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Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

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Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#71

Post by nradov »

Anonbrit wrote: post #53
hyperbolablabla wrote: post #19

Lack of GPS is the dealbreaker for me. Otherwise this would be an insta purchase -- I bought the Time in 2014, and was hoping for a "smartstrap" with GPS back then, but when it never came I slightly lost interest.

Just out of interest, what is the benefit of GPS on your watch if you already have it on your phone?

With a GPS (GNSS) receiver on the watch you can get instant position and speed data without having to maintain a stable Bluetooth connection to the phone. Some athletes prefer to record activities on a watch without having to bring a phone. And in certain races, such as most sanctioned triathlons, phones aren't allowed on the course at all.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#72

Post by blacksmith_tb »

deanc wrote: post #61

What is the use-case now in 2025 for an e-ink watch? I have a Garmin Epix pro gen 2 which gets about a month of battery life and has a gorgeous AMOLED, has profiles for pretty much every sport ever invented, incredibly accurate GPS tracking, all day HR-tracking, ECG etc. I understand it's about 4x the price, but there's also lower-end Garmin's that are about 2x the price with the same screen, slightly less features a…

Hmm, looks like your Garmin has somewhere between 30h (with everything turned on) to 11d of battery life, which is not bad for needing to power a bright screen. I wear a Skagen Jorn hybrid, which has physical hands over a round e-ink display, which lasts ~3w on a charge for me. I also like e-ink better in daylight, AMOLED has gotten pretty good, but it's still harder to read in bright conditions (though obviously easier in dark ones!)

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#73

Post by zevon »

avanai wrote: post #8

Man I loved my Pebble but I’d say the three things I use my Apple Watch for most are: telling time (++), reading notifications (~), and getting Siri to set timers or control my Home Assistant* (—-). Since Apple simply won’t allow 3rd party apps the full api access they need to do everything, I’m stuck with my Apple Watch if I want all the Apple stuff, and I’m too lazy/annoyed to try to switch ecosystems. *via Apple H…

There is a (relatively recent, for the Pebble-verse) Home Assistant app on Rebble that works with the current Home Assistant version. You can even do voice control and stuff.

You can also do timers, reminders, web searches and similar basic assistant things with Bobby - another recent addition to what the Pebbles can do: https://rebble.io/2025/03/24/introducing-bobby-our-new-pebbl...

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#74

Post by modeless »

tmchu wrote: post #70

Not sure if this will be answered here. But how is the repair-ability of these new pebble? I have the original pebble time steel and although it still run fine, the battery have degraded a lot without an easy way to replace them. Part of the appeal of traditional watches is that you can open them up yourself and fix them if needed. I don't see why Pebble have go glue everything together and make it so hard to repair.

In the podcast Eric said that in the current design the back is fastened with screws and no adhesive. They may end up having to add some adhesive (presumably for water resistance) but hopefully not.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#75

Post by yellingdog »

mikepurvis wrote: post #60
numpad0 wrote: post #49

For those confused like I was: - Pebble 2 Duo: $149, B&W, original Pebble look - Pebble Time 2: $225, color, new round square look * both with intended IPX8, 30-day battery, "e-paper" aka gameboy style LCD, suite of sensors, Pebble app compatibility

I’m shocked they think they can get such long battery life with a heart rate monitor running all the time.

I would expect an extremely infrequent heart rate sample rate at idle. I believe the current-gen watches only sample every 10 minutes unless activity is detected.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#76

Post by zevon »

potatolicious wrote: post #50
bronlund wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I remember that part too, I just don't feel like any of it was particularly egregious. Disappointing sure, but I suppose I disagree that anything about it was untoward. I'm generally pretty hostile to companies being acquired and breaking their past customers' products. Shutting down various required cloud services, making software undownloadable, etc. But I don't think that happened? The roadmap simply ended, but ev…

Same attitude here (personal animosity against companies who fuck you over and do malicious sellouts but no such memories of the process Pebble went through in their last company iteration).

In fact, I still wear a Pebble daily. Both my Time and Time Steel still work great and I still strongly prefer the whole concept and the UI/UX to any other watch. As soon as they release the iOS app, my Pebble Time will become my "work watch", paired to my job-issued iPhone.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#77

Post by swiftcoder »

mikepurvis wrote: post #60
numpad0 wrote: post #49

For those confused like I was: - Pebble 2 Duo: $149, B&W, original Pebble look - Pebble Time 2: $225, color, new round square look * both with intended IPX8, 30-day battery, "e-paper" aka gameboy style LCD, suite of sensors, Pebble app compatibility

I’m shocked they think they can get such long battery life with a heart rate monitor running all the time.

There are a bunch of weird smartwatches that get pretty close to this - for example, the Amazfit Bip S Lite claims 30 days of battery with a similar transflective screen (albeit I think the heart rate monitor drops to once every measuring 5 minutes in battery saver mode).

Similarly, the Withings Scanwatch claims the same, although as a hybrid smartwatch, it is not driving such a power-hungry screen.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#78

Post by __jonas »

I wish I could get the specs of the time 2 in the design of the 2 duo, this just looks very generic to me design wise.

The 2 duo is at least a little bit fun aesthetically, but I would like a heart rate monitor if I’m gonna be wearing a smart watch.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#79

Post by jsbisviewtiful »

deanc wrote: post #61

What is the use-case now in 2025 for an e-ink watch? I have a Garmin Epix pro gen 2 which gets about a month of battery life and has a gorgeous AMOLED, has profiles for pretty much every sport ever invented, incredibly accurate GPS tracking, all day HR-tracking, ECG etc. I understand it's about 4x the price, but there's also lower-end Garmin's that are about 2x the price with the same screen, slightly less features a…

Garmins are incredibly expensive and not everyone wants a fitness tracker. Garmin's UX is also very disjointed between devices for how expensive they are. Plus, battery life tends to be garbage for smartwatches. I just sold my Apple Watch for a Coros because I was tired of trading battery life for features I didn't want/use and Garmins also require yet another subscription for some features. As someone who just spent the last month deciding on a new fitness wearable, much of the market is full of bloated devices that don't do everything right, but instead do a handful of things right with a laundry list of caveats.

There's still a strong market for dumb watches too, so a long-lasting "smart" device that does some things but not as much as an Apple Watch, Garmin, Coros, etc while still serving as a general information displaying wearable sounded enticing. Unfortunately Apple's lockdown of the iPhone for the previous Pebbles (which I think might still be a thing) and my need for fitness tracking are what prevented me from buying a Pebble.

Re: Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

#80

Post by user_7832 »

(My personal perspective or views below.)

To misquote Bernie, I am once again ~~asking~~ requesting for a single watch to have both heart rate/health tracking, as well as compass and barometer in a single watch.

I had an Amazfit Bip which, just like a Pebble, also had a transflective screen and between 1 to 2.5 months of battery life. However, it did have a compass along with a barometer, alongside HR/activity/sleep tracking.

I was (and still am) sad when my watch broke (screen pops out, known failure mode).

Since then I got a basic Band (7), and very recently, the Amazfit Active 2.

The latter is amazing on many aspects. Every sensor mentioned above of course, but a few nice add ons like continuous barometer readings for storm warnings, a thermometer, and so on.

What it notably does not have, s nither the transflective screen, nor the week to month(s) long battery life.

I searched a good bit for transflective watches, and it seems garmin is the only half-decent brand in town, and they appear to paywall nicer features to their expensive products.

In the absence of much of a budget, my choice was easy. But I really hope Pebble makes something in a single package that makes my next watch purchase a real dilemma if not an outright purchase :)

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