The Pebble Of My Eye

Apple Watch 4 and Pebble 2 Duo

While reaching behind my computer, I banged my Apple Watch 4. The crystal was unfazed, but the watch itself, which I bought in 2019, was feeling large, heavy, and tired. The battery barely holds a charge for a day. I could buy a new Apple Watch, but I was looking for something smaller, lighter, and simpler.

 

The first incarnation of the Pebble Watch was introduced in 2013 and discontinued in 2016. Pictured above is the just released, second incarnation called the Pebble 2 Duo. which I pre-ordered for $149 and now sits on my wrist. 

From the price alone, it's clear the Pebble is not a replacement for the iWatch. The iWatch has a touch screen, more sensors, and a password lock to protect the data it measures and stores. More durable, you can take the iWatch to the beach for a salt water swim, whereas the Pebble risks corrosion and seal breaches (it has real buttons) if exposed for extended periods.

The Pebble, however, can wade into the Apple ecosystem and do alright. It pairs with your iPhone to receive notifications from native and third party apps including Messages. But the notifications are one way. You cannot text back from the Pebble, but for those who value simplicity, that's a feature; if the message is important, answer from the iPhone, otherwise the message can wait.  The Pebble also talks to the iPhone's music and podcast players. You can adjust the volume and move to the previous and next tracks.

Outside the Apple ecosystem, the Pebble is its own smartwatch. The display is e-paper (with backlight support) and therefore always on. How many times have you been trapped in a boring meeting and wanted to take a furtive glance at the time? You can do that with the Pebble. With the iWatch, your motions would be comically obvious.

 

Yes, some Apple Watches -- notably Series 5 and later -- have always-on displays but at the cost of battery life. My Pebble currently runs on PebbleOS 4.9.100 and lasts about 15 days on a charge.  Future firmware upgrades aim for 30 days.

The Pebble counts steps, estimates calories, and measures distance. That's mostly it, and more than I need.  In contrast, the iWatch feels a bit tyrannical measuring heart rate, VO2 max, cardio recovery, time spent standing, breaths taken, trend levels, and more. True, I can ignore these stats, which I do, but sometimes the iWatch ignores me back and won't respond to my screen taps or swipes. On occasion, it even claims that I don't have a pulse, which makes me want to tell Siri that the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. A common drawback of touch screens, this happens with cold weather, shriveled fingers, and dry skin with dead cells.

If you want the Pebble watch to do more, visit the Pebble Appstore for watch faces, games, and utilities. Don't expect the apps to have the polish of Apple, as most are free and created by a passionate community.

Now that the Pebble 2 Duo is my primary watch, I am saving the old Apple Watch 4 for travel and swimming at the beach. The Apple ecosystem is too good to abandon, and should Apple introduce a watch that is thinner, smaller, and lighter than its current offerings, and can stay always-on over a long weekend with a single charge, I'll queue up for it. In the meantime, the Pebble 2 Duo is an absolute delight, and fills a genuine need.