Still wearing Pebbles in 2026
📆 2026-09-25 10:12
I own a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar which is the best smartwatch in my opinion: rugged, lightweight and built around an excellent low-power display. The Solar version can extend its battery life significantly with enough sunlight, and it has GPS, activity tracking, notifications, a compass, altimeter, heart-rate monitoring and all the other things you'd expect from a modern outdoor watch. The best thing about the Garmin Instinct Solar is the battery life: 19 days with all the bells and whistles active and 59 days with Battery saver activated.
( 17 days of battery life with 87% battery )
Garmin Instinct 2 Solar with Battery Saver activated
( 56 days with 87% battery )
Basically, it's the best watch for me. And yet... I still occasionally wear my Pebbles. Yes, Pebbles, because I own 2 watches made by Pebble:
- the original Pebble and
- the Pebble Time Steel.
I still wear them from time to time in 2026.
Why?
The Garmin can do vastly more than the Pebble ever could. But sometimes I don't want a watch that can do everything. I just want a watch. And maybe a few notifications.
The original Pebble is almost comically simple by today's standards. It has a black-and-white e-paper display, physical buttons and a battery that lasts for about 2-3 days now. The battery lasted for 5 days when it was new.
The Pebble Time Steel takes the same idea and makes it considerably nicer. It has a colour e-paper display, a stainless-steel case, physical buttons and excellent battery life. When it was new the battery kept the watch running for 10 days. Today, in 2026, I get about 6-7 days.
( weather didn't update because the Original Pebble was connected to my phone )
No giant touchscreen. No trying to turn my wrist into a tiny smartphone but I can reply to messages directly from the Pebbles with a few canned messages that are set in the Pebble Android app. And that's enough. The wife sends a text: "Buy bread" and with 3 presses of physical buttons I reply with "Ok" without using my phone.
Garmin vs. Pebble
I don't really see my Garmin and Pebbles as competitors. The Garmin is the watch I wear when I want a modern tool. GPS, activities, navigation, notifications, sensors, solar charging and a ridiculously long battery life. The Pebbles are the watches I wear when I want something simple. That's probably why I still enjoy using them.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is an incredible watch. But there's something charming about putting on a Pebble that was designed more than a decade ago and having it still do exactly what I want.
Sometimes I want a little rectangle with buttons. And a battery that refuses to die.
P.S. Do you know how hard it is to take 4 good photos of 3 different watches in a minute ? I'm pretty sure you haven't noticed that the date of this post is the same as the time shown by all 3 watches ⌚⌚⌚. And yes, I know, the photos aren't that great but they'll do!