Pebble steel

[Mii Cube]

I found a pebble steel for cheap and wondering if buying the watch is worth it in 2023 (I have a android phone if that may change anything with stuff)

[creesch]

Define cheap? The functionality will be really limited, certainly compared to modern smart watches. It mostly is a watch you'd use if you like a certain aspect of it or if you simply like tinkering with it to get it working. The latter you would need to do as the original software won't work anymore. There are a few alternatives available if I do a quick google. https://www.gadgetbridge.org/ or through a paid service like rebble https://rebble.io/

 

If you are simply looking for a semi smartwatch with long battery life I'd recommend you look at cheaper Garmin watches. They have a low resolution LCD screen that is also visible without backlight and they easily last over a week and much longer if you disable the heartbeat sensor and such.

[Mii Cube]

2 hours ago, creesch said:

Define cheap? The functionality will be really limited, certainly compared to modern smart watches. It mostly is a watch you'd use if you like a certain aspect of it or if you simply like tinkering with it to get it working. The latter you would need to do as the original software won't work anymore. There are a few alternatives available if I do a quick google. https://www.gadgetbridge.org/ or through a paid service like rebble https://rebble.io/

 

If you are simply looking for a semi smartwatch with long battery life I'd recommend you look at cheaper Garmin watches. They have a low resolution LCD screen that is also visible without backlight and they easily last over a week and much longer if you disable the heartbeat sensor and such.

Define cheap?

 

10 GBP plus postage (the place is like 60 miles away)

[creesch]

Well, I guess that for that price you could give it a go. Just be sure you have the right expectations.

[Monsterkater]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:29 PM, creesch said:

through a paid service like rebble

As a proud owner of a Pebble Time Steel, I have to disagree. Rebble is not a paid service per se, a paid subscription merely adds a few features which IMO aren't all that necessary anyway. Here's a screenshot from their site: 

 

 

On 2/28/2023 at 8:29 PM, creesch said:

It mostly is a watch you'd use if you like a certain aspect of it or if you simply like tinkering with it to get it working. The latter you would need to do as the original software won't work anymore.

That part's absolutely correct, though. I for one simply love the easy to read e-ink display and the vast battery life (I get 9d 10h on average out of it). Also the app support is amazing, the community is still very active to this day. Granted, it doesn't have heartbeat sensors or anything like that, it's very much just a watch with app and notification support.

However, I don't see where you got the notion of cheap Garmin watches with over a week battery life from? I just had a quick look at their website and while they do have watches with over a week of stated battery life, those are 200+ USD. The cheaper ones like the Forerunner or Bounce state a few days to a week and are 150+ USD as well. 

 

Also, while looks can't really be argued about as beauty does lie in the eye of the beholder, I find the "cheap" Garmin watches look just that: cheap. In no way comparable to a Pebble Time Steel.

 

On 2/28/2023 at 10:55 PM, Mii Cube said:

10 GBP plus postage

For that price you really can't go wrong with just giving it a go, depending on the condition you should be easily able to flip it if it isn't to your liking, with profit even.

[creesch]

28 minutes ago, Monsterkater said:

However, I don't see where you got the notion of cheap Garmin watches with over a week battery life from? I just had a quick look at their website and while they do have watches with over a week of stated battery life, those are 200+ USD.

 

I've got a forerunner 55 which I got for around 110 euros on an amazon sale. It easily lasts a week for me so I am speaking from experience here  

 

Edit: Alright, I looked up the current price of the thing and it sells for a bunch more now around 175 euro so it isn't as cheap as I had in mind.