I've tried a handful of smartwatches, and own a Pebble 2 Duo. While I'm interested in picking up a newer Pebble device (hopefully with a bit nicer build quality), I've found my sweetspot to be a Garmin. I bought a Forerunner 165, have never needed to pair it to my phone so I can be happy in the data privacy department. Additionally the battery life is fantastic and it gives me all the data I need for my health and fitness goals.
After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
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Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#12Now do the same review on an iOS device.
"There is NO way for a 3rd party smartwatch to compete with Apple Watch. Apple restricts 3rd parties in major ways. For example, 3rd party watches on iOS cannot send replies to notifications."
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#13After wearing an analog watch for two years, I'll never buy another smart watch.
I do not need to be so connected to my phone that my wrist vibrates when someone texts me. The little reminders to stand up are ignored. The guilt at the end of a day when I didn't get enough steps in is gone. And I have a newfound appreciation for the pure craftsmanship that goes into making this tiny analog device on my wrist that is powered by tiny springs and gears and somehow crafted well enough to be accurate within seconds per day. It's also the one piece of jewelry that is socially acceptable for every single man to wear and can be a fun expression of self given the sheer variety of watches in the world.
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#14After wearing an analog watch for two years, I'll never buy another smart watch. I do not need to be so connected to my phone that my wrist vibrates when someone texts me. The little reminders to stand up are ignored. The guilt at the end of a day when I didn't get enough steps in is gone. And I have a newfound appreciation for the pure craftsmanship that goes into making this tiny analog device on my wrist that is p…
Cannot relate. I do not have notifications enabled on my Pebble.
I don't have any guilt over not having enough steps at the end of the day. But I am walking more thanks to my smartwatch.
I can start a timer in seconds when I am meditating, when I am cooking, when I am starting the watching machine. Also I have made a little app that shows me the weights and reps and sets I need to do for my powerlifting programme. I don't have to bring my phone to the gym. Lastly, I made a little app that shows me one thing I need to be doing for my morning routine or the next TODO on my todo list. A god send for someone suffering from ADHD.
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#15I think the battery life of a smart watch cannopt be underestimated. I have all the old pebbles which I love darely but then I got a Amazfit Bip and I stayed with it until today. One month (!) of battery time with a HR sensor and notifications is all I need so why ever change.
I dont know why apple, samsung and google are not getting it. But I would not even touch one of their products with a 2 feet long pole.
Just my experience and 2 ct.
And one thing: Pebble2 is really really nice, but 200 euro? The Amazfit Bip is (was) 40 euros. Why the price difference?
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#16After wearing an analog watch for two years, I'll never buy another smart watch. I do not need to be so connected to my phone that my wrist vibrates when someone texts me. The little reminders to stand up are ignored. The guilt at the end of a day when I didn't get enough steps in is gone. And I have a newfound appreciation for the pure craftsmanship that goes into making this tiny analog device on my wrist that is p…
I think there is a bit of a spectrum e.g.
- I don't want EVERY SINGLE notification from my phone to go to my watch
- I also don't want zero notifications b/c it's very useful to get notifications from my kids, important calendar reminders, my boss sends me a slack etc
Also, the watch allows me to still be "connected" for important events but not distracted by my phone.
(I should add that Apple watches give you a LOT of control over the notifications from your phone to your watch. Not sure if that's true with other watches)
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#17Between the Apple Watch kind of watches on one side, and Pebble kind of watches on another side, there's the whole Garmin ecosystem, a mention of which is notably absent from the article. They are a nice technological middle ground (though maybe not always a price middle ground), especially the classic models with non-OLED transflective screens. Granted, they are more sports/fitness oriented, but that's hardly a draw…
Yeah, my Garmin Instinct Solar 3 gets a 4-week battery life. I never looked back at my Pebble Time.
Unfortunately I think in the general consciousness people treat Garmins as “legacy” devices even as their systems are in some ways superior to the flashy upstarts and newcomers.
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#18After wearing an analog watch for two years, I'll never buy another smart watch. I do not need to be so connected to my phone that my wrist vibrates when someone texts me. The little reminders to stand up are ignored. The guilt at the end of a day when I didn't get enough steps in is gone. And I have a newfound appreciation for the pure craftsmanship that goes into making this tiny analog device on my wrist that is p…
It is pretty damn useful to track your progress if you do any kinds of endurance sports like running or cycling, but yeah I turned those notifications off right away.
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#19After wearing an analog watch for two years, I'll never buy another smart watch. I do not need to be so connected to my phone that my wrist vibrates when someone texts me. The little reminders to stand up are ignored. The guilt at the end of a day when I didn't get enough steps in is gone. And I have a newfound appreciation for the pure craftsmanship that goes into making this tiny analog device on my wrist that is p…
When I had a Pebble Time (dead, waiting on PR2) I basically had notifications turned off. For that matter, I have very few notifications enabled phone too.
It's great as a watch that can tell you if it's going to rain, give you TOTP authenticator codes, and control music playback.
The tiny springs and gears are neat though, in a different sort of way from tiny transistors, can't argue with that one.
Re: After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
#20Garmin for daily use, galaxy watch for social events. I have zero notifications and sensors running in the galaxy watch, just use it with the Google wallet for a very convenient credit card.