Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anyone trading up from a Pebble?
- Thread starter frumpy16
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Stupotpot
macrumors 6502
I have the Kickstarter edition and a Steel and love both. However... once Watch arrives, there'll be no going back! It's a shame as I love both Pebbles but, like the other posters out there, the connection is just to temperamental!
Every time I feel my phone vibrate, 5-10 seconds go by of waiting to see if Pebble will go off or not...sometimes it does, most of the time it doesn't!
One thing I can give Pebble credit for is their customer service. My Steel display went after a few months and a new one was shipped out straight away. A few weeks ago the vibrate motor stopped working and again, a new one was shipped out straight away, even thought it was over a year since I bought it.
This almost makes me feel guilty about ditching them! I even had the Steel Time backed on Kickstarter but cancelled the pledge when I realised that I'd never use it. If I ever need a water proof watch, I can always resurrect the Pebble!
Every time I feel my phone vibrate, 5-10 seconds go by of waiting to see if Pebble will go off or not...sometimes it does, most of the time it doesn't!
One thing I can give Pebble credit for is their customer service. My Steel display went after a few months and a new one was shipped out straight away. A few weeks ago the vibrate motor stopped working and again, a new one was shipped out straight away, even thought it was over a year since I bought it.
This almost makes me feel guilty about ditching them! I even had the Steel Time backed on Kickstarter but cancelled the pledge when I realised that I'd never use it. If I ever need a water proof watch, I can always resurrect the Pebble!
I had an original Pebble, but now use the Steel. I'm sure hoping the Apple Watch has a way more solid connection than the Pebble. Though, I feel like the Pebble has gotten better over time with software updates.
Support was funny for the Pebble. I had a good laugh when they asked me to do this:
"Please also include a picture of the back of your Pebble with the Serial Number clearly shown and "Case #xxxx" written beneath it on a sheet of paper."
I'm surprised they didn't ask me to pose with it holding todays paper for proof of life.
I wear multiple watches so we'll see if I wear my Pebble again...
Support was funny for the Pebble. I had a good laugh when they asked me to do this:
"Please also include a picture of the back of your Pebble with the Serial Number clearly shown and "Case #xxxx" written beneath it on a sheet of paper."
I'm surprised they didn't ask me to pose with it holding todays paper for proof of life.
I wear multiple watches so we'll see if I wear my Pebble again...
Zmanbaseball2
macrumors 68040
I'm with ya. One of my only concerns about the apple watch is the battery life. I'm hoping 18 hours is the minimum and not an "average" because anything less will make it almost unusable.
I easy get 6-8 days out of my Pebble, but even 2-3 would be okay. 18 hours?? Like I said, it's my one big concern.
I know the 2-way communication will be great, but I hope I can still pay for my coffee (Starbucks app) and use PayPal. I'll also miss my Fallout 3 watch face... Hope someone makes one
Overall, I do expect the apple watch to be a big improvement over the pebble, and if it's not, well I'll just sell it and get pebble time.
aussiemom
macrumors member
I love not having to pull my phone out for everything. It's very convenient when out for a run/walk, or even just getting things done around the house. My phone can stay on the kitchen counter, and if I'm running around the house getting things done, my Pebble lets me know it's ringing.
I only bought my Pebble for running with RunKeeper, but I find I use it all the time and I am spoiled! I look forward to an Apple Watch which I expect will be even more addicting! 🙂
I only bought my Pebble for running with RunKeeper, but I find I use it all the time and I am spoiled! I look forward to an Apple Watch which I expect will be even more addicting! 🙂
Stupotpot
macrumors 6502
Oh that's nothing! When my vibration motor went on my steel, they had me videoing the watch receiving a notification and then go into settings to show that vibration was on!
Then I had to send the white paper photo!
Yes I'm upgrading from an original Pebble which I've had almost two years. The Pebble was basically a temporary stop gap as I was pretty sure Apple would release a smart watch that would be a lot more sophisticated. Getting notifications on my watch allowing me to decide which ones I want to respond to on my phone has been great. I'm looking forward to the added interactivity of the 
watch and the far better iOS integration. The iOS integration with the Pebble is hit and miss unfortunately.
watch and the far better iOS integration. The iOS integration with the Pebble is hit and miss unfortunately.I am in the same boat as most people who have posted. I enjoyed my pebble but it has been frustrating at times too.
I am on my 3rd unit and I have had one since the kickstarter version. The screen keeps tearing on mine. I thought it would only be the original KS version but it kept happening. I do run with it but I don't shower or swim with it. Outside of washing my hands it never gets wet so I don't think it is my use causing it.
Also the connection is not great but has gotten much better. I used to have to do the finger dance multiple times a day then that was fixed. For a while I had to just reset the pebble about once or twice a day. Now I only need to reset it once to keep the connection working. I have used it with 3 phones so I know it isn't just a bad phone causing it. The issues happened with my android as well as iPhone.
My biggest hope with the Apple Watch will be the connection issues and the screen. I know Apple wouldn't put out a product with these issues. They do have an advantage in being able to deeply integrate where the pebble cannot. It is not fault of pebble.
Pebble as a company has been less than stellar. I know they were a new company but they would miss dead lines with no updates. Radio silence on many issues and complaints. They would keep the customers in the dark for so long and many missed promises. IFTTT that was shown in 2013? I wanted this for my wemo devices so badly.
The battery life will be my only concern. I do plan on wearing mine at night because I want to use it as an alarm. My plan is to charge it when I am sitting at my computer at work. I don't need notifications on my wrist when I am at my computer.
I am on my 3rd unit and I have had one since the kickstarter version. The screen keeps tearing on mine. I thought it would only be the original KS version but it kept happening. I do run with it but I don't shower or swim with it. Outside of washing my hands it never gets wet so I don't think it is my use causing it.
Also the connection is not great but has gotten much better. I used to have to do the finger dance multiple times a day then that was fixed. For a while I had to just reset the pebble about once or twice a day. Now I only need to reset it once to keep the connection working. I have used it with 3 phones so I know it isn't just a bad phone causing it. The issues happened with my android as well as iPhone.
My biggest hope with the Apple Watch will be the connection issues and the screen. I know Apple wouldn't put out a product with these issues. They do have an advantage in being able to deeply integrate where the pebble cannot. It is not fault of pebble.
Pebble as a company has been less than stellar. I know they were a new company but they would miss dead lines with no updates. Radio silence on many issues and complaints. They would keep the customers in the dark for so long and many missed promises. IFTTT that was shown in 2013? I wanted this for my wemo devices so badly.
The battery life will be my only concern. I do plan on wearing mine at night because I want to use it as an alarm. My plan is to charge it when I am sitting at my computer at work. I don't need notifications on my wrist when I am at my computer.
Pebble wearer here, and I have to say I am actually going to miss a few things about it that the Apple Watch can't match.
One of my biggest "living in the future" moments came when I was on vacation, had my iPhone in a speaker dock and was able to pause and skip tracks from in the pool, as well as get notifications from other people I was on vacation with. The Apple Watch isn't waterproof so that same experience can't happen. Also, only having to charge the Pebble once the entire vacation was pretty great - I'm going to hate having to get used to yet another nightly charging gadget.
Still, I'm looking forward to something more tailored to the iPhone. Back when I had an Android phone my Pebble was a LOT more useful and had a ton of additional functionality that the iPhone just doesn't allow. If the new Pebble Time had the same hooks into iOS that the Apple Watch does, I might have considered saving a few hundred dollars and going with that instead.
One of my biggest "living in the future" moments came when I was on vacation, had my iPhone in a speaker dock and was able to pause and skip tracks from in the pool, as well as get notifications from other people I was on vacation with. The Apple Watch isn't waterproof so that same experience can't happen. Also, only having to charge the Pebble once the entire vacation was pretty great - I'm going to hate having to get used to yet another nightly charging gadget.
Still, I'm looking forward to something more tailored to the iPhone. Back when I had an Android phone my Pebble was a LOT more useful and had a ton of additional functionality that the iPhone just doesn't allow. If the new Pebble Time had the same hooks into iOS that the Apple Watch does, I might have considered saving a few hundred dollars and going with that instead.
agreed the pairing is a disaster on the Pebble - more than half the time notifications don't show up and the weather is always 63 - it never updates it - can't wait for my apple watch. I'm sure it will have bugs that need to be worked out but Apple has the resources to do so.
BeyondtheTech
macrumors 68020
I was an original Kickstarter backer for the first Pebble, and I really enjoyed it while I had it. I selected the white model, but if anyone recalls the first campaign, there were so many delays in releasing the white model that they finally gave an option to their backers - take a black one that they had plenty of stock of, or wait it out for the white one. With the even-more uncertainties of crowdfunding campaigns back then, I opted to take the black one and I received it rather quickly. Good thing I did, too, since the white model didn't release for months after. Over the next 18 months, I realized just how convenient, useful and essential a smartwatch can be.
The rubber strap finally started cracking right around the time of the first announcement of the WATCH, to which I immediately knew I was probably going to get it, so I bought a replacement strap and bequeathed the Pebble to my daughter, where kids are gawking at the fact that she's one of the first in her class to get a "smartwatch" (I guess her school might be a bit behind others tech-wise).
Of course, Pebble came out of left field with their Pebble Time watch and opened the doors on their next Kickstarter campaign. I thought I was slick at being one of the first Early Bird backers at $159 + $10 shipping, but a couple things irked me about it:
Given all those factors, I announced in their comments section that I was going to cancel my Early Bird pledge at a scheduled time, and it was swooped up by another happy backer within 17 seconds.
Had the Early Bird pledge been at, say $99-$129 shipped, I might have stayed in and waited for the WATCH to release to the masses, and then consider whether or not I wanted one, so I kinda blame that "greediness" on the people at Pebble (let's be honest, the company is proportionally that much more successful now, as we know the markup of the Pebble is rather significant).
So, I can't say I regret the decision to drop from the Pebble, as I know my WATCH, a Sport model - in white, finally - will make its way to me before any of the Pebble Time watches get released (no offense to those backers!).
I'm also not concerned about the battery life of the WATCH or going to miss it compared to my experience with the Pebble, since I routinely charge my devices every night, and top them off during the day whenever I get a chance, so I'm already preprogrammed to do it.
So, there's my story. A little long and rambling (it's a Friday and work is slow), but I'm happy to be part of this group of Pebble-to-WATCH upgraders, too.
The rubber strap finally started cracking right around the time of the first announcement of the WATCH, to which I immediately knew I was probably going to get it, so I bought a replacement strap and bequeathed the Pebble to my daughter, where kids are gawking at the fact that she's one of the first in her class to get a "smartwatch" (I guess her school might be a bit behind others tech-wise).
Of course, Pebble came out of left field with their Pebble Time watch and opened the doors on their next Kickstarter campaign. I thought I was slick at being one of the first Early Bird backers at $159 + $10 shipping, but a couple things irked me about it:
- As a successful company now, why do another crowdfunding campaign?
- Am I really going to like the new Timeline feature?
- If it will retail at $199, how much of an edge is that Early Bird pledge (they're charging $10 for shipping, even for domestic?)? Couldn't the powers that be at Pebble give a little better discount or incentive for the Early Bird backers?
- The WATCH release date is before the Pebble Time's proposed release date, and we know how crowdfunding campaign timelines are so easily missed.
- Given the assumed $350 starting price of the WATCH, wouldn't it be a better choice with more features, given the modest price difference?
- Given the limitations of third-party smartwatch integration by Apple (i.e. Pebble's reply feature only working on Gmail), will this next Pebble be just as limited, whereas the WATCH will probably have more because Apple gives itself more integration? (And it did big-time with iOS 8.2.)
- Even if I were to keep the pledge, then get an WATCH, I probably won't be able to resell it for much more than I pledged, since the gap between the Early Bird pledge amount and the retail price is so small.
Given all those factors, I announced in their comments section that I was going to cancel my Early Bird pledge at a scheduled time, and it was swooped up by another happy backer within 17 seconds.
Had the Early Bird pledge been at, say $99-$129 shipped, I might have stayed in and waited for the WATCH to release to the masses, and then consider whether or not I wanted one, so I kinda blame that "greediness" on the people at Pebble (let's be honest, the company is proportionally that much more successful now, as we know the markup of the Pebble is rather significant).
So, I can't say I regret the decision to drop from the Pebble, as I know my WATCH, a Sport model - in white, finally - will make its way to me before any of the Pebble Time watches get released (no offense to those backers!).
I'm also not concerned about the battery life of the WATCH or going to miss it compared to my experience with the Pebble, since I routinely charge my devices every night, and top them off during the day whenever I get a chance, so I'm already preprogrammed to do it.
So, there's my story. A little long and rambling (it's a Friday and work is slow), but I'm happy to be part of this group of Pebble-to-WATCH upgraders, too.
noobinator
macrumors 604
Pebble and Apple are going after two entirely different customers. I had a Pebble and I ordered an Apple Watch. The Pebble is like the children's version of smart watches.
Yup, upgrading here from a Pebble kickstarter edition. Sports SG on the 24th... then to SS Sapce Black in June.
Esoom
macrumors 6502
Upgrading here too, with a caveat, I backed the Pebble Time Steel too, will see how they compare, keep the one that fits my use case the best, gotta tell you, I love the real time stock ticker that displays constantly. Wondering how many button pushes and swipes it'll take to get to a stock ticker on the Apple Watch.
Would love more granular notifications on the Pebble.
Would love more granular notifications on the Pebble.
I have the original Pebble Kickstarter and signed up for a Pebble Time. Then updated to the Time Steel. Didn't want the Apple as to expensive but then thought only $100 more than Pebble where in my case wouldn't be here till July so ordered the 42mm Sport just to be safe with time to investigate it more. Went to my local Apple Store to see it for myself and loved it. Cancelled the Pebble and if still satisfied by the time V2 comes out and there is some kind of trade in or buy out will get the more expensive one next time.
I did the same thing! However, I went for the Stainless Steel Version of the Apple Watch. I wonder how many people will be canceling their Pebble Time order before it ships.
Tezcatlipoca
macrumors regular
Same for me. I wasn't sure if I really wanted the one day battery life of the Apple Watch, so I ordered the Pebble Time as well as I love my original Pebble. Also, I didn't want to miss out on the special 2X Kickstarter edition of the Pebble Time. 😉
Then I tried on the Apple Watch, and even if it only lasts a day, there is no way I'm going to not be getting it unless I hate it that much during the first two weeks for some reason. I'm thinking that I'll probably use the Apple Watch for the most part, but still go back to the Pebble for various occasions.
Armen
macrumors 604
The ability to reply to text messages is what I'm most excited about the most. With my Pebble I need to pull out my phone to reply a simple "ok".
Original Pebble owner as well. I bought it shortly after the Apple Watch unveiling in September. I was convinced I wasn't going to be getting an Apple Watch, but the thought of a smartwatch intrigued me so I decided to go with something cheaper.
At first, I started regretting my purchase because I didn't see the point of it. But after just a few days, I started loving it, and it proved to be really invaluable to receive notifications of my wrist, especially at work. I was then convinced that I would be satisfied with my Pebble forever and had no need for the Apple Watch.
But then I started having issues with it. Right after the Spring Forward event (coincidence? hmmm..) my Pebble started randomly displaying weird, messed up pixels. Every now and then, I'd glance at it and the watch face would be all distorted. Going to the menu and then back again fixed this, but only temporarily.
Then, I started having pairing issues with my iPhone. It would randomly disconnect, and I wouldn't know because there was no notification informing me. When this happened, I had to jump through hoops with multiple restarts to get it connecting again, for seemingly no reason whatsoever.
The final thing that did it for me was when my Pebble out of the blue, got stuck in "recovery" mode. While I was wearing it. Nothing I tried would get it out of this mode, nothing. I contacted support and they suggested 'fixes' that I had already tried. I contacted them again, telling them that nothing worked, and I never heard back from them. Eventually I let the battery die, and it was working again, but I was really disappointed with their support.
So I thank the Pebble for getting me interested in smartwatches, but I won't be sticking with them. I also don't agree with them continuing to use Kickstarter, no matter how you twist it or whatever the reason is, but I digress. I'm really excited to get my Apple Watch now though!
At first, I started regretting my purchase because I didn't see the point of it. But after just a few days, I started loving it, and it proved to be really invaluable to receive notifications of my wrist, especially at work. I was then convinced that I would be satisfied with my Pebble forever and had no need for the Apple Watch.
But then I started having issues with it. Right after the Spring Forward event (coincidence? hmmm..) my Pebble started randomly displaying weird, messed up pixels. Every now and then, I'd glance at it and the watch face would be all distorted. Going to the menu and then back again fixed this, but only temporarily.
Then, I started having pairing issues with my iPhone. It would randomly disconnect, and I wouldn't know because there was no notification informing me. When this happened, I had to jump through hoops with multiple restarts to get it connecting again, for seemingly no reason whatsoever.
The final thing that did it for me was when my Pebble out of the blue, got stuck in "recovery" mode. While I was wearing it. Nothing I tried would get it out of this mode, nothing. I contacted support and they suggested 'fixes' that I had already tried. I contacted them again, telling them that nothing worked, and I never heard back from them. Eventually I let the battery die, and it was working again, but I was really disappointed with their support.
So I thank the Pebble for getting me interested in smartwatches, but I won't be sticking with them. I also don't agree with them continuing to use Kickstarter, no matter how you twist it or whatever the reason is, but I digress. I'm really excited to get my Apple Watch now though!
dontwalkhand
macrumors 604
I, too, like the rest of you in this thread own a Pebble. The Pebble was a great idea in theory, but things just never worked right on it.
1. Phone call notifications sometimes would literally vibrate on my wrist for no apparent reason, after I already hung up the phone.
2. Other notifications literally just wouldn't come through at times. The live updating watch faces sometimes just wouldn't work- and show a connection error, despite the iPhone Bluetooth showing the device is connected.
3. Looks really cheap.
April 24th can't come any sooner!! I can't wait for my Apple Watch and the Pebble will probably be regulated to a desk drawer. I'll probably never wear the pebble again simply because it does not work most of the time. I also find the ePaper screen hard to see at times too, and can't wait for the vibrant color LCD of the Apple Watch.
I was jealous of Android users and their Moto 360s. Now we finally get to have a real smart watch on iOS
1. Phone call notifications sometimes would literally vibrate on my wrist for no apparent reason, after I already hung up the phone.
2. Other notifications literally just wouldn't come through at times. The live updating watch faces sometimes just wouldn't work- and show a connection error, despite the iPhone Bluetooth showing the device is connected.
3. Looks really cheap.
April 24th can't come any sooner!! I can't wait for my Apple Watch and the Pebble will probably be regulated to a desk drawer. I'll probably never wear the pebble again simply because it does not work most of the time. I also find the ePaper screen hard to see at times too, and can't wait for the vibrant color LCD of the Apple Watch.
I was jealous of Android users and their Moto 360s. Now we finally get to have a real smart watch on iOS