Apple Watch raises awareness of wearables as Pebble doubles its sales, CEO says
Rather than hurting sales of the Pebble smartwatch, the debut of the Apple Watch has actually helped the company, its CEO has revealed, thanks to increased consumer awareness of wearable devices.
Rather than hurting Pebble, the Apple Watch appears to have boosted the wearables space, Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky said in an interview with CNBC. He revealed that his company is selling twice the amount of smartwatches than it was at this same point last year.
"We've actually seen no material impact from Apple entering the space on our sales," Migicovsky said.
His comments are similar to those from Fitbit earlier this week, when officials from company also said they had seen no "material impact" on sales of their devices thanks to the debut of the Apple Watch. Like Migicovsky and Pebble, Fitbit executives believe their products target a different consumer.
While Fitbit's products are focused on an active lifestyle, Pebble is positioned as a low-end, affordable, and "fun" smartwatch. Migicovsky said that if Apple wants to be Rolex or Tag Heuer, Pebble is content to be the equivalent of Swatch in the smartwatch space.
This year, Pebble expanded its lineup with a new round model that starts at $250 --?$100 cheaper than the base Apple Watch Sport. The company also debuted the $199 Pebble Time, and a $299 steel version of the square-faced model.
Prior to Apple's entry, the wearable devices market was small. Earlier this year, estimates pegged total 2014 smartwatch sales at just 6.8 million units, with an average selling price of $189.
Citing competitive reasons, Apple has declined to reveal specific sales figures for the Apple Watch. But financial data disclosed by the company reveals that total revenue from the device topped $1.7 billion in its first five months of availability.
Rather than hurting Pebble, the Apple Watch appears to have boosted the wearables space, Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky said in an interview with CNBC. He revealed that his company is selling twice the amount of smartwatches than it was at this same point last year.
"We've actually seen no material impact from Apple entering the space on our sales," Migicovsky said.
His comments are similar to those from Fitbit earlier this week, when officials from company also said they had seen no "material impact" on sales of their devices thanks to the debut of the Apple Watch. Like Migicovsky and Pebble, Fitbit executives believe their products target a different consumer.
While Fitbit's products are focused on an active lifestyle, Pebble is positioned as a low-end, affordable, and "fun" smartwatch. Migicovsky said that if Apple wants to be Rolex or Tag Heuer, Pebble is content to be the equivalent of Swatch in the smartwatch space.
This year, Pebble expanded its lineup with a new round model that starts at $250 --?$100 cheaper than the base Apple Watch Sport. The company also debuted the $199 Pebble Time, and a $299 steel version of the square-faced model.
Prior to Apple's entry, the wearable devices market was small. Earlier this year, estimates pegged total 2014 smartwatch sales at just 6.8 million units, with an average selling price of $189.
Citing competitive reasons, Apple has declined to reveal specific sales figures for the Apple Watch. But financial data disclosed by the company reveals that total revenue from the device topped $1.7 billion in its first five months of availability.
Comments
2) I'll go for usability over looks any day, but damn those look fugly to me. Why so much bezel on a device you're support to interact with and get written text from?
1) I can't help but think of Blackberry's sales skyrocketing after the iPhone brought awareness to the smartphone market. I hope Pebble has something better up its sleeve than just their eInk, ePaper, eWhatever displays, or I think the longterm for Pebble will share the same fate as Blackberry's smartphone market.
2) I'll go for usability over looks any day, but damn those look fugly to me. Why so much bezel on a device you're support to interact with and get written text from?
I have the original Pebble Steel, and I have found it to be very functional, if not especially elegant. I'd much rather have an Apple Watch though, both for looks and functionality, but unfortunately I would be unable to wear it to work. So - waiting for enlightenment to bridge the gap between security and technology, or maybe just for the 2nd generation version.
Pebble and Apple aren't competing for the same market, judging by the price difference. There's room for both in the market, just as there's room for both Android and iOS.
I have an original Kickstarter pebble thats still going strong. I wanted an apple watch SO BAD until I heard it has less than a days battery life and costs 399 for the size I would want. Now that Pebble time has dropped to $150 Ill probably buy one. Maybe in three years or so (when the sealed battery in the pebble dies) apple will have acceptable battery life.
Ive had a mac since 1994, and still have an iphone 1. the apple watch display is beautiful, the case is ok, the battery kills it.
I have an original Kickstarter pebble thats still going strong. I wanted an apple watch SO BAD until I heard it has less than a days battery life and costs 399 for the size I would want. Now that Pebble time has dropped to $150 Ill probably buy one. Maybe in three years or so (when the sealed battery in the pebble dies) apple will have acceptable battery life.
Ive had a mac since 1994, and still have an iphone 1. the apple watch display is beautiful, the case is ok, the battery kills it.
I turned off the flip wrist wake feature and use tap to wake. I easily get through two days between a charge. But I'm not a heavy Watch user, so maybe that's having an effect. Still, if you use something enough to pull down the battery like that, by definition it's being used a lot.
People who sleep with a watch on creep me out
1. Looks 1000x nicer
2. Has a much nicer screen
3. Far superior Apps
4. Better sensors
5. Better intergation with iOS
My guess is pebble is selling their $250 watches to Android users.
The bulk of their sales are for their low tier $99-$150 watches.
I greatly prefer the Pebble's screen to that of the Apple Watch. Sure, it's not quite as colorful and smooth, but it's always on. That means I can just look down at my wrist without moving it and see the time, much like I can with my grandfather's Omega. The week long battery life is also nice. I charge mine on Saturdays.
Not surprising to hear this news now.
Next month is "Smartwatch Awareness Month".
I sleep with my Apple Watch every night. I use it for sleep tracking.
Migicovsky's comments are contradictory. If the Apple Watch raised consumer awareness of wearables, and that higher awareness contributed to a doubling of Pebble sales... then that IS a material impact. A positive material impact.
Stage 1: Expand the market
Stage 2: Dominate the profitable portion of the market
They should be praising Apple.
I greatly prefer the Pebble's screen to that of the Apple Watch. Sure, it's not quite as colorful and smooth, but it's always on. That means I can just look down at my wrist without moving it and see the time, much like I can with my grandfather's Omega. The week long battery life is also nice. I charge mine on Saturdays.
I wonder if they'll be a dual market not unlike Kindles and iPads for reading. People can own both of those, so its a little different (i,e. no one would wear a pebble AND an apple watch), but there may be people who want the always-on long battery life less functionality of a Pebble vs the expensive, full-colour OLED, charge everyday Apple Watch
I have an original Kickstarter pebble thats still going strong. I wanted an apple watch SO BAD until I heard it has less than a days battery life and costs 399 for the size I would want. Now that Pebble time has dropped to $150 Ill probably buy one. Maybe in three years or so (when the sealed battery in the pebble dies) apple will have acceptable battery life.
Ive had a mac since 1994, and still have an iphone 1. the apple watch display is beautiful, the case is ok, the battery kills it.
Funny how you "heard' it as less than it had less than a day of life WHEN EVERY REVIEW AND ACTUAL USAGE SAYS DIFFERENTLY.
So, where the hell did you hear this: an Android News site?
So, I'm going to call your so called motivation bunk. Find something else that makes sense.
Uh huh. Right. And is autocorrect turned off on all these alleged Apple devices?
Youre the reason Ive posted 3 times in 10 years lol
Im soooo sorry I said something other than "the apple watch is the best product on the planet" thanks for your enlightening opinion.
Didn't you hear? He has a "mac" and "iphone" since 1994. Isn't that how the "apple" community talks to each other? My old flip phone got 5-days of use on a single charge, so I think I'll stick to that instead of an iPhone which barely lasts a day, or so I hear. And you can't criticize me because I owned a "mac" in 1994.
the problem is, you don't know what you're talking about. anybody with an Apple Watch will tell you (if you don't read), it gets much better than a days use. when I charge at night it's typically at 40-50%...and that's not atypical.
so to trash it when you're factually wrong, and to say you've owned this and that Apple gear for so many years...makes you look like a troll. those are classic troll tropes.
1) You do start off by saying how long you've owned a Mac and other Apple products that you own. It's equivalent to when someone starts off a sentence with "I'm not a racist, but…" Why even say what you own or for how long unless you have a specific question about that item. Your only presence are the words you write—not your age, gender, sexual orientation, "race", nation of origin, or anything else. You are judged solely on your ability to think and write.
2) You have an original iPhone, which was discontinued in 2008. Let's say you bought it in 2008. That had the weakest battery of any iPhone and you're OK with it, but not an Apple Watch that will go about two days? If you have to put your original iPhone on a charger more than once a day why is it a big deal to put another CE device on a charger at night whilst you are sleeping. Sure, we'd all love for the battery to last years like a traditional battery powered watch, or indefinitely like a kinetically-powered watch, but the reality is that to get those features in the Apple Watch it's simply impossible. Even the last Pebble Steel lasts only 7 days despite using such limited HW to keep power usage down. A company like Apple could probably increase that by a couple days, but that's about it, and probably not at all when in use, but until there is a major battery revolution Apple Watch is probably going to still be rated for one very long comfortable day of use for a a very long time, if not forever.
3) Why is charging it once a week OK, but not each night or every other night? I suppose if you have a unique work schedule that could be an issue, but even popping it on a charger whilst showering or driving could keep it going without taking it off at another time of the day. Why not just go with a traditional watch if you want a battery that really lasts on a single charge?
PS: Pebble Time Round is only rated for 2 days of battery life.