Pebble: the competition they want to be for the Apple Watch and never will be

Kickstarter goal reached in four minutes. Four million dollars raised in less than three hours. More than twelve million at the time of writing this article. The results achieved by the campaign that Pebble started just a week ago speak for themselves. A low-performance smartwatch that is being a success. Pebble Time.

After a dreamy week, the company that seven days ago presented us with the renewal of its acclaimed watch has taken advantage of the global showcase that is the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to present a new member of its family of smartwatches: the Pebble Time Steel.

Perhaps the image at the top of this article is just a coincidence. Perhaps the Pebble people have not looked at the Apple Watch at all when making their new watch. Perhaps the choice of colors is pure chance. Perhaps it is the product of chance that it shows up less than a week before the Apple event. Perhaps, and only perhaps, the last intention of the Californians would be to do something similar to the smartwatch of the apple company. Or maybe not.

The smartwatch market is going to give a lot to talk about this year, and not only because of the Apple Watch, but also because of the fierce competition that there will be in this field. Smart watches are undoubtedly the product of 2015, and that all companies know. These days, the main companies on the technological scene are striving to make a watch model with the characteristics, design and performance expected from the big brands. However, and returning to the subject at hand, I think that calling the rivalry between the Apple Watch and the Pebble Time Steel "fierce" is, to say the least, degrading.

The difference is brutal. Sections that in other devices are not as disparate as the design, specifications and functionality, become an abyss when we talk about these two watches. And make no mistake, it is not about defending a specific brand against another: it is plain and simple reality. Apple's smartwatch beats Pebble in practically everything, especially in the three aspects mentioned above. But this does not mean anything. The Pebble is far from being a bad watch, why else would it be so successful? Not at the device level premium that we are used to seeing from other companies, that is true, but does that mean that it is bad? Not at all, it just has a different approach. Or so I thought.

The objective of Pebble, as I understand it, is to bring smartwatches closer to the consumer in a different way than what the rest offers us and, above all, more economically. Its specifications have never intended to make it a device premium, far from it, and that is something that has undoubtedly played in its favor. Imagine how surprised I was to see a Pebble Time Steel next to an Apple Watch and, what is worse, with an appreciable similarity.

The presentation of the Time Steel has made me rethink what is the real approach that the company wants to give to this watch. I mean, is it focused on just being a fancy version of the base model? Or do you really want to give the feeling of being before a model worthy of comparison with the Apple Watch? The feeling that they have transmitted to me today is to be coming down to the level of those manufacturers of Asian origin who, lacking in imagination, seek "inspiration" in the work of others to show the public a mirage of something that is not what it appears.

Maybe they really mean that. Perhaps they want to establish themselves as an "affordable" option for higher-end products. Although it is also possible that this may be nothing more than unfounded impressions and the similarities are entirely the result of chance.

Or maybe not.