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Apple Watch vs Pebble Time Steel: Key Differences

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The Apple Watch will arrive at some point next month, but the new Pebble Time Steel could give Apple’s smartwatch a run for its money. Here are some key differences between the two wearables.

Pebble announced its new Pebble Time smartwatch last week, but the company upped the ante today with a higher-end version of its new wearable, called the Pebble Time Steel, which is a stainless steel version of the Pebble Time and it has been added to the Pebble Time Kickstarter campaign.

Some of the big features of the new watch include a color e-ink display, seven days of battery life, voice dictation, and a new Timeline feature that highlights the various important aspects in your day. To do this, the Pebble Time takes your notifications, news, reminders and events and splays them out chronologically instead of being contained within their own apps, for which you’d have to view all of them separately.

Pebble Time Steel

The Pebble Time lineup arrives during a time where the Apple Watch is just around the corner from releasing, and we should hear even more details about the device come March 9.

if you’re in the market for a smartwatch but aren’t sure if you should get the Apple Watch or the Pebble Time Steel, here are some key differences to keep in mind that will hopefully get you to lean in one direction or the other.

Features

The color display on the Pebble Time Steel isn’t LCD or even a touch screen for that matter, but it keeps the same e-ink display as previous Pebble watches, which allows for that crazy seven-day battery life, and the screen is protected with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass. Instead of touching the display, buttons on the side of the watch are used for navigation, just like the original Pebble.

Those looking for a touch screen will want to aim for the Apple Watch, but battery life will be significantly less than seven days.

Apple Watch

One of the biggest new features on the Pebble Time Steel is voice dictation, thanks to the new built-in microphone. You can send voice replies to incoming notifications or take short voice notes.

However, voice dictation only works in Gmail for iOS devices, but it works with many Android apps, including Hangouts, Gmail, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. This means that if you use an iPhone, compatibility will be much better with an Apple Watch, as the Pebble Time Steel will see many compatibility issues with iOS when it launches.

Tesla Apple Watch - ELEKSLABS

The Pebble Time Steel is 20% thinner than the original Pebble, measuring in at 9.5mm, but it still retains much of the large bezel that surrounds the screen, which could be an unattractive feature for some buyers looking at aesthetics. The Apple Watch arguably has a much nicer design, and it’s no surprise that the watch has been advertised in Vogue and other fashion outlets.

As with the original Pebble, any 22mm band will work with the Pebble Time, which is a nice change from the Pebble Steel, which came with proprietary bands. Pebble will offer different band styles for the Pebble Time, but you can also use your own band for a unique look, and the quick-release pins make it really easy to switch out bands. The Apple Watch, on the other hand, looks to have proprietary bands, but it’s possible third-party manufacturers could come out with different bands.

Price

The Pebble Time Steel will come in three colors: black, silver, and gold. It’s currently being sold on Kickstarter where it will be campaigning for a month before the company begins manufacturing the watch and shipping out units. Right now, early birds can buy the Pebble Time Steel for a discounted $250, while the entry-level Apple Watch will be priced at $350.

The new Pebble Time Steel in gold.

The new Pebble Time Steel in gold.

The gold version of the Pebble Time Steel looks very similar to the gold Apple Watch Edition, and it’s expected to be priced at thousands of dollars. This makes the gold Pebble Time Steel a great buy if you want the Apple Watch Edition look without the high price tag, but be prepared for less features and spotty iOS compatibility if you plan to go with the Pebble Time Steel.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Steve Fenn

    03/03/2015 at 9:44 am

    Actually, Pebble is saying the Steel version has a 10 day battery life, not 7.

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