Michal Ždanský Not even a week has passed since Pebble Time debut, a new smartwatch from a startup Pebble, the manufacturer of the most successful smartwatches on the market so far, and the company has already come up with a new, more luxurious version. Like last year, it announced a steel model that shares almost the same hardware, but the exterior will offer a premium look and materials. Welcome to the Pebble Time Steel.
At first glance, it might seem that Pebble has done a bit of a disservice to its customers by launching a new flagship only after it had already managed to raise $12 million and 65 pre-orders on Kickstarter. But the opposite is true, those interested in the steel version can request an "upgrade" and only pay the difference.
Time Steel will be available as part of the Kickstarter campaign for 250 dollars (6 crowns), in regular sales the price will increase to 100 dollars (299 crowns). Those who change their order will not lose their place on the waiting list, however the steel watch will not arrive until July, two months after the model Time.
However, in addition to the steel chassis, Time Steel will also offer its users several other improvements. Compared to the regular model, they are a millimeter thicker and have a larger battery. According to the manufacturer, it should last up to ten days of continuous operation. Another improvement is the laminated display, with which the watch eliminates the gap between the cover glass and the display, thus the image appears to be displayed directly on the glass, in the same way Apple laminates the display on iPhones and iPads.
The watch looks more robust, has a wider frame around the display and the buttons have a nice textured surface for more comfortable pressing.
The Pebble Time Steel will have a metal strap, and users will also get a leather strap as a free accessory. There will be three color versions – light grey, black and gold. With the gold version, by the way, users get a red band instead of the standard black or white, and it is evident that the creators took more than inspiration from the gold version of the Apple Watch (see image below).
In fact, the watch is so similar in design to the Apple Watch in some ways that it was nicknamed the "Pebble Time Steal" on Twitter soon after the announcement. Rightfully so.
However, the Pebble Time and Time Steel have one very original feature, which is a dedicated charging port located on the back near one of the strap mounts. The connector can not only charge the watch, but also transfer data. This will enable the creation of so-called "Smartstraps", smart straps that connect to the connector.
Smart straps are supposed to have different purposes, for example they can contain their own battery and increase Pebble's endurance even more, or perhaps display quick information on their own display or use LEDs for color notifications. The watchmakers themselves won't initially offer smartstraps themselves, but will make schematics available to third-party manufacturers. With this, they want to strengthen their ecosystem, which they are painstakingly building, and the hardware, and thanks to it, fight against Apple or watch manufacturers with Android Wear.
The time when it was easy to recognize an Apple device on the street is apparently over, the iPhone has lost its original design and apparently now the Apple Watch too... In addition, if MacBooks (min. Air 2) lose their glowing logo, Microsoft will think at its conferences , that journalists have switched to Windows! :D
Owning an Apple device today is nothing original or exceptional, because today many more people can and do own it than ever before. So Apple is slowly losing its exclusivity today not only because someone is copying it.
You may not be able to tell it at a glance, but when you use it there is still a real difference :-)