Pebble to Apple Watch
I have been a long time Pebble user, and with the announce awhile back of FitBit’s acquisition and the lack of legacy hardware support I became leery of sticking with my Pebble Time. For awhile I rode out the storm and kept my Pebble, but it eventually goes to a point where I decided it was time for a product that was supported by its manufacturer. So that natural choice for me, as an iPhone user, was to go with the Apple Watch Series 2.
First Impressions
On first impression I was super overwhelmed by the Apple Watch, the lack of hardware buttons made it feel less quick to use as I had to look at the screen to interact with it. For example, with the Pebble, I had a button set to long press to be able to bring up my music and change the song which I could do without even looking since it was just a button. But with the Apple Watch, I had to tap the music icon and then change the song which meant looking at the watch. As small of a complaint as that sounds I became so accustomed to the ease of use that came with the button input driven Pebble Time. With the Apple Watch, I do experience tradeoffs similar to this, but I do now have a much more powerful device. So on first glance, it took a bit of getting used to but now that I am used to the Apple Watch I prefer it to my previous experience with the Pebble.
My Daily Usage
With the Apple Watch, I feel like I have more control over my phone. I can do cool things like taking pictures from my watch when I don’t have anyone to hold my phone for me, or I can add widgets to my watch face like the current stock I’m watching which is super helpful. This sort of thing was possible on the Pebble but wasn’t as seamless as the Apple Watch experience seems to be. Notifications are also a lot more user-friendly on the Apple Watch compared to the Pebble. I’m able to reply to text messages quickly, dismiss all notifications, and overall have a lot more natural experience with notifications. One thing I absolutely love about the Apple Watch compared to the Pebble Time is the aesthetics. The Apple Watch looks great; it looks like a solid piece of hardware that is a lot more stylish and eye-catching compared to the plastic enclosed Pebble. While it doesn’t support any regular watch band as the Pebble did, I’m able to find great replacements for around the same price on sites like Amazon to match whatever I’m wearing that day. With that being said it’s a lot easier to take on and off bands because if you used a 3rd party band on the Pebble, it didn’t have the quick release functionality that Pebble bands had. The ease of changing in and out bands is one of my favorite things and doesn’t leave me struggling to put a new one on in the morning when I’m trying to catch the train on time.
The battery life has a little to be desired compared to the Pebble, but I can get two solid days of use from the Apple Watch. Most of the time I just charge it while I’m getting ready in the mornings which makes it last all day no problem. I was honestly expecting to get through the day on one charge barely, but most days I sit around 80% by the time I get home. Actually charging the device is a lot better too. The charger is easier to put onto the Apple Watch compared to Pebble’s solution for charging its devices. Also, the nightstand mode that the Apple Watch has is great, totally removing the need for an alarm clock on my nightstand.
I was worried originally about how waterproof the Apple Watch would be because I always swam with and got my Pebble wet. But so far the Apple Watch does fantastic, it even has a mode to put it in when you’re expecting it to get wet so that way the water doesn’t make the screen have interactions you don’t want.
TL;DR
I wasn’t expecting to get a watch that would be worse than the Pebble when I dropped $400 on the Apple Watch, but I also didn’t want my daily tasks to be slowed down because of the lack of familiarity with the watch. After a few weeks, I am just as comfortable with the Apple Watch as I was with the Pebble and I love it. Since there are no other solid options for the iPhone buying the Apple Watch was a no brainer. The price tag is definitely higher than that of the Pebble, but I can honestly say it’s worth it. You are getting a much better piece of technology, and it will improve your quality of life as it did my own.
