Main Apple Watch Competitor Isn't Playing The Same Game
Stacked up against the sleek curves and sapphire glass of Apple Watch, Pebble Time probably looks like a cheap knockoff to a casual observer, but that’s not the point. Nothing about Pebble Time is luxurious. The company knows it can’t compete with Apple on the fashion front, and it’s not trying to. While last year’s Pebble Steel introduced premium materials to give the watch a more grown-up vibe, the new model goes back to its roots, sticking to its understated design (just a little thinner and sleeker) and putting a renewed emphasis on functionality. While circular smartwatches may have a certain visual appeal, Apple’s decision to make a watch with a square face has given Pebble some unintended validation, which no doubt contributed to its brisk sales over the first few days.
The more I think about Pebble Time, the more I see it as a toy version of Apple Watch. I don’t mean that in a bad way, either. At $159 (which represents a $40 early backer discount), that’s roughly $200 less than the starting price of the least expensive Apple Watch. It sort of reminds me of my first experience with car ownership as a teenager. In a perfect world, I would have driven a Porsche at 17 years old. But since I couldn’t afford one, I got something much cheaper that gave me a similar thrill.
Of course, I only thought it gave me a similar thrill.
And maybe that’s the real issue Pebble has to worry about, that it becomes the gateway drug to Apple Watch. That could be a problem a couple years down the line, because it’s only a matter of Time before people start saving up from day one.