EEVblog #758 - Pebble Time Smartwatch Unboxing & Review

[EEVblog]

Dave unboxes and gives his first impressions review of the new Pebble Time Smartwatch.
They raised $20M on Kickstarter for this!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-time-awesome-smartwatch-no-compromises

[c4757p]

Don't you think your screaming outbursts of frustration are starting to get a bit over the top? Damn, you're pissed off by everything...

Of course you have to create a damned account, don't you understand the point of a smartwatch? And of course it needs lots of privileges on your phone, it ties into almost everything. That's the point! And who gives a flying toss whether it tells the time out of the box - it tells you how to configure it out of the box, isn't that preferable??

[steve30]

Hmm.

I think I'll stick with my Casio W-86 thanks.

[EEVblog]

Don't you think your screaming outbursts of frustration are starting to get a bit over the top? Damn, you're pissed off by everything...

 

[mikeselectricstuff]

Don't you think your screaming outbursts of frustration are starting to get a bit over the top? Damn, you're pissed off by everything...

Of course you have to create a damned account, don't you understand the point of a smartwatch? And of course it needs lots of privileges on your phone, it ties into almost everything. That's the point! And who gives a flying toss whether it tells the time out of the box - it tells you how to configure it out of the box, isn't that preferable??

Maybe you just want to use it as a watch because you like the look - there is no excuse for it not having this basic functionality out of the box - it's just plain lazy.
 

[numloxx]

OMG.. I'm sorry but I'm going to take a deep breath so I tone down my comments about your unboxing video Dave.

I'm a big fan of your Blog and love watching every video you upload. Great work! Keep it up!

1. I know you don't hold back and tell it like it is, and criticise things if they are not good, but you've gone a bit too far and jumped the gun on a few issues.

2. It's second generation, NOT 3rd. 1st was Pebble and Pebble Steel. 2nd was Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel. Get your details correct

2. Have you owned the original Pebble watch and had experience with it?

3. Initial boot screen. The purpose of this watch is to link to your smartphone. If you just press the Back button, it would go to it's unlinked watch mode. But then you would be missing all the benefits of the Pebble Time.

4. When you first get ANY device the first step is to ensure you have the latest firmware.

5. Every App in Android has permssions. Are you an Apple person by any chance? Not sure how they handle security of apps and permissions. Permissions are so that you are aware of what the appl will require.

6. Download a different app for the Pebble Steel, because the Pebble and Pebble Steel are FIRST generation watches using a different firmware than the Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel. it asks you in case a user installs the wrong app for the wrong watch.

7. The account should have been setup already if you own a 1st Gen Pebble or Pebble Time, so that answers point 2. It allows you to backup all your apps to your Pebble Account. Same as Google Accounts and Apple Accounts. Same thing.

8. My setup took about 5 minutes to complete. Not sure why your took so long. Bluetooth permissions on your phone?

9. Software, have some bloody patience?

10. It's a standard watchface, but the app give you an option to install other watchfaces out of the box. Try not rushing through the setup and take your time.

11. Other watchfaces and apps are in the Pebble Store. DUH!

12. Stopwatch App is available there as well.

13. The leading Zero, you can customise some watchfaces. Click the Gear icon.

14. It's interface is designed to be simple, you are a bit limited without a touchscreen interface. Give it a chance.

15. And it's not a weather app. It's called Timeline. If you set it up correctly, for it's true purpose, you will see your Google Calendar appointments etc. Go to their website and do some research?

16. Check iFixit for the teardown. https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Pebble+Time+Teardown/42382

17. Stopwatch - App Store, that's what the Pebble and Pebble Time is all about. So you can customised it!

18. With the watchfaces in sunlight, try changing the colours, some are better in sunlight than others.

19. I hope you don't think I'm an ass-hole for this, but your unboxing really made me angry. The Pebble Time is a fantastic product. I own both Pebble and Pebble Time and love them both. I read my email, can reply to text messages with it, answer/reject phone calls, stop/start/skip my music, all sorts of amazing things. I can even control my LIFX light at home, or even anywhere around the world from my Pebble Watch. I love your EEVBLog, but this made me really angry.

[techhelper1]

OMG.. I'm sorry but I'm going to take a deep breath so I tone down my comments about your unboxing video Dave.

I'm a big fan of your Blog and love watching every video you upload. Great work! Keep it up!

1. I know you don't hold back and tell it like it is, and criticise things if they are not good, but you've gone a bit too far and jumped the gun on a few issues.

2. It's second generation, NOT 3rd. 1st was Pebble and Pebble Steel. 2nd was Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel. Get your details correct

2. Have you owned the original Pebble watch and had experience with it?

3. Initial boot screen. The purpose of this watch is to link to your smartphone. If you just press the Back button, it would go to it's unlinked watch mode. But then you would be missing all the benefits of the Pebble Time.

4. When you first get ANY device the first step is to ensure you have the latest firmware.

5. Every App in Android has permssions. Are you an Apple person by any chance? Not sure how they handle security of apps and permissions. Permissions are so that you are aware of what the appl will require.

6. Download a different app for the Pebble Steel, because the Pebble and Pebble Steel are FIRST generation watches using a different firmware than the Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel. it asks you in case a user installs the wrong app for the wrong watch.

7. The account should have been setup already if you own a 1st Gen Pebble or Pebble Time, so that answers point 2. It allows you to backup all your apps to your Pebble Account. Same as Google Accounts and Apple Accounts. Same thing.

8. My setup took about 5 minutes to complete. Not sure why your took so long. Bluetooth permissions on your phone?

9. Software, have some bloody patience?

10. It's a standard watchface, but the app give you an option to install other watchfaces out of the box. Try not rushing through the setup and take your time.

11. Other watchfaces and apps are in the Pebble Store. DUH!

12. Stopwatch App is available there as well.

13. The leading Zero, you can customise some watchfaces. Click the Gear icon.

14. It's interface is designed to be simple, you are a bit limited without a touchscreen interface. Give it a chance.

15. And it's not a weather app. It's called Timeline. If you set it up correctly, for it's true purpose, you will see your Google Calendar appointments etc. Go to their website and do some research?

16. Check iFixit for the teardown. https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Pebble+Time+Teardown/42382

17. Stopwatch - App Store, that's what the Pebble and Pebble Time is all about. So you can customised it!

18. With the watchfaces in sunlight, try changing the colours, some are better in sunlight than others.

19. I hope you don't think I'm an ass-hole for this, but your unboxing really made me angry. The Pebble Time is a fantastic product. I own both Pebble and Pebble Time and love them both. I read my email, can reply to text messages with it, answer/reject phone calls, stop/start/skip my music, all sorts of amazing things. I can even control my LIFX light at home, or even anywhere around the world from my Pebble Watch. I love your EEVBLog, but this made me really angry.

Agreed.

[TheAmmoniacal]

I agree with all your comments. I do believe it should be a watch first and foremost, all the smart stuff should be a bonus on top. This unboxing makes me want to see you try the Microsoft Band though, try to get one!

[EEVblog]

19. I hope you don't think I'm an ass-hole for this, but your unboxing really made me angry.

You aren't an arse-anyhing, you are just making a mountain out a molehill. Relax a bit.

The Pebble Time is a fantastic product. I own both Pebble and Pebble Time and love them both.

You're a fanboy, I get it.

[tocsa120ls]

Well the only thing that I don't agree with is that there are no default apps on it.
As a smartphone user this seems like a good idea to me... every smartphone no matter what platform will have some uninstallable apps that just go into a folder marked "Junk" and use precious storage forever.
BTW I owned a semi-smart watch once, and I shall never again own one.
It was sold as a bundle with my old SonyEricsson W series phone - a SonyEriccson MBW-150. They actually did the right thing and contracted the watch movement and housing to Fossil and embedded a small, I think 96x16 OLED display, it was a wonderful piece of kit, I usually had to charge it every two weeks. It could control the music player, mute/divert a call, notify texts. (some blessed souls even wrote Android support for them) Problem was that the display was a first gen OLED display that first dimmed then died completely. The bluetooth link and all functions are still working, the display is just dead. By then, SONY was really shitty about supporting these watches, basically they were like either buy a new one or threw the old one away, no replacement, no service.
I don't need social media, weather, news or any of this shit on a watch. The MBW series was great because it looked like a nice midprice analogue watch but it had cool features. These new smartwatches  look like a piece of river rock that you strapped to your wrist with the lowest possible quality materials. No haute horologie, no nothing. Throwaway pieces, make you look like a douche (or worse, a mugging victim) -- waste of money.

[EEVblog]

Well the only thing that I don't agree with is that there are no default apps on it.
As a smartphone user this seems like a good idea to me... every smartphone no matter what platform will have some uninstallable apps that just go into a folder marked "Junk" and use precious storage forever.

I agree. But some things are really basic functionality people expect in a digital watch, like a stopwatch and timer. They should be there by default.
The Music screen is installed by default! Why do I need that?

[loneoceans]

19. I hope you don't think I'm an ass-hole for this, but your unboxing really made me angry.

You aren't an arse-anyhing, you are just making a mountain out a molehill. Relax a bit.

The Pebble Time is a fantastic product. I own both Pebble and Pebble Time and love them both.

You're a fanboy, I get it.

 

I watched this episode being quite interested since I had heard a lot of good things about the Pebble Watch online, but was at the same time confused about how some of my friends who had bought smart watches like the LG and Asus watches were... now switching back to their original watches.

So far though, I'm really not sure if I see the value proposition in the pebble smart watch yet? I think I can understand a bit more if the watch could do more things like health tracking, but when practicality sets in, it seems to me from the people I have talked to that notifications alone seems to be mostly a novelty since.. people use their phones anyway and it's difficult to do proper actions on the notifications besides basic triaging and short replies, and might end up taking even more time to finally complete the action. 

Here's an article I came across today which I think is somewhat related: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/06/the-internet-of-things-you-dont-really-need/396485/ It's not specifically about smart-watches, but I think it raises some good points.

[EEVblog]

So far though, I'm really not sure if I see the value proposition in the pebble smart watch yet?

The value is in the instant notifications. Missed call, SMS, Facebook/Twitter obsessed people etc without having to get your phone out of your pocket.

[JoeN]

But does it play Angry Birds or not?   

[TheAmmoniacal]

I only use my "smart watch" (I got a Band) as a glorified notifications bar, immediately sorting my mail and messages - and receiving them discreetly. I'm surprised at how useful this has been though, I no longer reach for my phone every half an hour to check my mail and messages (and at the same time just check this and that). But I'm the kind of person who wants to answer important emails and messages quickly.

[Armxnian]

I'm not very impressed after seeing the watch. It looks fairly ugly, like a watch you would get at Walmart for 5 bucks.

I also would prefer full color and a touch screen. The moto 360 has those and is only $50 more. Battery life is the only concern, but the products from apple and samsung for example last a day. I would honestly prefer charging a device every day rather than every 4-7 days at random. It will be like my TI nspire calculator. You don't need to charge it every day after use, but you try and use it one day and it says critical battery... if it's not regular you just forget about it.

[codeboy2k]

when I was younger I had an LCD watch that could tell the time as soon as you bought it.  It had a lithium battery that lasted 7 years

[daqq]

Soooo, it's a smartphone extension, that doubles as a watch? I'm sorry, but I find this device utterly useless.

The value is in the instant notifications. Missed call, SMS, Facebook/Twitter obsessed people etc without having to get your phone out of your pocket.

So, I'm going to get notified that I have to take out my smartphone? I thought that was what vibration motors inside of he phone were for? Eh... whatever works/is "needed" I guess...

[malaire]

Soooo, it's a smartphone extension, that doubles as a watch? I'm sorry, but I find this device utterly useless.

The value is in the instant notifications. Missed call, SMS, Facebook/Twitter obsessed people etc without having to get your phone out of your pocket.

So, I'm going to get notified that I have to take out my smartphone? I thought that was what vibration motors inside of he phone were for? Eh... whatever works/is "needed" I guess...

I have used my original Pebble for 1.5 years now and would never go back. The value is in getting instant discreet notification AND short snippet of all email*, SMSs and alerts to your watch. Instead of needing to get my phone out I can just glance my watch to see what this is about and whether it is something important I need act on now or if I can move it to later.

*) I can of course filter emails on my email account so that I don't actually get notified of *all*.

[malaire]

I also would prefer full color and a touch screen. The moto 360 has those and is only $50 more. Battery life is the only concern, but the products from apple and samsung for example last a day. I would honestly prefer charging a device every day rather than every 4-7 days at random. It will be like my TI nspire calculator. You don't need to charge it every day after use, but you try and use it one day and it says critical battery... if it's not regular you just forget about it.

For me battery life of original Pebble is 10-12 days when it was also promised about 7 days. I don't have Pebble Time yet, so can't say if it can go over what is promised or not. (I have backlight disables since I don't need that.)

[EEVblog]

So, I'm going to get notified that I have to take out my smartphone?

No, it displays who called, or the text message etc. You can even use the internal mic to dictate a reply apparently.

[station240]

I have to agree with Dave, the initial setup looks like a nightmare.
It's akin to buying a new laptop, getting it home to find out you have to install the entire OS before you can use it. And then faff about for hours configuring things and installing software.

I challenge the Pebble SmartWatch fans to give a new boxed one to someone who knows nothing about them, and see how they cope with the printed instructions only. Likely it will end up back in it's box.

[hamdi.tn]

After watching this am sure Dave good to have an other channel named 'EE Sins' 
Yeah unboxing the thing made me nervous ... it's a watch it should have a watch at least out of the box, updating connecting and app adding should be user choice.

[Fungus]

After watching this am sure Dave good to have an other channel named 'EE Sins' 
Yeah unboxing the thing made me nervous ... it's a watch it should have a watch at least out of the box, updating connecting and app adding should be user choice.

A 'watch' where the battery only lasts 7 days?

I'm torn as to whether that's a good idea or not. Hopefully the people who buy this know what to expect.

But yeah, there seems to be some basic lack of thought. eg. Not building in a few different watch faces, going to 'music' by default, etc. (that last one can be configurable but I wouldn't make it the first thing everybody sees, every single time).

My Question: How far away from your phone can you be and still get alerts?

[Muttley Snickers]

Or how far under water, I recall that he has some dastardly plans to run it through it's paces, next time the teardown of the warranty papers should come after the testing just in case, otherwise a pebble in a dry riverbed would be more useful.

I use a sundial personally, the power supply hasn't failed me yet.


Muttley