Pebble Time Steel announced, as well as Pebble Smart Straps

[The_Strict_Nein]

Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-time-awesome-smartwatch-no-compromises/posts/1151421?ref=backer_project_update

 

 

Some of the changes to the Pebble Time:

 

 

 At its core, Time Steel is powered by the same system as Pebble Time…with a few tweaks. 

• Delicately crafted, CNC-finished 316L stainless steel case 
• Larger battery, up to 10 days of normal use 
• Same color e-paper display, now bonded directly to the top lens
• Available in Gunmetal Black, Silver Stainless, and Gold (you’re welcome, @CaliforniaLahve!)
• Includes two straps: fine leather and stainless steel 

Same great features as Pebble Time: 

• Comfortable, ergonomic design. 1mm thicker on Pebble Time Steel. 
• Water resistant. Swim, shower, run in the rain—all good (leather strap should not be submerged). 
• Built to last. Stainless Steel bezel with Gorilla Glass lens. 
• Customizable. Standard 22mm watch band with quick release mechanism. 
• Smartstrap ready. Magnetic charging port with data connection for smartstraps.

 

Customers who already purchase a Pebble Time will still have their place in the queue locked even if they now upgrade to the Steel, so you won't get it any later.

 

The Steel is coming at $250, with a regular retail price of $299

 

 

Pebble have also announced their new "Smart Strap" idea. According to Pebble:

 

 

 Rather than trying to shove every sensor and doohickey into the Pebble Time, we decided to keep the watch simple and functional and give our incredible maker and developer community the opportunity to build from there. Up until now, if you wanted it all you had to compromise…on battery life, size, design or feature set. Not anymore.

 

This feature allows for third parties to design sensors that interact with Pebble through the watch straps, with devices like heart beat sensors and GPS. This seems like a really clever way of doing things, ringing true of ideas like Project Ara.

 

Personally, I've already upgraded my order to a Steel. The main selling point being the extra three days of battery life for me. That, and having a steel strap will be much nicer, as the leather one my original pebble Steel came with lacks the water resistance and durability that would convince me to wear it doing anything.

 

[Victorious Secret]

Pass. That doesn't look good at all. 

 

Double bezel for the fail. 

 

And 299? So you're actually ~50 off the Apple Watch OR the same price as the G Watch - arguably what might be better choices for those specific platforms if you're willing to give up on the immense battery life. 

 

For a Gen 2 product I expected better attention to aesthetics from these guys...

[Octagoncow]

I'm really excited for the steel variant and will probably buy it. I'm a little sad that it is shipping in July and not May (and with $15 shipping instead of $10).

[The_Strict_Nein]

Pass. That doesn't look good at all. 

 

Double bezel for the fail. 

 

And 299? So you're actually ~50 off the Apple Watch OR the same price as the G Watch - arguably what might be better choices for those specific platforms if you're willing to give up on the immense battery life. 

 

For a Gen 2 product I expected better attention to aesthetics from these guys...

 

I'm sorry, but considering it has potentially over 100 times the battery life of the iWatch I think it can justify the price.

[ShadowCaptain]

I'm sorry, but considering it has potentially over 100 times the battery life of the iWatch I think it can justify the price.

 

10 times.....

 

I just wish the screen was larger, so that it took up more of the face  

 

otherwise this looks promising

[The_Strict_Nein]

10 times.....

 

iWatch has 2 hours of actual usage time (as in time it's useful for more than a watch). Pebble Time Steel has up to 10 days, but assuming standard usage (more than just a watch) more like 8 (personal observations of a my gen 1 Steel rated/actual time, 7 days rated 5 days of usage.). In 8 days, you have 192 hours. The Pebble Time Steel will be functional as more than watch throughout that time period. The iWatch will ONLY be functional as a watch for only 19 hours at most.

[ShadowCaptain]

iWatch has 2 hours of actual usage time (as in time it's useful for more than a watch). Pebble Time Steel has up to 10 days, but assuming standard usage (more than just a watch) more like 8 (personal observations of a my gen 1 Steel rated/actual time, 7 days rated 5 days of usage.). In 8 days, you have 192 hours. The Pebble Time Steel will be functional as more than watch throughout that time period. The iWatch will ONLY be functional as a watch for only 19 hours at most.

 

Impossible to comment without it existing and being tested

 

it says 2.5 - 4 hours of active use, so that could be GPS maps, video and photos, etc - I doubt 99% of people will use their watch for like 4 hours a day! maybe 30 minutes tops, a few 5 minutes sessions fo checking notifications, checking fitness while running or changing a song on your phone, maybe show your friend a few photos

 

I imagine for how most people use their smartwatch it will be fine

 

Anyway, I still think the pebble is promising, just not a fan of its tiny screen on a big watch face, I wish it went further to the edges

[The_Strict_Nein]

Impossible to comment without it existing and being tested

 

it says 2.5 - 4 hours of active use, so that could be GPS maps, video and photos, etc - I doubt 99% of people will use their watch for like 4 hours a day! maybe 30 minutes tops, a few 5 minutes sessions fo checking notifications, checking fitness while running or changing a song on your phone, maybe show your friend a few photos

 

I imagine for how most people use their smartwatch it will be fine

 

The fact is the iWatch will be exactly the same as a phone for worrying if you charged it, trying to find 15 minutes to charge it, will it last for the how long I need it etc etc. because the battery life is a phone's battery life.

 

If I get down to 10% on my Pebble I have no fear that it'll last easily through the rest of the day with full functionality, not just a time display.

[Victorious Secret]

Impossible to comment without it existing and being tested

 

it says 2.5 - 4 hours of active use, so that could be GPS maps, video and photos, etc - I doubt 99% of people will use their watch for like 4 hours a day! maybe 30 minutes tops, a few 5 minutes sessions fo checking notifications, checking fitness while running or changing a song on your phone, maybe show your friend a few photos

 

I imagine for how most people use their smartwatch it will be fine

 

Anyway, I still think the pebble is promising, just not a fan of its tiny screen on a big watch face, I wish it went further to the edges

 

Cook himself, not official since it wasn't really an official statement on the battery life, said it lasts an entire day. Other numbers put it at 2.5 hours of HEAVY use as their target along with 19 hours of casual use. 

 

Apple, the company most obsessed about battery life in the industry, isn't going to ship something that isn't at the very least competitive with the other smart watches. I don't see people bitching the same way about the Gear, G Watch or 360, and sure as shit those need nightly recharging. Its a Gen 1 product limited by the size of battery a 42mm case can hold along with everything else they want it to do. 

 

We're complaining that Apple, Motorola, LG and Samsung haven't come up with better batteries, thats really the issue. 

[ShadowCaptain]

The fact is the iWatch will be exactly the same as a phone for worrying if you charged it, trying to find 15 minutes to charge it, will it last for the how long I need it etc etc. because the battery life is a phone's battery life.

 

If I get down to 10% on my Pebble I have no fear that it'll last easily through the rest of the day.

 

i agree the battery life is short, but without people testing it, lets not jump to the conclusion!! Tim Cook himself said it will last a day, and I imagine he uses his quite extensively!!

 

Its a trade off, battery life vs functionality, for basic notifications and stuff the pebble is fine, but its nowhere near as functional as the apple watch

 

im glad there is a choice out there depending on the user

[The_Strict_Nein]

Cook himself, not official since it wasn't really an official statement on the battery life, said it lasts an entire day. Other numbers put it at 2.5 hours of HEAVY use as their target along with 19 hours of casual use. 

 

Apple, the company most obsessed about battery life in the industry, isn't going to ship something that isn't at the very least competitive with the other smart watches. I don't see people bitching the same way about the Gear, G Watch or 360, and sure as shit those need nightly recharging. Its a Gen 1 product limited by the size of battery a 42mm case can hold along with everything else they want it to do. 

 

We're complaining that Apple, Motorola, LG and Samsung haven't come up with better batteries, thats really the issue. 

 

I bitch about their battery life as well. It's just more relevant to talk about the iWatch right now as it and the Pebble are the two really big watch releases I know of on the horizon.

[snowComet]

Actually the Pebble Time Steel with metal strap looks good to me... It still looks like a toy, but it is not bad looking...

but why do they announce the two versions in such a short time period? Why don't they just announce it together??

[Victorious Secret]

Actually the Pebble Time Steel with metal strap looks good to me... It still looks like a toy, but it is not bad looking...

but why do they announce the two versions in such a short time period? Why don't they just announce it together??

 

Milk the normal Pebble sales as much as possible AND THEN announce the Steel version to milk additional sales that you might not have gotten if you had put both out at the same time. 

[Techteen14]

I might be able to cough up an extra $100 for this. 10 days of battery life and a steel strap, count me in. I'll wait until it comes out and there are reviews and in-store models, though.

 

If only the bezel was smaller...

[qwertywarrior]

everything is good but that bazel .....

[Dani360c]

Milk the normal Pebble sales as much as possible AND THEN announce the Steel version to milk additional sales that you might not have gotten if you had put both out at the same time. 

Dont see how this is "milking" they offer a easy way to upgrade and keep your place in the line, so all who would have bought steel can just upgrade, about the same sales.

[Sidiox]

Meh. Looks kinda ugly. And I already have my Pebble Steel. Although the battery upgrade would be nice. I can only get like 3 days out of my Steel.

And this new charging system looks annoying, on my Steel I just leave it on my wrist and charge it while I'm typing, gaming or doing homework. With this one that won't me possible

[Blade of Grass]

C'mon Pebble, I don't want a child's toy strapped to my wrist. Come out with something that looks classy and we can talk

[Victorious Secret]

C'mon Pebble, I don't want a child's toy strapped to my wrist. Come out with something that looks classy and we can talk

 

My Surge looks like a toy but it looks more professional than this... 

 

ID matters. Why can't companies understand this? Make a product that is geared towards enthusiasts, don't be upset that it doesn't get marketshare amongst everyone else. 

[CYaN_Bob]

I wonder what possessed them to add HTC One M7/8 bezels to a smartwatch.

[spartaman64]

i agree the battery life is short, but without people testing it, lets not jump to the conclusion!! Tim Cook himself said it will last a day, and I imagine he uses his quite extensively!!

 

Its a trade off, battery life vs functionality, for basic notifications and stuff the pebble is fine, but its nowhere near as functional as the apple watch

 

im glad there is a choice out there depending on the user

of course cook isnt going to bad mouth his product it could electrocute him and blow up his house and he will still say its the best smart watch on the market

[ShadowCaptain]

of course cook isnt going to bad mouth his product it could electrocute him and blow up his house and he will still say its the best smart watch on the market

 

I dunno, never really hard him lie about anything, he didnt come out and say it in a press conference, he mentioned it to one of the employees in store that asked him some questions when he visited

 

Apple are also amazing when it comes to battery life on devices, the iPad, macbooks etc sure the iPhone is only a day but the 6 and 6+ do really well on battery

[Victorious Secret]

I dunno, never really hard him lie about anything, he didnt come out and say it in a press conference, he mentioned it to one of the employees in store that asked him some questions when he visited

 

Apple are also amazing when it comes to battery life on devices, the iPad, macbooks etc sure the iPhone is only a day but the 6 and 6+ do really well on battery

 

Apple is the company who said their rMBP get 7 hours and then when you use them, actually do better. 

 

I'm gonna go off prior history with how seriously they take battery life that the watch isn't being sent out in a battery crippled state just to have it out there. 

[MrCthuntoo]

Ewwwww.

 

After the Nabu turned out to have some serious quality issues, I was waiting to see if a new Pebble Steel would be released.

 

This looks bad, I'd rather have the old model, but I want dat colour e-ink display.

[XTankSlayerX]

*ehhem*

I CALLED IT!!

Too bad it looks ages worse than the original Pebble Steel...