Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#31

Post by bronlund » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 4:37 PM UTC

_ink_ wrote: post #26

bronlund wrote: post #25

Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time? Eric isn't in this because he want you to have a better watch, he is in this so he can sell you out at the first opportunity. It may not be FitBit or Automattic this time, but that's just what he does.

Maybe. I still enjoyed my Pebble till it died. I think I will enjoy the new one just as much.

The first Pebble was kind of cutting edge when it came in 2013 and it looked awesome. This new one looks like an electronic tag and is just a medium priced smartwatch with limited capabilities.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#32

Post by aidenn0 » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 4:40 PM UTC

My concern with the Pebble Time 2 is the lower contrast that color e-ink has compared to grayscale. I don't know how bad it is in person, but next to the Pebble 2 Duo in the video it looks much worse. If it were B&W I would have bought it immediately.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#33

Post by aidenn0 » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 4:43 PM UTC

duomo wrote: post #15

net01 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it looks superb. I love the small bezels and E ink display.

It’s not e ink, just an LCD that they misleadingly market as “e-paper”

That helps explain all of the mentions of a "backlight" in the video.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#34

Post by latexr » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 4:44 PM UTC

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #20

4ggr0 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wait, what? i specifically ordered a Pebble 2 Duo because i wanted an e-Ink smartwatch :(

It's kind of a mix. You can update quickly without burning battery on changes, but it needs power to keep displaying things. On the other hand I'm not sure that's a bug on a watch; I don't want it to display the last time before its battery died indefinitely. And it does work in direct sunlight which is great

> I don't want it to display the last time before its battery died indefinitely.

That seems like an easy fix: Make the software switch to something else (like a “charge me” message) right before turning off for lack of power.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#35

Post by bronlund » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 4:50 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #29

bronlund wrote: post #25

Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time? Eric isn't in this because he want you to have a better watch, he is in this so he can sell you out at the first opportunity. It may not be FitBit or Automattic this time, but that's just what he does.

I'm a bit lost here, and to be fair my memory from that long ago is a bit hazy... but I was a initial Pebble kickstarter and also got whatever the metal one was called. They were totally fine products, I enjoyed using them. I am no longer using them, but such is the nature of consumer gadgetry. I don't recall getting rogered at any point in that process?

I too was part of the initial Kickstarter and I had both the first and the second version.

When FitBit bought Pebble in 2016, some may argue that this was a good thing, the development of the watch and the OS just stopped - it was dead. FitBit had no intention of keeping the Pebble and just wanted to implement the software into it's own ecosystem.

Google bought FitBit in 2019 and released the source code for PebbleOS this year - but that is kind of late now, isn't it?

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#36

Post by bronlund » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 4:52 PM UTC

summermusic wrote: post #30

bronlund wrote: post #25

Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time? Eric isn't in this because he want you to have a better watch, he is in this so he can sell you out at the first opportunity. It may not be FitBit or Automattic this time, but that's just what he does.

I thought Fitbit bought them out and then after the sale announced that they were shutting it down instead of doing anything with it. I’m happy to be proven wrong if this isn’t the case.

They did. Google bought FitBit in 2019 and released the source code to PebbleOS in 2025.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#37

Post by herval » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 4:56 PM UTC

I admire this dude a lot. Clearly obsessed about this product/space

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#38

Post by dingi » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 5:03 PM UTC

RandomBacon wrote: post #12

dingi wrote: post #10

Pebble Time 2 looks awesome. Shame I just bought an Apple Watch not long ago.

Did you buy it with a credit card that offers an extended return period? I think my credit card offers a 3 month return period (2 months longer than an average store's 30 day return period).

No, unfortunately there was no such offer.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#39

Post by dmonitor » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 5:15 PM UTC

bronlund wrote: post #25

Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time? Eric isn't in this because he want you to have a better watch, he is in this so he can sell you out at the first opportunity. It may not be FitBit or Automattic this time, but that's just what he does.

aren't they going with open source firmware / OS this time around? even if it gets sold, user support will be possible

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#40

Post by colingauvin » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 5:15 PM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #32

My concern with the Pebble Time 2 is the lower contrast that color e-ink has compared to grayscale. I don't know how bad it is in person, but next to the Pebble 2 Duo in the video it looks much worse. If it were B&W I would have bought it immediately.

They are making a b&w one as well.