In the last few days, the Pebble smartwatch has been in the headlines again, as pre-orders for the new Pebble Time are now openly being taken for shipping mid-July.
Having gained a lot of press since the company was first heard of, this is largely due to the vast amount of money they received via crowdfunding website Kickstarter. Initially added in 2012 and receiving $10.3 million from over 68,000 people, earlier this year it received over $20 million in pre-orders – that combined $30 million+ makes it the most funded project in Kickstarter history.
Yet on a basic level, Pebble is simply another product in what’s quickly becoming a saturated (or at least extremely competitive) market.
Smartwatch competition is high – and increasing
We’ve all heard of the Apple Watch, Sony’s SmartWatch 3, the Moto 360 and the Samsung Gear S. Plus many others. These are now just the beginning of what’s quickly becoming an extensive list as more and more companies are entering the market.
With all of this said, however, the Pebble Time is still poised to be a dominating force within the market.
But why?
Apple’s brand loyalty is ridiculously high, shipping somewhere in the region of two million watches on its launch weekend, for example, so why is there so much fuss about the Pebble Time (and in fact, Pebble in particular)?.
Listening is the key to success
In many ways, it’s simple – they’re doing what all successful companies do, which is listen to their audience and deliver exactly what it is they want.
They aren’t guessing. They aren’t trying to create something brand new. They’ve listened and they know what the audience wants – and they’re giving them it on a plate (or more accurately, on their wrist).
When they originally brought the concept to market three years ago, smartwatches weren’t as popular as they are today and so simply by offering a product, they were grabbing a piece of the market.
However, they didn’t just jump on any hint of a wearable bandwagon and churn out a product akin to what others were thinking of doing. Sure, they had certain restrictions – it was a watch at the end of the day – but they knew that just a few small changes could keep them head and shoulders above their competitors.
The screen, for example, is a backlit, e-paper style – similar to what you see on Amazon’s Kindles today – making it easy to read, even in the brightest sun. This has been a staple of their product since day one, and has yet to be met with any competition that’s as convincingly fantastic as can be seen on the Pebble watches themselves.
Similarly, they continue to offer a 7 day battery life. That’s astounding, especially given that Apple’s version of the smartwatch offers just 18 hours of battery life.
Due to their time in the industry, too (keep in mind there wasn’t even any real speculation of the Apple Watch back in 2012), they’ve developed a fantastic store of apps from a range of global brands and third party developers alike. Uber, for instance, has been a popular company within their app store for some time now.
It may seem like a small component, but having such a well-supported app store helps to stand Pebble out from the crowd. It’s bigger than most other stores and in terms of watches, is up their competing against Apple’s worldwide dominating app store.
All the positives lead in one direction
And this all combines to result in a successful, thriving company.
Pebble have known their niche since day one. They understand – and continue to understand – their audience. They know what they want and how they should deliver it to meet their needs.
Having produced a number of products since their first, Pebble definitely aren’t reinventing the wheel each time – they’re just making it better with each one that’s released.
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