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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

#341

Post by imiric »

system2 wrote: post #337
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.

Garmin Instinct 2. Unlimited battery life, never needs charging. It is thicker than 10mm but it is nearly indestructible. No needs hacking because it would take all day to use all features it brings. It is nearly the perfect smartwatch.

That one fails the "toned down" aspect. It looks like one of those old G-Shock monstrosities. Definitely not the same aesthetic as the Pebble.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#342

Post by toolz »

x86x87 wrote: post #141
toolz wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Hmm. A sufficiently technologically advanced human species may greatly accelerate the arrival of the next extinction event.

Sure, but another extinction event without humans is more or less inevitable - with humans it may be preventable.

So our choices appear to be wait for the bad thing to happen or continue to drive each other to improve and learn, which consumerism does in fact provide great motive and drive for humans to improve (although not the only mechanism, I'm sure, just a large one we understand today). Hopefully we strike the right balance and solve these problems.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#343

Post by erohead »

rekoil wrote: post #120

Every time Pebble is brought up it brings a tear to my eye, and I wonder what would have happened to the brand if they had accepted the offer from Citizen, who were obviously interested in continuing the line. The Pebble Time 2 was so far ahead of its time, I promise you I would still be rocking it (or whatever came after it from Pebble) if they had shipped it to me.

One of the dumbest Pebble rumours I heard after everything went down - 'Citizen was interested in buying us for $740m'. No one at the time noticed that this was more than Citizen's entire market cap https://twitter.com/ericmigi/status/1513737199287627779

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#344

Post by imiric »

rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #284
falcolas wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not in my opinion. The closest I’ve found are hybrid watches which will forward alerts (but generally with no text), but certainly nothing with the screen, battery life, and OSS vibe.

I picked up an older Fossil Hybrid HR a few months ago for $100. I've been rocking it every day and it's been great - battery lasts a couple weeks.

I can confirm that it's pretty good, but mine often loses track of time and needs to be calibrated via the app. I don't have it constantly connected to my phone, and only connect it ocasionally to sync, so maybe that could be the cause. I've even once had the calibration refuse to work, which required a hard reset of the watch to fix.

It's elegant, and the smartwatch features are unobtrusive, but I wouldn't trust it for any precise tracking, or even time tracking.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#345

Post by sulam »

happymellon wrote: post #193
Belphemur wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I remember correctly, after Fitbit purchased pebble they released the Versa line up that had some similar functionalities. However it looks like Google is killing that in newer iterations...

I got a Versa 3 after my Galaxy Active stopped working, after my Bip broke, and after my Pebble screen went bad. I've enjoyed it, although I am really missing the ability to write my own apps. Everything else is great. I understand that the Versa 4 is generally worse than the 3. Insane, why would you remove music controls?

You can absolutely write your own apps for the Versa 3.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#346

Post by sulam »

idoh wrote: post #324
mmmlinux wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you want a heart rate monitor and not a watch.

As far as I can tell there are no hr monitors that can connect to chest straps. If one did then instant purchase. But I like the other tracking and sync of Apple Watch too, that would be a bonus.

Polar watch does this?

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#348

Post by TheKnack »

Pfhortune wrote: post #290

Folks ITT will talk about watches that are similar in hardware, but what was magic about Pebble was the software and ecosystem. The OS was just a delight to use, fast, wonderfully animated, and let you sideload whatever you want. I've tried a couple of Garmin watches (Vivoactive 3 and Forerunner 55) and the Amazfit Bip, and this is where they all fall completely flat. The UX is just horrible by comparison. It's like…

I agree that Garmin watches are not good general purpose smart watches for most people, but their UX is actually perfect for their intended users. Once you develop the muscle memory, it's possible to perform many functions without being able to see the screen. This is necessary when it's cold and layers are covering the screen. I have cold weather running shirts which have sleeves that mostly cover your hands, and can press the buttons on my Fenix 6 easily through the fabric and do whatever I need to do without stopping to pull my sleeve up (which is awkward since those shirts have thumb holes).

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#349

Post by ninkendo »

HWR_14 wrote: post #294
dont__panic wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as you have a phone that's reasonably well designed, it's usually not too much trouble to replace the internal battery every 2-3 years. I think our culture is really wasteful with batteries. I can't believe that my iphone doesn't have a built-in setting to cap charging at 80%. Studies show that you can decrease battery wear to negligible levels by doing this. Yet my Android e-ink tablet, my iphone, my smartwa…

> I can't believe that my iphone doesn't have a built-in setting to cap charging at 80% They have a "smart charging" setting which is poorly defined. It says it limits charging to 80% sometimes using AI. I think the idea is it charges to 100% overnight, and 80% the rest of the time. But i agree, it would be nice if it had a selector switch. Some laptops have a "aim for 60%, 80% or 100% battery charge" option.

The AI tries to predict when you’re going to be leaving it on the charger for a while (like going to bed), and limits the charging to 80% until it predicts you’ll likely need it, then charges it the rest of the way.

They do the same thing for Macs, but it’s way, way too conservative IMO. My M1 MBP sits on my desk on a dock with a charger pretty much all week, and it eventually figures out that it should just keep it at 80%. Until a brief period where I use it on battery, draining maybe down to 70%. When I put it back on the dock, it charges back to 100% and stays there for the next 2 days.

I would be happy with a “Don’t bother trying to learn, just cap it at 80%, I’ll tell you when I change my mind” setting.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#350

Post by rkagerer »

helsinkiandrew wrote: post #202

I've got a friend who still uses a Palm Pilot (circa 1998) as a daily calendar manager/notepad. Works at Google and delights in telling younger colleagues it's a Pixel 8 prototype.

That's awesome. I'm tired of how Android and iPhones seem to keep getting shittier and haven't ruled out reverting back to an old PalmOS device.
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