Pebble Is Not Selling A Smartwatch
Okay, yes, I lifted that title from Ewan Spence’s Apple Watch musings over at Forbes, where he explains that Cupertino’s smartwatch is, in actual fact, no such thing. And though his sentiment is only accurate insofar as the Edition editions are concerned, the fact is that they are accurate. Apple Watch seems almost infinitely versatile, and in some markets, that versatility means it’ll never even be called upon to meet its technological potential, if only because haute jewelry, at the end of the day (and/or depleted battery), doesn’t require an Internet connection.
Of course, this article really isn’t about Apple Watch, at least not directly. It’s about Pebble Time, a smartwatch that’s been making waves on Kickstarter as the “underdog” that could.
Notice that I’ve put quotation marks around the word “underdog” above. This is simply because, to date, Pebble has shipped more smartwatch products than any other company on the planet. Since launching in 2013, the small startup has been king of the hill — or, rather, king of the heap, considering the general quality of their competition so far — in the smartwatch business. But Apple’s long-rumored “iWatch” threat always loomed large, and Pebble had to design and price its debut product (and both new versions since) in a way that undercut its inevitable, impending obsolescence. Founder Eric Migicovsky understood this from day one, and he’s stood by his guns even in the face of armageddon.
Which is precisely where you need to stand if you plan to survive the thing.
And Pebble will survive, because…
Pebble is not selling a smartwatch.
The Smartwatch
If the above statement seems as radical as Spence’s opening assertion, it’s not. Trust me. Technological definitions often change with advancement and perspective. The industry moves so fast, there’s rarely enough time for a concept to catch on and establish any hard and fast traditional terminology. If you’re as old as I am, think back: Was your first smartphone really a smartphone? In some time capsule circa 2005, it might still qualify. But now? No chance. No chance. It probably wouldn’t even make it as a feature phone these days, which, incidentally, is the term specifically invented to describe an erstwhile smartphone concept that suddenly became less so. In this context, then, Pebble Time is not a smartwatch. Therefore…
Pebble is not selling a smartwatch.
When WatchAware was just getting started behind the scenes, Bossman asked me if I could come up with something a little better than “smartwatch” to describe Apple’s new wearable. His argument — underscored by developments like the new demo video for Pebble Time — was (and remains) that Apple Watch is literally nothing like any of the so-called smartwatches that have come before. Sure, it goes on your wrist, but a pager in your pocket does not an iPhone make. Anyways, being the verbose blowhard that I can’t help but be, I mulled it over eagerly. Seconds turned to minutes. Finally, I broke down and consulted a thesaurus. Still, nothing presented itself. And nothing will. Apple Watch is a smartwatch. But if that’s true, Apple Watch is the only smartwatch. Which means that…
Pebble is not selling a smartwatch.
The Feature Watch
For the lack of a better term (albeit one that has no potential to catch on now if it hasn’t already), Pebble Time is a “feature watch.” It’s a fwatch. Just like that thing Swatch is making. So Pebble Time, like Swatch Fwatch, will have certain electronic aspects that resemble our smartwatch future but which remain fundamentally lacking in the departments of deeply integrated substance or subtlety the likes of which we’re all expecting out of Apple Watch. Pebble Time has no heart rate monitor. Can it be a true fitness band without one? It hasn’t even got a(n admittedly useless) pedometer! And is a smartwatch without a fully-featured health suite really a smartwatch? What about a touchscreen? Does a smartwatch need one of those? Because Pebble Time doesn’t offer one. And its low-resolution color e-paper screen is basically text and icons and lightweight animations only; there’s no photo support whatsoever. At least you can look at the watch itself. But even that lacks a modern industrial design because, frankly, Pebble can’t afford one, and its OS is intentionally dated for the same reason. Rubber straps and Gorilla Glass notwithstanding, don’t get it twisted: Pebble is not niche kitsch because it wants to be cute. Pebble is niche kitsch because a small company can’t burn through tens of millions of dollars on place-holding, rushed-to-market, technological trash in a half-hearted attempt to cling to some scraps of mindshare under Apple’s skyline-dominating planetary shadow.
And for that, Pebble has my respect.
But not my sale. For…
Pebble is not selling a smartwatch.
But that’s the thing this little exercise in alternative pseudo-retro geek chic couture has figured out: At the price-point set by Apple (and hovered around by Android), there’s no room for the little guys to compete on the big boy’s terms. Pebble has carved out its place a half-step back from the madding crowd, and it’s done so by making an inexpensive product that manages to undercut the smartwatch market with a collection of tools and services that curious customers think they want from a wearable simply because they haven’t got a clue what to expect out of one. And in that regard, Pebble is something of a vulture (which earns them even more of my respect).
In the sub-$200 wearables market, Pebble Time — Like Pebble Steel and the original Pebble before it — are poised to maintain enough clout to matter. Unlike similarly priced Android Wear tragedies, Pebble offers iOS support for most of its basic functions, and they have a reasonably accessible SDK that might get the attention of third-party Apple Watch developers. Yes, Pebble Time will be supported by most of these coders as a distinct afterthought, but that’s a far sight better than being a neverthought. There’s also no pressure for Pebble Time (or anything the company releases next) to be too much better than it already is. “Barebones” is kind of its thing. Small refinements and design changes — with the requisite and always necessary price reductions — will allow Pebble to remain relevant for years to come. If something like Pebble Time can hit the $99 MSRP threshold, even Apple Watch’s used market won’t make too big an impact on that budget business model. And budget — like luxury — will always have buyers.
You want a smartwatch. Should you buy Pebble Time?
[Refrain]