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CiaranMcNulty

Pebble - they created a series of smart watches that had:

- long battery life (2-7 days depending on model)

- e-ink colour screens, that were always on

- an extensive app/watchface ecosystem

- actual attractive watches

I had a series of them and was all-in on the new models announced via kickstarter, when they suddenly disappeared and were bought by Fitbit. All forthcoming products were killed off.

They've been pretty reasonable with sunsetting the servers and helping the community move towards an open model, but it's only a matter of time before my Pebble Time Round bites the dust and I can't fix it (my partner's has already gone)

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The Pebble Time 2 was going to be the ultimate watch as far as I was concerned. Such a shame it never got made. I still love my old Pebble collection and wear them regularly. I have a Garmin, and it's good for running but garbage as a smartwatch compared to the experience I got used to with Pebble.

I settled for an Amazfit Bip, which is not a Pebble but in some respects it's the closest thing there is right now AFAIK.

Battery lasts a month, screen is not e-ink but it's always on (I believe LCD), watchfaces are customizable but there's not a lot of good ones since the resolution of the screen and the colors aren't great. Functionality is pretty limited, but good enough for time, gps and notifications.

I have one and I'm satisfied with it, and I'm looking forward to what they do with v2.

Have you tried it as a running app? I want to compare it to Tomtom Spark 3.

When I go for a run I usually bring my phone with me and use it as a gps recorder, but I also use the watch as a backup. I haven't checked how accurate it is. It usually takes a minute to get a good gps signal, and sometimes there's a lot of noise at the beginning of the route. It vibrates at each km mark, which is nice.

I believe there are some online reviews with better info about the physical activity recording.

+1 for this. The Bip is great for the price (I paid £60). If the SW was a little better (e.g. music control, some better watchfaces) it would be perfect. Maybe being a tad smaller + a bit nicer looking as well. It's great as a notifier on your wrist that works well as a watch.

+1. I paid around $50 USD for my Bip, and it's great for time, step/heart rate tracking, and the occasional notification.

Battery life is ~40 days for me, which is awesome.

Try FitBit Versa, apart from the always-on screen, it has everything you're looking for. The battery life averages 4-5 days depending on usage. I personally own it and it's the best purchase I have made. Drastically improved my life.

Fitbit bought Pebble just to kill it. I will never buy a fitbit.

Pebble went out of business and some of the assets were sold to Fitbit.

Fitbit bought Pebble to catch them before they swirled down the drain. If Fitbit bought Pebble to kill it, they're idiots, because Pebble would have done that on their own (sadly, says the owner of a box of Pebbles).

I have a Garmin sport/smart watch, it lasts for weeks and it has always-on color display. Smart watches from other brands also last for many days or weeks.

Seconded. I really like mine. It does all I need from a watch and then some.

I also got mine replaced without any hassle after it failed.

The Fenix 3 is still going strong for me after two years with it. I don't usually use GPS on it, so I charge it about once a week when it's around 50% charge (sometimes I forget to check, which is why I plan for about weekly charging).

Also, the edge is slightly raised above the face on it, so while there are a couple of nicks on the bezel, there are no scratches on the glass. The sapphire glass may also be part of that.

App ecosystem is minimal, but I honestly don't need any apps anyway.

I got mine for running/swimming/activities but I actually really like it as a daily smartwatch. Like you said, some nicks on the bezel but otherwise it seems indestructible.

I have a refurbished 235. I use it mainly for running, it lasts forever, it's light and you can see your activity history on it - unlike the fitbit i previously had.

Pebble was my watch for years until Garmin released the vivoactive HR. While Garmin loses style points compared to Pebble, it has much better features and durability.

The first weekend I had it, I tested it by wearing it on a Tough Mudder...it survived without a scratch. 2 years later and the Garmin battery life is still over a week. If you miss Pebble and want something still being updated, look at the Garmin watches (but I wouldn't go any lower than the current vivoactive3 line)

I still wear my gold pebble time steel every day... I dread the day it stops working and I can't get it fixed or updated..

It's the nicest watch I've ever had (to be fair I'm not a big watch guy) and my favourite thing about it is that it doesn't look like I'm wearing a computer on my wrist.

Oh and I only charge it every 5-6 days.. :-)

I still miss my Pebble, but picked up a TI-Chronos after losing mine years ago. It hits a sweet spot for me between being user configurable, having limited communications and display and y'know, being a actual wristwatch. It's not nearly as full featured as my Pebble, but it also has a multi-year battery life and long range subghz RF for notifications and whatnot.

I'm still bitter about this. I loved the low resolution e-ink color display. It was good enough with great battery life, unique and easily readable in the sun. I wish more smartphone makers would use this.

Was looking to buy one these in the intermediate future. Was bummed to hear the news.

I'm still wearing my Kickstarter Pebble daily!

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