- Was just checking out the Index 01 [1]:
> Why can't it be recharged?
> We considered this but decided not to for several reasons:
> You'd probably lose the charger before the battery runs out!
> Adding charge circuitry and including a charger would make the product larger and more expensive.
> You send it back to us to recycle.
I don't think this is true. The charging circuit could have been in the charger itself. To provide access to the battery, one of the terminals could be behind a transistor enabled by the micro. The charger could then send a signal to the ring to unlock the battery terminal. Then all you needed to do was expose two/three pads externally.
[1] https://repebble.com/index
- The ring sizing has been such a debacle, first with needing to buy (!) their special ring sizing kit because standard sizing wouldn’t be accurate they said, and now they say that the ring sizing kits weren’t true to size and suggest this:
> When in doubt, order a larger size. You can always adjust a larger Index 01 to feel smaller with a foam adhesive or clip but you can’t make it larger!
Size up and shim it with foam!
- > Is there a warranty?
> Yes, we warrant against manufacturing defects for 30 days after you receive your order.
Is this the shortest warranty on a consumer electronics device ever? What on earth are they thinking.
- Feels so fresh to hear their CEO talk so openly and transparently of all the flaws their products still have. Sounds like he's someone very fun to work with.
by haritha-j
4 subcomments
- The index is a ludicrous product. The battery life, they claim, is 2 years. This is one heck of a misrepresentation. It is actually 12-15 hours. They get the 2 years because its meant to be used around 10-20 times a day, in *3-6 second* recordings.
The device is being marketed as external memory for your brain. I'm hardly a philosopher, but I don't have many useful thoughts that are 3-6 seconds in length. heck, when i try to voice record a thought, i'm uhming and erring for the at least 3 seconds.
- I am so excited for my Round 2. The original Pebble Time Round (20mm w/ brown leather strap) is the single best smartwatch I've ever owned. Can't wait to relive it today haha
- The watch I really want is the Pebble Time 2 with a black-and-white screen.
The Pebble Time 2 is a huge step up from the Pebble 2 Duo in almost every conceivable way, but the contrast ratio on the latter is so much better that I still wear the P2D instead of the PT2, and just resign myself to deal with the lower resolution screen and inferior build quality.
by Shalomboy
1 subcomments
- I disagree with the super limited warranty terms and the lack of charger for the Index 01, but I am happy to give Eric and the Pebble Team a pass this time while their company is in this stage. I really hope they adopt stronger pro-consumer practices as the company finds its footing, but if they don't the good thing about their watches is how durable they are. I kept my Pebble Time on wrist through 2023, and by then I only stopped because I got sick of trying to repair the adhesive connecting the front bezel(?) to the back case. The PT2 is already a marked improvement over that watch's build quality so I figure I'll be good for at least eight years of daily use.
Its so good having Pebble back in action though.
by embedding-shape
2 subcomments
- Anyone tried/ended up using their Index 01 in any substantial way? Looks interesting but the non-changable battery turned me off a bit, now this post reminded me of the little ring again, looks handy for taking quick voice memos.
- My Time 2 was ordered early and still took an age to arrive (well beyond the estimate) but they were good enough to announce updated timing when I queried it and it came a few weeks after.
I must say it's a fantastic piece of kit. Not worrying about charging it for 18 days is great and it gave me a little reminder the morning of the day it was expecting to need a recharge (in the evening) so it was nicely thought through.
In terms of usage, it's just right - all vrry intuitive (although weirdly they didn't seem to list anywhere what each of the buttons did, so you need to explore but that's not difficult and you quickly get the hang of it). I used to find with my Google watches it wasn't clear when you were in Google Play looking at watch apps or for phone apps and the whole mental model was surprisingly frustrating but the Pebble nails it with a much more intuitive way.
- I liked the idea of the Pebble index, but don't really want another device to manage. So I ended up configuring my apple watch to record a memo using the double-pinch gesture. It uses whisper ai, and translation has been great. After voice memo is translated, I parse the text using some apple shortcuts and inject things like tasks into my daily memos.
So far it's been working great, and it's allowed me to offload important ideas that are on the tip of my brain.
by Dachande663
2 subcomments
- It still pains me the only way to access some features is to have an account on Apple, Google, or Microsoft. No standard auth, no generic oauth.
by HarHarVeryFunny
1 subcomments
- The Pebble Time 2 looks pretty tempting to develop a custom running/fitness app for. It's got heartrate detector, accelerometer, vibrator for silent feedback, plus an SDK that works with Linux.
by paweladamczuk
3 subcomments
- I wonder if the functionality od Index 01 will also be available via the Pebble watch? I mean, it would be logical to allow that, all it needs is a separate app for the watch. But I didn't find any clear confirmation of this anywhere.
by citruscomputing
0 subcomment
- I'm super excited about the Index. All the time, I feel like I go "oh, I need to buy this thing" or "I should message that person about this" but I'm in the middle of a task and then I forget. (Or I have to get out my phone or a notepad to write it down - the phone is distracting and the notepad needs to be synced manually later, which I won't do.) I think my main use case is probably going to be adding stuff to my grocery list while I'm cooking, but I'm also excited about the webhooks integrations - I can pipe my idle while-driving questions to an agent and read the report later, for example. Or maybe I'll connect it to home assistant - "It's cold, turn down the AC please" or "hey can you play some music" without having to break focus. If this all works alright, I'm thinking about figuring out audio-out, so I can ask "what's on my calendar for tomorrow" and get a verbal answer. (Or maybe, putting this+todo lists on e-ink displays in physical space.)
I think the reason this is so exciting to me is that it's a way to interact with technology that's a lot less "evil" feeling. I am at my best when I'm not looking at screens all day, and the index provides an off-ramp that can potentially move several common workflows off those screens. I think even on my technology-off days, using the ring would still be fine. It also looks cool, and speaking into a ring to make things happen is much more aesthetically pleasing to me than "ok google." I really think you can't discount the cool factor here.
by raffael_de
1 subcomments
- owning a time 2. nice watch. but i consider its purchase more as voting with my wallet for future editions. its utility is seriously limited by its dependence on a smartphone. given its size it's rather disappointing that it contains neither mobile, nor wifi, not even gps. while it may be an odd comparison, given my user profile and its feature set it is about as useful as my sensorwatch pro 2 which i really enjoy. i wish there where swappable custom boards for casios with more than three buttons ... the calculator casios would be a dream.
- I got the pebble time 2 now for a month. Pebble is the Casio smartwatch.
The issues are a bit sad. But I will happily upgrade with the discount to the revised version of time 2.
To me, a Pebble is better than an apple watch due to battery life and hack-ability. Especially with the latest AI models it is just your imagination. And with ASK and Notification Forwarding it will be much closer to a Apple Watch in functionality.
by bschwindHN
0 subcomment
- Wow, the UI on that weather app is slick! Well done to whoever designed/implemented it.
- Cool watch. Have mine for a while. Would recommend. I love battery time (around 2 weeks with my usage patterns with longer backlight time). Love variability and flexibility of watchfaces. Comparing to my usecases of applewatch I am missing "find my phone" (which is mentioned to be under development) and paying with the watch. Yet increased battery life + hackability compensates those for me.
Hacking your own app is also something easily accessible. When I preordered the watch I thought of a breathing app which could be used with closed eyes. App must indicate breathing phase with vibrations. Guess what? In couple days I got first version running and published (couple more weeks of polishing completely transformed the initial version which still has screenshots in the project folder for historical reasons). In case you also want to meditate/box-breach with your pebble here is it free on any charge
https://github.com/podgorniy/pebble-box-breathing
- It's kind of interesting reading the scathing comments about the lack of a rechargable battery, but it probably makes the most sense if the two year battery life claims are true, as you'd likely be ready for an upgrade by then and the technology would be cheaper and/or more advanced. This thing isn't an iphone. It weighs a few grams. There's likely less silicon and battery in it than in the singing greeting card you got two year old for their birthday. Everyone needs to chill out
- missed the hype ten years ago, but now have a Pebble 2 Duo since about half a year. absolutely love it, although seeing images of the new models makes me a bit jealous. but just being able to see incoming messages on my wrist on a device i have to charge about once a month is so comfortable.
bit of a bummer that the new weather app is not for P2D, but well.
- finally.... my time 2 should be shipped by the end of the month. I've been waiting for it for ages! can't wait!
by ghalvatzakis
1 subcomments
- I want this so badly, but unfortunately, shipping to Europe comes with unpredictable customs fees.
by VCFundedGenYer
1 subcomments
- I feel this would have been incredible....in the 2014-2016 timeframe. There just isn't any room for this product anymore. Pebble was at the top of their game before Apple came in and showed them up.
- They’re not going to support legacy pebble by any chance?
- [dead]
- I don't know why HN is obsessed with whatever this product is (literally never heard of it) but I'm getting strong juicero vibes. Is this all botted up votes hoping for more VC slop or...?
by lardosaurusrex
2 subcomments
- John Pebble sold his community and their collective souls for a corn chip and I genuinely don't understand why they all went rushing back to him; particularly after he went on his little social media crusade against rebble and accused them of stealing and gatekeeping the apps/software that were already -- and have been for years now -- avaliable.
Every time he makes a post I can't help but somehow lose even more respect for him and his stupid ring is so enviromentally unfriendly and anticonsumer that even if I was given one for free by him I would likely still spit in his face and cuss him out.
Also... a 30 day warranty? Does he think that's cute? What the f--.
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