Pebble reborn
But where does an e-ink smartwatch exist in a modern market now packed with competition?
Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble smartwatches, is bringing the company back and planning a new watch after Google agreed to open source the original OS.
As a long time fan and owner of the original Pebble and smartwatches in general, I think this is fantastic news. As a gadget lover, I’ve also signed up right away and will (assuming it isn’t a stupid cost) look to purchase the new model if I can.
I think more options in any category is great for the consumer but I have to admit that as I thought about this and signed up, I looked down at my perfectly capable Pixel Watch 2 (as well as thinking about my previous Apple Watch experience) and started wondering where this new effort fits in the market.
A niche product, but now with appropriately small ambitions
The original Pebble was somewhat of a market leader at the time. The technology needed to enable the functionality of today’s smartwatches, with bright touchscreen displays, sensors for health tracking and speakers and mics for on-the-go calls, just didn’t exist at the time without strapping a literal smartwatch to your wrist.
While they definitely weren’t the first to try the concept (companies like Sony Ericsson would try smartwatches almost a decade prior), they were one of the first to gather a more widespread appeal among tech circles and others with their Kickstarter campaign and line of e-ink watches.
What they offered was simple; e-ink screens that could be read almost anywhere, simple software that was easy to navigate while providing basic smartwatch functionality, amazing battery life, compact designs that didn’t look ridiculous on your wrist (early Android Wear enthusiasts would know the wrist pain).
They were initially successful, gathering a loyal fan base; many of whom continue to even use the watches to this day. However (as Eric has outlined himself) the second model, the Pebble Time, was ambitious with its growth targets & over project deadlines, with a lack of clarity around its value proposition for the mass market (first productivity, then fitness).
In short they grew too fast, over-estimated the demand, ended up overstocked with unsold inventory and started to lose money.
It appears that Eric and the team are getting back to the basics with the relaunch, sticking with a product they want to use themselves and keep the ambitions small to the similar group of initial user base that wanted the same simplicity in a smartwatch.
Keeping things simple
The really interesting revelation in Eric’s note is that they really are starting where Pebble ended, planning to build the newest watch with the same specs as the last platform.
Along with restarting work on the now open source Pebble OS platform I’m hopeful this approach will not only keep things profitable for the rebuilt company, but also keep the costs of the new hardware down to something many people are tempted to try out.
In my mind, the reality is that the smartwatch market itself is starting to mature. People are still happy using Apple Watches from a number of years ago as the hardware and software still work fine. Wear OS (or whatever it’s called now) has had a few more speed bumps but is now also maturing, even if the ecosystem is mainly Samsung and Google presently.
As a result, decent second hand watches are good value, clearance models when a new watch is released are almost a steal, and entry level new watches are more than capable for most people.
As such, even to its niche market, I think the new Pebble has to be cheap. Its existing advantages are minimal in the mature market, and users are no longer adverse to charging their watches nightly as they do their phones; to the point where I think the advantage of a watch that last multiple days is pretty irrelevant to many.
But the encouraging thing is that the new Pebble isn’t interested in the requirements of the many; just the small group of like minded individuals who want what they are offering.