To upgrade from Pebble, or not?

[jbizzybeetle]

YES! Former Steel user here.
Buy AW
Wear it.
If the experience does not demonstrate intangible as well as tangible value, return in 14 days or sell.

 

[supertomtom]

I considered the possibility of just trying it out for 14 days, but that just seems like abuse of resources to me, and rubs my sense of ethics the wrong way a bit.

There's nothing unethical about it. You're a GENUINE apple fan who's GENUINELY interested in this product, you just don't know if it's right for you. It would be unethical if you were not interested at all and buying it/returning it just for the sake of it or to piss of the company or other potential buyers.

I'm sure if you were to ask Apple, they'd rather have you try it for 14 days with the possibility of becoming a converted than not having tried it at all and made up your mind on not buying it already. They do have these return policies for a reason.

 

[5105973]

Thank you all for all the constructive feedback. I really appreciate it, and it let me think about some of the aspects that I had initially missed.

As much as I love being the early adopter and a big Apple fan, the Pebble still fits my usage requirements very well. I really can't justify $350 for glamor and fringe usage scenarios (for my daily use, at least). Some cool features that would be neat, but I really don't need them for now. I was trying to rationalize that it's not much money -- I do make a 6-figure income, but I still try to live frugally for early retirement -- so the price tag still didn't sit right with me. And I think it'd make my wife and daughter happier if I got more mileage out of their present, instead of ditching it less than 6 months into ownership.

I considered the possibility of just trying it out for 14 days, but that just seems like abuse of resources to me, and rubs my sense of ethics the wrong way a bit. Well, I'm now more aware of what it can/can't do thanks to everyone's input, so I think I'll just wait it out for the next generation, or if the Pebble ever dies. Thanks again, everyone.

Actually, according to what I'm seeing from people waiting for certain models to ship, supplies are still constrained right now, like the 42 mm Space Gray Sport. Even 42 mm white Sport shows July availability. 38 mm shows 3-5 weeks. By the time Apple Watches are in ready supply, you may very well have gotten lots of use out of your Pebble and be ready to move on, after all.

I respect your sense of ethics regarding use of resources. Your family and mine seem to have a bit in common.

You won't necessarily have to wait for the next generation. A lot of us are waiting for developers to get access to developing apps that can run natively on the Apple Watch. It may become more interesting to you once Apple makes the necessary SDK available.

I think it's all going to come together for you to get the Apple Watch eventually. But rushing to get one as soon as possible does seem like it's not for you.

 

[wesk702]

I don't know OP. To say the Pebble may be better than the AW in anything other than battery life and waterproofing is... Don't know.

Watch faces volume: wish there were more on the AW, but you seriously can't compare it to the pebble's. Yes, here are hundreds but nearly all are garbage. When I had my Pebble, looking for a nice watch face was anxiety inducing. The only one I really liked was that one that looked like you're flying through a 2D star galaxy except it drained the battery.

It's hands down better in everyday. I don't recall you mentioning much about the health features. For some I know, this alone is worth getting. On days I'm not at work, I tend to be a couch potato but this has already helped me get that in check. There's something about trying to complete those activity rings that's really encouraging.

If you get one, you really need to get your family them too. It makes it 2x the fun, when you can message to another person.

Apple Remote app. This is my hands down, favorite feature. Sometimes apps can be slow to start, it Apple's core apps seem to open much quicker than third parties.

Being able to interact with notifications is night no day compared to my old Pebble.

Just try it for a week and if you don't like it, return it.

After the 1st day, I feel like I could navigate the thing with my eyes closed.

 

[za9ra22]

When I first saw the description of what a Pebble smartwatch would be able to do as the kickstarter campaign began, I knew I wanted one, and I've had one since the early days as a consequence. It does pretty much everything I want, and aside from some connectivity issues which can be a bit frustrating at times, it works well and reliably.

I bought an Apple watch sport on 4/10, and have been wearing it for two weeks now. I didn't buy it because the Pebble wasn't good enough, just to have a play with it and see if it was better.

It isn't. Yes, it has a better screen, yes it has features the Pebble doesn't, yes it brings with it a beautifully slick user experience, but for what I need - which is primarily notifications for incoming emails and texts, being able to answer or decline calls without having to dig around for my iPhone, track my walks, occasionally control music while I'm out walking, and at-a-glance checking time/date/weather, the Pebble was, and remains, everything I need.

The Apple watch is more versatile - which is one reason I'm happily keeping mine - and I know that over time it will surpass Pebble's functionality in ways I will find compelling, and I really like the design and feel of use - but I would find it hard to recommend it to any Pebble owner who is happy with what their Pebble already does for them.

Instead, I'd say to keep an eye on Apple watch software development. It isn't hard to imagine that one day, new apps will provide a compelling reason to buy the watch.

 

[i74353]

⌚️

 

[DavidLynch]

I wore a Pebble every day for over a year and upgraded to the Apple Watch Sport. It's a worthwhile upgrade for me and although I loved the Pebble, I like the actionable notifications and deep integration with iOS. I also had frequent issues with the Pebble unpairing or not playing nicely with my car stereo system at the same time.

That said, from the description of your usage and satisfaction with the Pebble, I don't think it is worth your while to upgrade right now. You seem very happy with the Pebble, which is great at what it claims to do, and you don't seem to have the problems I did. I'd wait for the Pebble Time to come out and compare that to your needs as well, as that might be more interesting to you than the Apple Watch right now. With most that have asked how the Apple Watch compares to Pebble, I've said it's a very worthwhile upgrade, but it doesn't seem like it would be for you.

I really don't think it's a matter of what's better. They are two different products with overlapping features, but they serve different audiences.

 

[yuyueyuyue]

Thank you all for all the constructive feedback. I really appreciate it, and it let me think about some of the aspects that I had initially missed.

As much as I love being the early adopter and a big Apple fan, the Pebble still fits my usage requirements very well. I really can't justify $350 for glamor and fringe usage scenarios (for my daily use, at least). Some cool features that would be neat, but I really don't need them for now. I was trying to rationalize that it's not much money -- I do make a 6-figure income, but I still try to live frugally for early retirement -- so the price tag still didn't sit right with me. And I think it'd make my wife and daughter happier if I got more mileage out of their present, instead of ditching it less than 6 months into ownership.

I considered the possibility of just trying it out for 14 days, but that just seems like abuse of resources to me, and rubs my sense of ethics the wrong way a bit. Well, I'm now more aware of what it can/can't do thanks to everyone's input, so I think I'll just wait it out for the next generation, or if the Pebble ever dies. Thanks again, everyone.

If you don't plan to abuse the policy, the 14 day return window is a consumer rights. There's nothing unethical about it.

Since you've already made up your mind, you've reached your conclusion. But I just want to point out that if you plan to use your existing Pebble for the next few years, the Apple watch will indeed be a $350 gadget. But if you need a smartwatch anyways and plan to upgrade your Pebble to Pebble Time Steel (if you plan to use it in any formal meetings, trust me you wouldn't want the plastic version) in the near future, keep it mind that the Pebble costs $299 a piece. Then the cost to move to Apple watch is really only $50 to you.

Now think about it, 50 bucks for the display, taptic engine, UI, health trackings, better integration with your phone, no dropped connection, vast amount of 3rd party accessories, better support from Apple and better resell value... your call.