My iPhone never does. It's silly, but I know that needing to
charge something every night makes it easier for me to keep it charged.

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Spearchucker
Man there are so many varying takes on what people want from a watch that I
really sympathise with designers and manufacturers.

It took me a fair bit of cash to work out my own sweet spot - an automatic
Swiss watch on my left arm, and a Microsoft Band on the right. This after
trying really hard to like (and wear) a Pebble, and then a Pebble steel. The
Pebble just doesn't do anything I _need_. Unfortunately for Android, it's part
of an ecosystem I won't touch. Apple's watch is appealing like crazy, but DOA
because I need to take my phone along if I want to track a run or cycle. The
Microsoft Band is amazing, but its Achilles heel is that it's not waterproof.
Swimming is the one thing I'm still using a dedicated device for. Oh and
diving, but while you'd think tech has advanced enough by now, I'm not
expecting much from smart watches for that.

~~~
on_and_off
From what I have read, Microsoft Band heart rate sensor is useless. Too bad,
once somebody delivers continuous heart rate tracking with reasonable accuracy
and bulk, he will have my money.

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Spearchucker
Yeah I followed that saga too. And I still have no idea whether the sensor is
actually bad, or good. I do know that the Band samples at different heart rate
frequencies depending on what it's running -

\- Exercise modes (Run and Workout): Heart rate records every second

\- Sleep tracking : 2 minutes on, 8 minutes off. Repeats throughout duration

\- All other times : 1 minute on, 9 minutes off, and repeating the cycle

\- Manual: You can force-check your heart rate at any time by tapping the Me
Tile

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FLGMwt
I'm surprised there's not much mention of the different app architecture for
Pebble vs Apple Watch.

For Apple Watch, _all_ application code lives on the phone and every
interaction on the watch requires a round trip to the phone and back. This
contributes to the shoddy battery life, sure but I'm mostly concerned about
latency. When writing your app, you really only use a designer in Xcode.

For the Pebble, code for watch-specific behavior lives and executes on the
watch itself, along with two options for logic on the phone: 1) a native
companion app which the watch talks to (more like the way Apple Watch apps
work, but with code split across devices) and 2) arbitrary javascript which
runs in a execution sandbox that all the Pebble watch apps share.

Anyone think that the Apple Watch approach is a better idea? Tempted to get
one to compare.

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TazeTSchnitzel
> For Apple Watch, all application code lives on the phone and every
> interaction on the watch requires a round trip to the phone and back.

IIRC this is just for now, and they're going to have native apps soon, but the
SDK for that isn't ready yet.

I wonder if the (current) Apple Watch approach is better battery-life wise,
given that it avoids any data syncing and does any and all heavy processing on
the iPhone rather than the watch.

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ChuckMcM
I have found my pebble watch to be surprisingly useful. And given its cost a
reasonable value. The big 'win' for me was simple vibrating notifications, as
I don't hear high pitches any more it is the first watch with a timer/alarm
function that I _always_ notice. The ability to change watch faces is also
fun, and that it always has the time displayed is, for me, critical in a
watch.

That said, when v2.0 of the firmware pushed with additional
notification/services my ability to recharge once a week dropped to I must
recharge it every 3 days or so. Not a win for me.

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Oletros
Won't that be changed if Google develops iOS compatibility for Android wear?

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briandear
Is there any evidence to suggest that they would?

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threeseed
There have been rumours that they might. No idea how on earth it would work
though. iWatch is pretty tightly coupled with iOS internals.

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Grazester
I dont think it would take very much to get the simple stuff like notification
to work. Thats all Apple's API which is open to developers. All Google may
have to do is provide some kind of downloadable layer for support for more
tightly coupled things(Google Now). I am assuming that Apple lets them.

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jpalomaki
One interesting thing is to see who Apple is targeting their watch. So far it
has been featured in high profile fashion magazines. I think this is clear
distinction from Pebble and maybe also from Android products.

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hyperpallium
The article's mention of carrier-subsidized iPhone price of $199 made me see
something obvious: what if the Apple Watch was also subsidized?

Since it's likely to increase network usage, it seems a reasonable bet for
carriers. Maybe an extra $50 on top of the iPhone to get a watch too?

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33W
Further, they could just spread the cost into the 2-year plan. I'll actually
be a bit surprised if this doesn't happen.

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on_and_off
sigh. Android Wear and Apple Watch are NOT direct competitors. They both only
work with their respective OSes.

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calvin_c
They're competing to create the most compelling ecosystem. If people are lead
to believe that Android+Android Wear is a better pair than iPhone+Apple Watch
then people will switch.

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ocdtrekkie
That is a battle that will be won or lost without either platforms' watch
actually mattering. I would agree that Wear and iWatch are not really
competitors, except in the heads of fanboys who want direct comparison charts.

