Pebble Steel - the evolution of Pebble smart watches

From the very beginning of sales of Pebble smart watches, one of the most important drawbacks of the watch, according to users, was their “toy” design - a bright plastic case and a rubber strap were suitable for geeks and students, but they didn’t even combine with strict office clothes. with a suit. Apparently the developers also understood this, so they released a version of the Pebble with a beautiful metal body - Pebble Steel.

Pebble Steel is no different, except for the case from the "normal" Pebble - the same backlit screen, well visible even in bright sun, the same work week from charging. All already developed programs are compatible with the new version of the watch. Therefore, we will have to study only the new building. Go.

Packaging

Compared to the previous version, the box of watches looks very cool - instead of a small colored glossy box we get a gothic black “coffin” with a relief inscription on the lid:

Despite the fact that the dimensions of the watches themselves have practically not increased, the box has grown in size significantly:

For users, the difference is rather positive - it is more pleasant to hold a big box and hold it in your hands, but the store is not very good - we pay more for delivering the same number of hours. :)

The inside of the box is also very entertaining - there are no cheap lodgements made of thin plastic, and the space is divided by dense cardboard partitions with a velvet coating:

It looks cool, but it also has its drawbacks - the watches that have just been taken out of the box are covered with small white feathers. Mi-mi-mi or "fu, dust" everyone decides for himself.
To get the whole set, you have to open one window first, and then the second:

On the top floor there is a screwdriver and a steel strap, and on the last one is a charging wire.

Complete set and appearance

Compared to the plastic version, the package bundle has not changed much. A second metal strap and a small screwdriver were added to replace it:

Another thing to keep in mind is that this is one of the last parts in which there are two different straps at the same time. Prices on the site have fallen for a reason - now the steel strap is sold separately for $ 20.
Also included is an instruction for changing the strap, which in 4 pictures tells you how to twist the screw correctly:

Brilliant thing. But how to customize the metal strap under the arm, there is not written a word at all.
And of course, inside there are the clock itself:

They are in two versions - Brushed steel, silver, and Black matte, black matte. I prefer the silver version, so I’ll take pictures of it:

Externally, the watch looks good - a black rectangle, but not with smooth edges, but a bit "swollen" on the sides. Here is how they look next to the plastic version:

The screen size remained the same, but because of the larger case, a bit of free space appeared under the screen. What is there to push? Of course, the name of the clock!

Also, the number and location of buttons remain the same - three on one side:

And one with the other. On the same side there are charging contacts:

Charging has changed - it is still magnetic, but changed shape (losing compatibility with older versions). The good news is that it is still better than ordinary people. Not pleased that it is still not enough to not disconnect inside the backpack, in which the watch is charged from the battery. I have a fairly common situation for any device, and the fact that the clock cannot be charged this way upsets me.

During charging, a red-orange LED is lit at the bottom of the watch. When charging is complete, the color changes to green:

There is nothing behind the clock, except for information about the clock and 4 screws. Stop, 4 screws ?!

The screws are very good. This means that we will also disassemble the clock, at least partially.
')

User Experience, or "How is it, Wan?"

Strap change

Actually, the strap change is pretty simple (I still ironically over the instructions in the four ~~volumes of~~ pictures), and it consists in unscrewing the belt axis with a screwdriver:

After changing the strap, the axis just needs to be put back and tightly tightened. If you twist it loosely, then over time it starts to twist due to the movement of the strap. It does not fall out, it is held by a strap, but it sticks out and does not look so neat.

Metal strap fit

The metal strap (although it would be more accurate to say “bracelet”) is more or less standard with a latch, therefore, in its original state, it will not dangle except on very full hands. In order for it to tightly clasp the arm, several segments can be pulled out of it, thereby reducing its length. We unscrew one of the axes of the bracelet so that it can be spread out on the table at full length and look at the part of the bracelet that adjoins the buckle:

Arrows somehow hint to us that we need to interact with them.
Take a screwdriver, shove it into the recess and try to squeeze the mounting segment out:

Oops, it turned out. Now we hook up the mount from the outside and pull it out:

After you unhook the hook with another segment, the bracelet should break up into two parts:

Now we repeat the operation with another (two, three) segment in order to reach the desired length of the bracelet:

Then we remove the central part in the box so as not to lose, and we link the segments to each other:

I must say that it is better to remove an equal number of segments on both sides of the strap. This is necessary in order for the latch to remain in the center of the bracelet, otherwise it changes the balance and shifts the watch when worn. Not deadly, but in the way.

Which strap to choose?

I chose leather. It is less felt on the hand, because it is softer, and does not tear out the hair, like metallic (it happens occasionally, but nonetheless occurs). But on the other hand, with a leather strap, the watch’s water resistance is practically useless - you have to take them off before a shower, because you have to remove and dry the wet strap, otherwise it starts to smell. There is no such problem with metal.

Is the case and bracelet scratched?

Yes, indeed, holding in my hands one of the first copies of the watch, I wrote (by the way, subscribe ) that the black bracelet is scratched a lot. In fact, everything turned out to be not so scary - dragging the same instance over the course of 4 months I did not notice too terrible damage.
There is not a single scratch on the glass, despite the fact that I did not wear the watch very carefully (even rather “very carelessly”). Perhaps this is because the frame around the screen took the brunt of the brunt - there are some subtle scratches on it:

And a bit dented corner, which accounted for the most strikes:

The metal bracelet is scratched more than the watch case - in 4 months it still appeared noticeable scratches:

On silver watches that were operated with approximately the same intensity, scratches are not noticeable at all - neither on the case, nor on the bracelet. Of course, they are, but not visible against the background of the texture.
In general, I expected the worst, the watch proved to be quite resistant to damage.

Are watches much heavier than plastic ones?

They are not very strong, but noticeably heavier. If plastic is not felt at all on the arm, then it is difficult to forget about steel, although this is partly the merit of the angular case.

38 grams weigh plastic Pebble, 55 - steel with a leather strap, 91 - steel with a metal bracelet. The metal bracelet itself weighs 58 grams, but this is with a maximum length. Leather strap weighs only 12 grams.

What's inside?

We all remember the 4 cogs on the back of the watch, right? And now we unscrew them:

We select the appropriate screwdriver:

Remove the screws and begin to gently lift the lid:

It is not glued at the edges, but glue on the vibration motor holds it. Without a cover, the watch looks like this:

Next, you need to gently pick up the edges of the plastic "basket" with a screwdriver from 4 sides in turns, squeezing the plastic latches:

After that, you can pull the electronics out of the case:

Suddenly, it turned out that the clock screen is glued into the case, and the white one on the block with electronics is just a watch backlight diffuser. And the display had quite a few contacts, only 10 pieces:

Another nearby is the very three-color LED:

On the back side next to the vibration motor and the battery is some kind of unidentifiable chip. From the fact that he is on the screen loop, I can conclude that he is somehow connected to the screen controller. Perhaps this is it.
Since the entire unit is glued inside tightly, I will not continue to disassemble it. You can only look at the "back" button and charging contacts:

And the three buttons on the other side:

The buttons, by the way, are “fair” membrane ones, and not of the “spring plate” type, as they usually like to put in a wristwatch.
And still hours perfectly work even in such condition. This, by the way, is rather creepy - I disassembled them, take pictures, and here they will light up, kaak crawl on me with the sound of a vibra! It turned out the message came to the phone.

Conclusion

Pebble Steel is not a revolution, but an evolution. Thoughtful work on improving capabilities, which goes both on the hardware side and on the software side (for example, 2.6 added the ability to run applications in the background, which means hello are different fitness trackers).