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Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

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Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#171

Post by imiller »

razemio wrote: post #166
edejong wrote: post #163

There still is no good replacement for these properties of the Pebble 2 smartwatch: - > 7 days battery life - HR monitor (useful as a sports watch) - - toned down to fit different clothing styles - hackable - high-contrast, always-on screen - buttons I am currently wearing a Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire sportswatch, which comes close.

Just checked the Garmin Fenix 7 and now I want to add one missing point to your list: - affordable

You can get a similar experience to the Fenix (but without the higher end sports features) with other Garmin sports watches. The Forerunner 255 is well reviewed and very similar to the Fenix for about half the price.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#172

Post by chaostheory »

fattybob wrote: post #162

I have one somewhere, lived the idea and possibilities, sadly the watch (steel version) had scarily sharp edges i felt it was dangerous!!! But I still watched them closely hoping they could improve in the model

I’ve owned two pebble steel watches. I didn’t notice this even with the one I kept

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#173

Post by ehnto »

fullstop wrote: post #143
arsome wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always been curious about this one - what kind of exploits are you concerned about that could wind up with those sorts of consequences? Most of the security updates tend to patch things which are local only or barely exploitable in the first place. Assuming you're not installing entirely untrustworthy software on daily basis, it's probably not much of a difference. Looking at the latest Android security report,…

Regarding installing untrustworthy software, you also have to be mindful of software which has been acquired by another entity. Your trusty file manager could turn into something entirely different just by applications automatically updating. This happened with ES File Explorer.

This is the duality of automatic updates, on one hand you don't automatically get security updates, on the other, you don't automatically get exploits from new owners or compromised accounts.

In a software project this is really a responsibility I think people don't appreciate that they have, especially in regards to package managers.

But for end user devices it's encouraged to have automatic updates on. I think this is a personal responsibility as no-one really has your back on your device, except the highly automated app store verification. Which in fairness to them, likely stops a lot of exploits/malware making it to user devices.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#174

Post by dotnet00 »

andrepd wrote: post #11
ghaff wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s interesting to me that when the Apple Watch was coming out (and maybe more broadly when fitness bands etc. were becoming available) there was a pretty widespread sentiment that younger people didn’t want watches because why would they? They always had their phones.

Honestly, I still don't see the value in a smartwatch. Paying with nfc with your wrist? That's probably the only use case I can see. But then it's not worth it having to charge yet another device daily

Just as phones are conveniently charged overnight, a smartwatch usually charges fast enough that you can usually just put it on the charger for 30-40 minutes before bed (or overnight if you don't care for sleep tracking).

For me telling the time is the least valuable aspect. It's convenient for email notifications, particularly since I don't tend to keep my phone in my pocket (or often even in sight), it's a convenient way to control music playback when out and about and things like weather reports are also neat info to have on a wrist.

But even more valuable are the health related features, I tend to get too easily absorbed in work so the reminders to stretch when I've been sitting too long and the water consumption tracking is very useful. I also often have trouble sleeping, where the sleep coaching functionality is pretty useful for identifying what I need to do to fix things. Additionally having things like step count on my wrist has gotten me to try to walk more as it's a constant reminder of how little I walk. It's also a very convenient morning alarm since it stays on your wrist and can just use vibration to wake you instead of playing a loud sound and making you dig around for the phone while half asleep.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#175

Post by FeistySkink »

gnicholas wrote: post #165
edejong wrote: post #163

There still is no good replacement for these properties of the Pebble 2 smartwatch: - > 7 days battery life - HR monitor (useful as a sports watch) - - toned down to fit different clothing styles - hackable - high-contrast, always-on screen - buttons I am currently wearing a Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire sportswatch, which comes close.

Can the Garmin control music playback from your smartphone?

Yes for Android.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#176

Post by FeistySkink »

imiller wrote: post #171
razemio wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just checked the Garmin Fenix 7 and now I want to add one missing point to your list: - affordable

You can get a similar experience to the Fenix (but without the higher end sports features) with other Garmin sports watches. The Forerunner 255 is well reviewed and very similar to the Fenix for about half the price.

And there are other lines like Venu, that are more focused on the smart part and are more affordable.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#177

Post by edejong »

gnicholas wrote: post #165
edejong wrote: post #163

There still is no good replacement for these properties of the Pebble 2 smartwatch: - > 7 days battery life - HR monitor (useful as a sports watch) - - toned down to fit different clothing styles - hackable - high-contrast, always-on screen - buttons I am currently wearing a Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire sportswatch, which comes close.

Can the Garmin control music playback from your smartphone?

Yes. I had to look it up, because I always control my music via the headphones. https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/fenix66s6xpro/EN-US/...

(and confirmed for iPhone)

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#178

Post by bunderbunder »

toolz wrote: post #81
bunderbunder wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of raw materials that go into modern electronics are produced using slave labor, and the “recycled” devices tend to end up poisoning the environments of people in similarly disadvantaged communities. I don’t know enough about these things to know whether buying more or less of these devices directly helps enslaved people, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to observe that rampant consumerism does fuel the postcol…

It's also important to recognize consumerism has driven a lot of innovation which has benefited humanity. I venture to say one of the most impactful advancements in human history is providing access to the internet in almost every spot on the globe. That was influenced at least in part by so many people owning smart phones. A sufficiently technologically advanced human species might be the only thing capable of stopp…

I always worry a little when something is both the purported solution to and the primary cause of a problem.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#179

Post by RajT88 »

It is a tragedy that I don't much enjoy wearing watches (I don't like the sweat under the band), because I loved my Pebble 2. I still wear it sometimes if I am doing something outdoorsy and likely to be covered in fish guts or river water or mud or whatever.

Occasionally, I am one of those 16k.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#180

Post by biftek »

aliqot wrote: post #51
darau1 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know a guy that bought every new Samsung flagship device as soon as they hit stores. He said he just has to upgrade.

I wonder sometimes how can people reconcile buying a new X every Y and still be concerned about human rights and the environment, etc.

Because it's not an individuals buying decisions harming those things? Those are the result of governments and corporations.

I'm not going to buy a new phone today and it sounds like you probably won't either, I'll check back in tomorrow and see how the environment is doing!

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