Apple Watch 4 (44 mm, 2019) vs Pebble Steel Classic (2014)
I bought my Pebble Steel Classic in 2014, right before the release of the very first Apple Watch (series 0) (you can read my review of the distant 2014 https://habr.com/ru/post/364677/ ). I remember how much I doubted to take Pebble or wait for the release of the Apple Watch (it's Apple!) And how relieved it was when Apple watches did get to the shelves (brakes, not working without a smartphone, barely pulling the day of use).
After that, I looked at the progress of Apple Watch every year and every year I didn’t understand why it was worth spending on this rather expensive gadget and how it would be better than my current Pebble.
As a result, in 2019, I received a watch as a birthday gift and, as they say, all doubts disappeared by themselves. It became possible to compare these two watches without regard to their cost, but simply as two functional devices between which there are 5 years of technological abyss.
')
1. Battery and usage time: my Pebble is almost 5 years old and they easily take care of 5 days with daily use (after the purchase it was 7-8 days). Apple Watch should be charged every 1-2 days depending on the degree of their use. Because of this, Pebble is perceived as more like a watch, and Apple Watch is more like an electronic gadget. In addition, Pebble can be charged simply with two wires from USB, and Apple Watch requires a separate specialized charging.
2. Screen: Pebble has a monochrome screen constantly on, the resolution is 144x168 pixels, Apple Watch has an OLED screen of 368 Ă— 448 pixels, most of the time does not display anything and wakes up only at some event (receiving a message) or turning the hand / touching the screen. Because of these features, there are two effects: on Pebble, you can see information from any angle, you can cast a glance at the clock, watch the time, or read the received message. On Apple Watch, all your movements are immediately visible, which can, in some situations, deliver some discomfort. The second effect is that if you run a long-playing application on your watch, for example, a timer, then on Pebble you constantly see how much time you have left, on Apple Watch you constantly need to either move your hand or tap on the screen. This is especially annoying if you perform any sports exercise (for example, you are standing in the "bar" or there is a countdown in the gym between the approaches to the simulator).
3. Appearance - here on the fan - the Pebble looks massive, brutal, the Apple Watch is sophisticated, they look more like a fashion accessory than an electronic gadget.
4. Control - Pebble has 4 control buttons, the screen is not touch, all controls are using buttons. The Apple Watch has a touch screen, a Digital Crown wheel that simulates a crown and a button on the side. Subjectively, on such a small device as a clock, it is rather inconvenient to control by pressing the screen, especially on the go - there is a big chance to miss the small icon / button. Digital Crown is not bad for scrolling something / zooming, but again it’s quite difficult to manage with jewelery accuracy on the go. At Pebble everything is done in a worker-peasant manner. One button to scroll up, one button to scroll down, one button performs the confirmation function, one cancel.
5. Speed - Pebble has no delays. At all. Instant response. Specifically, the Apple Watch 4 generation everything works pretty fast, but the owners of previous generations complain about the speed.
6. Reasonableness of the interface - Pebble resembles a Kalashnikov assault rifle - decorations zero, everything is clear in the case without ryushechek and beautiful. Apple has all drawn very nicely, with animations, a thoughtful arrangement of elements. But in the end there are a few points that just bother me, because the basic function of a smart watch for me is to show time and work with notifications.
What happens when you receive a message on Pebble? - it is displayed on the main screen and you immediately see all the information in this message - you do not need a second hand to read the message, you immediately see the notification. What happens when a message arrives on Apple Watch? You see just such a stretched image, because the developer of the application (and there are now the vast majority) decided to use Rich Notification (which was generally for another) and hung in there as an attachment the icon of your beauty application. In the end, you need to scroll through this picture (using the second hand) to see the actual text of the incoming message. And nowhere in the settings you can not correct this situation (for example, reduce the size of the picture or even make it so that it does not show it on the Apple Watch). After that, you want to take advantage of the progress and use the advertised Default Reply function to quickly reply to the message without reaching the phone. And in the end you will learn that you can only configure these answers for iMessage / SMS and mail. They do not work either in Whatsappor in Telegram (it turns out inside Telegram itself there is a possibility of customization) - there are several tightly beaten messages like “Hello!”, Shown there. For the sake of justice - you can dictate a message, it is recognized, but it is not always convenient in the metro at rush hour, to dictate this message and wait until it is recognized when the Internet is poor.
7. Third-party applications - Pebble has several thousand of them, I even wrote an application for displaying RuCurrency currencies. Almost all free, can be found for every taste and color (within the framework of the platform, of course). All applications are independent and in most do not require binding to any application. At Apple Watch, the entire application is now nailed to some application on iOS and will not work without it (they promise to fix the situation in watchOS 6). The applications themselves are certainly much richer than on Pebble with animations, synchronization, etc., but the problem is that, firstly, normal applications are all paid, and secondly, I don’t need a combine, I need a small, lightweight application that performs a small specific task.
Let me give you a simple example: on Pebble there is a GymTimer application - it “automates” classes in a weightlifting gymnasium, counting the number of approaches and including a timer between approaches during rest. Very helpful - you don’t need to remember how many approaches you’ve already done and remind you that it’s time to start doing the next approach or exercise if you’ve started talking to someone in the room. It is controlled by one button - just choose the timer between the approaches of 60/90/120 seconds and then simply press the button, counting the number of approaches and starting the rest timer. On Apple Watch there are a lot of applications, but they are all made according to the principle “there is a library, a cinema hall, three bars, a restaurant, a pool and two tennis courts aboard our ship. And now I will ask you to fasten your seat belts, because now together with all this garbage we will try to take off ”- you need to create an account in some kind of social networks for athletes (plus a subscription within this network costs quite a lot of money, and without it the application is very limited) show animation how to do the exercise, try to count with the accelerometer the number of exercises done, etc. The other extreme watchOS - after 5 years of development - is the lack of basic applications: no calculator, no notes, no voice recorder, no ordinary calendar itself. Some of this is promised only in watchOS 6, which is due out in September.
8. Sports opportunities - here Apple Watch puts Pebble on the paddles - measuring the pulse (and even ECGs in some regions), the presence of built-in GPS, accelerometers, barometers and other sensors, make it possible to record almost the number of trips to the toilet with simultaneous analysis of physical activity there . At Pebble (in my version) there is only an accelerometer, which can count the number of steps + the ability to mate with the phone and display the speed via RunKeeper. In terms of sports, Apple Watch is the undisputed leader.
9. Phone Integration - Pebble essentially only sends notifications to the phone, without any processing. Android has the ability to respond to messages with predefined text, and in later models, a voice is recognized. You can control music (forward / backward, volume control, current track position) Apple Watch with iOS integrates simply as poured, you can control some applications directly from the clock (Deezer - music, Overcast - podcasts, Shazam - music recognition), you can respond to messages any applications, you can even answer an incoming call. It is possible to see pictures, it is possible to control the camera phone. Alarm clocks, timers or stopwatches are quite conveniently made in both Apple Watch and Pebble. The downside - with Android Apple Watch do not work from the word "absolutely", i.e. you are limited to the Apple ecosystem. Pebble work both there and there.
Following the results of this post, I got the impression that I consider the Apple Watch to be awful and not usable. Rather, no - I simply compare the cost of these watches, the number of necessary opportunities that they give to their owners and 5 years that the industry has developed. And what I see is somewhat disappointing: whether for Apple Watch this is a secondary gadget that does not generate sales and which they pay attention to last - I see the ill-conceived basic functions. Tolli on the market is a crisis of ideas about why, in general, smart watches are generally needed (there is a similar situation with watches from other manufacturers - Samsung, Xiaomi, only there it is justified by an adequate cost). Whether I consider justified the purchase of Apple Watch 4 - probably not. If you really really want Apple, it is better to buy 3 series, which is 10 000 rubles. cheaper, and the possibilities are almost the same, except for a slightly smaller screen. In appearance, no one will understand what your series is - they all look about the same, and the advertised ECG function does not work in Russia yet.
After that, I looked at the progress of Apple Watch every year and every year I didn’t understand why it was worth spending on this rather expensive gadget and how it would be better than my current Pebble.
As a result, in 2019, I received a watch as a birthday gift and, as they say, all doubts disappeared by themselves. It became possible to compare these two watches without regard to their cost, but simply as two functional devices between which there are 5 years of technological abyss.
')
1. Battery and usage time: my Pebble is almost 5 years old and they easily take care of 5 days with daily use (after the purchase it was 7-8 days). Apple Watch should be charged every 1-2 days depending on the degree of their use. Because of this, Pebble is perceived as more like a watch, and Apple Watch is more like an electronic gadget. In addition, Pebble can be charged simply with two wires from USB, and Apple Watch requires a separate specialized charging.
2. Screen: Pebble has a monochrome screen constantly on, the resolution is 144x168 pixels, Apple Watch has an OLED screen of 368 Ă— 448 pixels, most of the time does not display anything and wakes up only at some event (receiving a message) or turning the hand / touching the screen. Because of these features, there are two effects: on Pebble, you can see information from any angle, you can cast a glance at the clock, watch the time, or read the received message. On Apple Watch, all your movements are immediately visible, which can, in some situations, deliver some discomfort. The second effect is that if you run a long-playing application on your watch, for example, a timer, then on Pebble you constantly see how much time you have left, on Apple Watch you constantly need to either move your hand or tap on the screen. This is especially annoying if you perform any sports exercise (for example, you are standing in the "bar" or there is a countdown in the gym between the approaches to the simulator).
3. Appearance - here on the fan - the Pebble looks massive, brutal, the Apple Watch is sophisticated, they look more like a fashion accessory than an electronic gadget.
4. Control - Pebble has 4 control buttons, the screen is not touch, all controls are using buttons. The Apple Watch has a touch screen, a Digital Crown wheel that simulates a crown and a button on the side. Subjectively, on such a small device as a clock, it is rather inconvenient to control by pressing the screen, especially on the go - there is a big chance to miss the small icon / button. Digital Crown is not bad for scrolling something / zooming, but again it’s quite difficult to manage with jewelery accuracy on the go. At Pebble everything is done in a worker-peasant manner. One button to scroll up, one button to scroll down, one button performs the confirmation function, one cancel.
5. Speed - Pebble has no delays. At all. Instant response. Specifically, the Apple Watch 4 generation everything works pretty fast, but the owners of previous generations complain about the speed.
6. Reasonableness of the interface - Pebble resembles a Kalashnikov assault rifle - decorations zero, everything is clear in the case without ryushechek and beautiful. Apple has all drawn very nicely, with animations, a thoughtful arrangement of elements. But in the end there are a few points that just bother me, because the basic function of a smart watch for me is to show time and work with notifications.
What happens when you receive a message on Pebble? - it is displayed on the main screen and you immediately see all the information in this message - you do not need a second hand to read the message, you immediately see the notification. What happens when a message arrives on Apple Watch? You see just such a stretched image, because the developer of the application (and there are now the vast majority) decided to use Rich Notification (which was generally for another) and hung in there as an attachment the icon of your beauty application. In the end, you need to scroll through this picture (using the second hand) to see the actual text of the incoming message. And nowhere in the settings you can not correct this situation (for example, reduce the size of the picture or even make it so that it does not show it on the Apple Watch). After that, you want to take advantage of the progress and use the advertised Default Reply function to quickly reply to the message without reaching the phone. And in the end you will learn that you can only configure these answers for iMessage / SMS and mail. They do not work either in Whatsapp
7. Third-party applications - Pebble has several thousand of them, I even wrote an application for displaying RuCurrency currencies. Almost all free, can be found for every taste and color (within the framework of the platform, of course). All applications are independent and in most do not require binding to any application. At Apple Watch, the entire application is now nailed to some application on iOS and will not work without it (they promise to fix the situation in watchOS 6). The applications themselves are certainly much richer than on Pebble with animations, synchronization, etc., but the problem is that, firstly, normal applications are all paid, and secondly, I don’t need a combine, I need a small, lightweight application that performs a small specific task.
Let me give you a simple example: on Pebble there is a GymTimer application - it “automates” classes in a weightlifting gymnasium, counting the number of approaches and including a timer between approaches during rest. Very helpful - you don’t need to remember how many approaches you’ve already done and remind you that it’s time to start doing the next approach or exercise if you’ve started talking to someone in the room. It is controlled by one button - just choose the timer between the approaches of 60/90/120 seconds and then simply press the button, counting the number of approaches and starting the rest timer. On Apple Watch there are a lot of applications, but they are all made according to the principle “there is a library, a cinema hall, three bars, a restaurant, a pool and two tennis courts aboard our ship. And now I will ask you to fasten your seat belts, because now together with all this garbage we will try to take off ”- you need to create an account in some kind of social networks for athletes (plus a subscription within this network costs quite a lot of money, and without it the application is very limited) show animation how to do the exercise, try to count with the accelerometer the number of exercises done, etc. The other extreme watchOS - after 5 years of development - is the lack of basic applications: no calculator, no notes, no voice recorder, no ordinary calendar itself. Some of this is promised only in watchOS 6, which is due out in September.
8. Sports opportunities - here Apple Watch puts Pebble on the paddles - measuring the pulse (and even ECGs in some regions), the presence of built-in GPS, accelerometers, barometers and other sensors, make it possible to record almost the number of trips to the toilet with simultaneous analysis of physical activity there . At Pebble (in my version) there is only an accelerometer, which can count the number of steps + the ability to mate with the phone and display the speed via RunKeeper. In terms of sports, Apple Watch is the undisputed leader.
9. Phone Integration - Pebble essentially only sends notifications to the phone, without any processing. Android has the ability to respond to messages with predefined text, and in later models, a voice is recognized. You can control music (forward / backward, volume control, current track position) Apple Watch with iOS integrates simply as poured, you can control some applications directly from the clock (Deezer - music, Overcast - podcasts, Shazam - music recognition), you can respond to messages any applications, you can even answer an incoming call. It is possible to see pictures, it is possible to control the camera phone. Alarm clocks, timers or stopwatches are quite conveniently made in both Apple Watch and Pebble. The downside - with Android Apple Watch do not work from the word "absolutely", i.e. you are limited to the Apple ecosystem. Pebble work both there and there.
Following the results of this post, I got the impression that I consider the Apple Watch to be awful and not usable. Rather, no - I simply compare the cost of these watches, the number of necessary opportunities that they give to their owners and 5 years that the industry has developed. And what I see is somewhat disappointing: whether for Apple Watch this is a secondary gadget that does not generate sales and which they pay attention to last - I see the ill-conceived basic functions. Tolli on the market is a crisis of ideas about why, in general, smart watches are generally needed (there is a similar situation with watches from other manufacturers - Samsung, Xiaomi, only there it is justified by an adequate cost). Whether I consider justified the purchase of Apple Watch 4 - probably not. If you really really want Apple, it is better to buy 3 series, which is 10 000 rubles. cheaper, and the possibilities are almost the same, except for a slightly smaller screen. In appearance, no one will understand what your series is - they all look about the same, and the advertised ECG function does not work in Russia yet.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/460415/
All Articles