Pebble Time Steel vs. Pebble Steel: The Pebble Brand is DEAD...

The Pebble or the Pebble Time? That is the question. Mike takes a look at both to see which is the best option for you

UPDATE: Pebble's DEAD, Baby...

Pebble is officially DEAD. The smartwatch upstart was acquired by FitBut and the brand will cease to exist effective immediately. FitBit acquired Pebble for $40 million, a rather low sum, and will now integrate the smartwatch-maker’s excellent software into its own fitness trackers.

This move should not come as much of a surprise, as it seems Pebble is getting out while the going’s good. And $40 million is an OK figure, especially when you factor in just how downhill the market for smartwatches has gone in the past 12 months.

"It's still early days, but we're already seeing a notable shift in the market," said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. "Where smartwatches were once expected to take the lead, basic wearables now reign supreme. Simplicity is a driving factor and this is well reflected in the top vendor list as four out of five offer a simple, dedicated fitness device. Meanwhile, from a design perspective, many devices are focusing on fashion first while allowing the technology to blend in with the background."

"Smart wearables have been down in recent quarters, but clearly not out," noted Ramon Llamas, research manager for IDC's Wearables team. "As user tastes change, so will their needs. That's the opportunity for smart wearables with multi-functionality and third-party applications, both for consumers and business users. To get there, we need to see more intuitive user interfaces, seamless user experiences, standalone connectivity, and applications that go beyond health and fitness and into personal and professional productivity.”

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Can Pebble take on the Apple Watch? Based on just how keen people seem to be about both designs, one could argue that, yes, they certainly do stand a chance of doing what Android Wear failed to do in 2014 –– actually sell in quantities approaching something significant. The Apple Watch is definitely the one to beat, so Pebble, the upstart that it is, certainly has its work cut out. Still, next to Apple, Pebble is essentially the most well know and visible brand in the smartwatch space – and this will likely pay dividends in 2016/17.

Those numbers are all the more impressive considering Apple is now very much in the smartwatch game and has gotten a lion’s share of the smartwatch attention in recent months. But as Kickstarter has shown, the Pebble is much-loved by its users ever since they got their hands on the first device. Speaking of that device: just what are the differences between the original Pebble and the new Pebble Time? We’re glad you asked.

Pebble Time Steel vs. Pebble Steel: Specs and Design

The original Pebble was launched in 2013 with a follow-up second-generation unit called the Pebble Steel launched in 2014. The Pebble Steel included a thinner body, tactile metal buttons and a Gorilla Glass screen. The new Pebble Time smartwatch also features a steel variant that features a stainless steel casing. For the purposes of this showdown we’ll compare the Pebble Time Steal and the Pebble Steel.

Pebble Steel:

Case dimensions: 46mm L × 34mm W × 10.5mm T
Weight: 56g
Display: 1.26-inch, 144 × 168 pixel e-paper display, LED backlight
Sensors: 3D accelerometer, Compass, Ambient Light sensor
Battery: Lithium-ion polymer battery, up to 7 days battery life
Wireless: Bluetooth 2.1 and 4.0

Pebble Time Steel:

Case dimensions: 47mm L × 37.5mm W × 10.5mm
Weight: 62.3g
Display: 1.25-inch, color e-paper display, LED backlight
Sensors: 3D accelerometer, Compass, Ambient Light sensor, Microphone
Battery: Lithium-ion polymer battery, up to 10 days battery life
Wireless: Bluetooth 4.0

As you can see from the specs of the two Steels above, the new Time Steel is actually slightly larger and heavier--although you’ll probably not notice a difference. The case of both units are made from marine-grade stainless-steel and each model comes with a leather band, with an optional metal band at an extra cost. The Pebble steel comes in a brushed stainless steel model or a matte black model. The Pebble Time Steel comes in Silver, Gunmetal Black, or Gold.

For me the Pebble Time Steel looks a hundred times better than the Pebble Steel. You can see from the pics how much time and thought the company has put into refining its design since the original Steel came out.

Pebble Time Steel vs. Pebble Steel: OS, Apps, and Features

As is to be expected with the latest iteration of any device, the Pebble Time Steel has some major advantages over the Pebble Steel. For starters, the Pebble Time Steel now sports a new color e-paper display. Technically the display is a fraction of an inch smaller than the Pebble Steel display, but will forgive that because its in, you know, color.

Besides the new color display, the big new feature of Pebble Time Steel is that it has a new UI. The UI is now designed around a timeline that lays out notifications, news, reminders and events chronologically instead of making the user go to individual apps to see them. This Timeline allows you to scroll to see events in the future or in the past by using the Time’s side buttons. There’s also a new app menu, featuring new app faces with glanceable content so you can quickly see the information that is relevant to you.

The new UI is a HUGE improvement over the old one found on the Pebble Steel as it dramatically shortens the time it takes to retrieve information from your watch. However, the new UI will not be limited to the Pebble Time for long. It’s coming to the original Pebble and Pebble Steel in the near future. And yes, all original 6500 Pebble apps work on the new Pebble Time Steel.

Another new feature of the Pebble Time Steel is the microphone. With it users can send voice replies to incoming notifications or take short voice notes. But Android users will find the microphone more useful than iOS users. The mic currently supports SMS, Hangouts, Gmail, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and “hundreds more” on Android, but only Gmail notifications on iOS.

Pebble Time Steel vs. Pebble Steel: Verdict

Unsurprisingly the Pebble Time Steel is the clear winner over the original Pebble Steel. The color display seals the deal, but it’s also the refined design, the microphone, and--did we mention--the 10-day battery life of the Time that makes it such a superior smartwatch (the original Pebble Time Steel only had a 7-day battery life--though that’s not too shabby).