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Pebble Round 2

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Re: Pebble Round 2

#281

Post by gofreddygo »

stevage wrote: post #139
majesticmerc wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a runner, so obviously biased, but I implore everyone (to the point of annoyance) to check out some of the cheaper Garmin smart watches. They use MIP displays so the battery life runs about 2 weeks, you get phone notifications, the ability to find your phone, sleep scoring, step counting, heart rate monitoring. Then there's the obvious GPS run recording which you don't have to use. There's more stuff as well but…

As a reluctant runner, I still don't see any value in a smartwatch. I just use my phone and it does everything I want, which is basically, play podcasts and record my run for Strava. I did previously have a smartwatch which did heart rate monitoring, but really, once I'd confirmed that when I exercised harder my heart rate went up, I lost interest in it.

I dont see the point of smart watches either. I wear a casio / gshock with the backlight button that sticks right up on the front of the watch. i am on my second watch now cz my sister gifted it to me. the first is ticking away happy with 0 charging , battery changes to date.

0 reasons to change.

my sister otoh has an apple watch that she never charges, lies in a drawer which i hear about when she's trying to find her phone. conversation ends with "eh i should charge it maybe"

if i ever buy a smart watch, will likely be the pebble

Re: Pebble Round 2

#282

Post by [deleted] »

AshamedCaptain wrote: post #239
jsheard wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They use MIP displays so the battery life runs about 2 weeks Double-check this because they have a lot of OLED models now alongside their MIP ones. Battery life is more or less the same either way with AOD off, but with AOD enabled the OLEDs fall behind the MIPs.

Yes, and they are outright removing the LCD displays from some of their major lines, (e.g. Fenix 8 Pro). The writing is on the wall.

[deleted]

Re: Pebble Round 2

#283

Post by sjw987 »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #214
mrinterweb wrote: post #84

Pebble seems to be the only watch company that I feel understands what a smartwatch should be. It feels like everyone else is trying to make a phone replacement. Pebbles are more of an extension to your phone. Sure it can do some things without the phone, but it isn't trying to make calls, access mobile data with its own sim, use GPS. Those kinds of watches feel like they are designed for athletes who want to leave t…

I'm not much of an athlete, and I don't have a smartwatch, but the idea of leaving my phone at home sometimes without being totally disconnected from comms does appeal to me somewhat.

Would that not just be replacing a phone with another smaller phone strapped to your wrist?

Doesn't the fact that you are connected and communicable make whatever device you choose to use essentially a phone?

I will say, if it is possible, going out without any form of internet/comms enabled device can be very liberating. We all used to do it, and I think many of us have gotten used to the idea that we need to be on call or have some sort of utility in case of emergencies that are very unlikely to happen.

Re: Pebble Round 2

#284

Post by sjw987 »

mmmlinux wrote: post #86
ossusermivami wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

garmin is arguably one major smart watch vendor and has a great battery life

Garmin is more fitness tracker than smartwatch.

I'd say Garmin has all of the features a smartwatch typically has that are worth having (notifications, fitness tracking, basic controls ie. music).

For anything else, smartwatches are simply too awkward and small for any real use. Better just to spend a second or two to get your phone out.

Re: Pebble Round 2

#285

Post by sjw987 »

ragazzina wrote: post #259
tw04 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I take it you don’t have a garmin? You can play music directly from it (spotify, YouTube music, etc apps). You get phone notifications, can respond to text messages, make payments, and newer versions include LTE. They are absolutely a smart watch.

Does it last 2 weeks with that kind of usage?

My Enduro 2 lasts around that long, with about 1.5-2 hours of daily GPS tracking for running, part of 4 hours total exercise tracking per day, and underlying background fitness data collection (HR, respiration, temperature etc. including sleep).

As I write, it's at 37% with 6 days left of charge. And it charges 0 to 100% in around 2 hours.

I used to use a fancy Movado / Android Wear watch that without word of a lie could die before 8pm on almost minimal use. It was an absolutely redundant item to own.

Re: Pebble Round 2

#287

Post by sjw987 »

TrainedMonkey wrote: post #81
com2kid wrote: post #50

I have no idea how the 2 major smart watches (android wear, apple watch) have such horrible battery life. Microsoft Band had a 3 day battery life that would've been 5 days if we weren't forced to use a trash accelerometer that drained our battery by a crazy amount. That aside, Android wear being a complete OS is a waste of power. There aren't any useful apps for it that take advantage of the watch running a full OS.…

Withings smart watches are kind of insane with 30 day battery life, but the subscription farming in the app is infuriating. All I want from a smart watch: - Waterproof, wireless charging, at least a week of battery life - Automatically track exercise and sleep, let me update the data if needed. - Track my fitness trends over time, looking at you resting heart rate - Optionally, learn a couple of recurring patterns to…

Garmin are pretty decent. I have an Enduro 2 which lasts a fortnight on a charge (currently 37% with 6 days of charge left).

It's waterproof. Unfortunately no wireless charging (proprietary cable) but it charges 2 weeks worth in about 2 hours.

It doesn't automatically track exercise, but it does collect a lot more (and higher quality) data than Withings for activity. Automatic sleep. The app has the trends and such, and there's no subscription (they recently added some AI stuff you can pay for but which is optional).

Re: Pebble Round 2

#288

Post by jolmg »

solarkraft wrote: post #37

This almost feels like planned obsolescence, with my Pebble Time Steel just recently starting to give up =) I'm joking, the thing has held up amazingly well under all the stress I have put it through for a remarkably long time. It's just pretty well timed, in a way. I've been holding out for a refresh that can compete with the look of the Time Steel, basically the design of the original Time 2. I might go with this o…

What's to hate about them?

Re: Pebble Round 2

#289

Post by walletdrainer »

aidenn0 wrote: post #256
walletdrainer wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might be possible, but I’m quite sure nobody does it with newer crystals. The replacement costs just aren’t high enough to justify the effort Also, they just don’t really scratch.

> Also, they just don’t really scratch. Do I need to take a photo of my crystal? Maybe mineral crystals don't scratch but glass ones certainly do.

Sure, but I was referring to new high-end watches which mostly use sapphire crystals.

If you have a glass crystal, you can easily polish that at home. There’s a polywatch polishing paste you should look at.

Re: Pebble Round 2

#290

Post by hannahstrawbrry »

apparent wrote: post #132
majesticmerc wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a runner, so obviously biased, but I implore everyone (to the point of annoyance) to check out some of the cheaper Garmin smart watches. They use MIP displays so the battery life runs about 2 weeks, you get phone notifications, the ability to find your phone, sleep scoring, step counting, heart rate monitoring. Then there's the obvious GPS run recording which you don't have to use. There's more stuff as well but…

I find the Garmin UI to be awful, and the Pebble UI to be a breeze. Also, Garmins are pretty bulky compared to Pebbles, and many of them don't have buttons that can be used to control music, for those of us who find touchscreen interfaces to be lacking.

Man I wish the Garmin UI was better. I have a vivomove luxe that looks absolutely gorgeous (more hybrid smart watches PLEASE!) but the UI is so hard to navigate that I wear my ugly old Apple Watch much more.
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