pebble

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on pebble:

An Apple Watch Ultra for $48? No, but you can get this obvious knockoff.

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It sure looks the part, but does it do all the rough stuff?
It sure looks the part, but does it do all the rough stuff?
Photo: Pebble

Some rugged, outdoorsy types might hesitate over the Apple Watch Ultra’s $800 price tag. But what if they could get a lookalike watch for less than $50?

The Indian company Pebble — no relation to the Pebble smartwatch outfit acquired by Fitbit — said it will ship just such an option soon. And the Pebble Cosmos Engage looks just like the real thing. But it probably doesn’t function like a real Apple Watch Ultra.

Have your pick of iPhone 13 cases with Elago’s new lineup

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The MagSafe Silicone Case is just one of many cases Elago offers for iPhone 13.
The MagSafe Silicone Case is just one of many cases Elago offers for iPhone 13.
Photo: Elago

If you’re the proud owner of a new iPhone 13 series smartphone — whether you have it in hand or just set for delivery — don’t forget to protect it. Elago’s new lineup of iPhone 13 cases include past favorite designs and innovative new styles.

You can grab Elago’s new iPhone 13 cases in the Cult of Mac Store — via the direct link under each item below — or at Elago or Amazon.

Pebble update ensures your watch will work when services die

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Pebble might be dead, but your watch isn't.
Pebble might be dead, but your watch isn't.
Photo: Pebble

The original smartwatch maker is closing down after being acquired by Fitbit, but your Pebble watch will continue to work after all of its services are dead.

With its final update, Pebble has eliminated any reliance on online servers, ensuring your wearable will continue to function as normal when connected to your smartphone.

Are smartwatches doomed?

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swimmer wearing apple watch
Is fitness really all that Apple Watch is fit for?
Photo: Apple

The writing has been on the wall for smartwatches ever since Cupertino chose to focus on sports and fitness features for Apple Watch Series 2. Smartwatch sales are plummeting, and fitness seems to be the only profitable area remaining in the wearables sector.

More evidence of this trend emerged this week, with smartwatch trailblazer Pebble reportedly being acquired by fitness wearables specialist Fitbit. We might very well be witnessing the demise of the smartwatch as we know it.

So how did we get here? Is Apple Watch really only fit for fitness, or could it still one day fulfill its destiny and become a true wrist-based computing platform?

Apple Watch shipments suffer sharp summer decline

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apple-watch-2
Apple has seen its share of the smartwatch market crumble.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch shipments declined a staggering 71.6 percent this summer, according to IDC, with Apple shifting just 1.1 million units during the third quarter. During the same period last year, the company sold an estimated 3.9 million units.

Weary of your wearable? Sell it to us!

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broken wearables buyback
It's time to turn tour trashed wearables into cash.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Ever open the drawer and go, “Oh yeah. I own a Jawbone UP”? It’s easy to forget about an old fitness tracker or smartwatch you’ve got stashed away, but the Cult of Mac buyback program makes rediscovering an unused wearable more like finding a forgotten wad of cash.

We’ll give you the best price for your wearables, from shiny Apple Watches to older, well-worn products that most other buyback programs won’t accept. It’s a no-brainer to quickly and easily turn an old, unused wearable into cold, hard cash.

Got an old Android? Sell it to us for a great price!

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It's easy to turn your old devices into cash.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Got an old Android you don’t use anymore? It’s useless to you in the bottom of a drawer, but if you dig it out and dust it off, you can sell it to us for cold hard cash!

We’re buying used and broken Android and Microsoft devices through our new buyback program, and we pay more than Best Buy, Gazelle, and Walmart in most cases. We’ll even buy used wearables, watches, and devices that don’t even work anymore.

Weirdest of 2015: The year’s biggest ‘whoops’ moments

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Apple fanatics got up to some strange stuff in 2015.
We all made a lot of mistakes this year.
Image: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's Best of 2015 We aren’t going to pretend we’re perfect, but that doesn’t mean we have no appreciation for the mistakes of others. They make us feel better about our own glaring flaws, and they also make for some good fodder for “weirdest of 2015” news roundups.

This year, we saw some really impressive corporate blunders as well as some head-slapping moments from Apple fans.

It’s about time: Pebble Health app plays catch-up with Apple Watch

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Pebble Health provides native fitness and sleep tracking.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

You no longer have to rely on third-party apps to track your fitness on a Pebble watch. Pebble is today rolling out a new update that adds Pebble Health, a new fitness and sleep tracking feature that wants to help you become fitter and healthier.

Apple named coolest wearables brand over Samsung, Rolex, Ralph Lauren

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As smartwatches grow in popularity, the Apple Watch will continue to be the hands-on - or wrist-on - favorite.
As smartwatches grow in popularity, the Apple Watch will continue to be the hands-on - or wrist-on - favorite.
Photo: Apple
Apple Watch is the coolest wearable yet, apparently. Photo: Apple
Apple Watch is the coolest wearable yet, apparently. Photo: Apple

Apple Watch is by far the most successful smartwatch to date in terms of sales, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Apple has been voted the “coolest wearables brand” by smartphone users.

The Cupertino company not only beat technology rivals like Samsung and LG to the top of the list, but also high-end watchmakers and fashion brands like TAG Heuer, Rolex, and Ralph Lauren.

Pebble’s new smartwatch is Round and super-slim

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Pebble Time Round is the thinnest smartwatch so far. Photo: Pebble
Pebble Time Round is the thinnest smartwatch so far. Photo: Pebble

Pebble’s latest smartwatch forgot it’s hip to be square.

The Pebble Time Round has a circular display that hopes to appeal to traditional watch wearers, and compete round rivals like the Moto 360 and Samsung’s upcoming Gear S2. Its all-metal design is also the thinnest and lightest Pebble has crafted to date.

Wearables: Doomed or darlings of the next decade?

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Do you own a wearable yet? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Do you own a wearable yet? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

After outselling all Android Wear watches within 24 hours, Apple Watch looked set to be the device that would finally give smartwatches their big break. But according to a recent report, sales of Cupertino’s first wearable have since nosedived 90%.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2It’s wise to take that report with a pinch of salt, but it got us thinking; if Apple’s first smartwatch really is a flop, which company can make a wearable worth wearing, and do wearable devices have a future at all?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question.

Quit your whining: Pebble Time app is finally here

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Apple's delay may mean no Pebble Time for iPhone users.
Apple's delay may mean no Pebble Time for iPhone users.
Photo: Pebble

Pebble Watch fans have been absolutely freaking out on Twitter the last few days due to a delay with the Pebble Time app for iOS getting delayed in the App Store approval process.

After sitting in ‘pending approval’ since May 22nd, Pebble fans rallied around the #FreeOurPebbleTime hashtag to get their voices heard by Apple, but everyone can stop their whining, because the Pebble Time app for iPhone is finally available for download.

Apple taking its sweet time approving Pebble iOS software

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Apple's delay may mean no Pebble Time for iPhone users.
Apple's delay may mean no Pebble Time for iPhone users.
Photo: Pebble

Pebble Time, the new smartwatch from the Kickstarter superstar, might be headed to wrists soon, but if you own an iPhone, you might be out of luck.

According to an email sent out to Time backers on Kickstarter, the version of the Pebble iOS software needed to connect and use Pebble’s newest iteration is still sitting in the gray no-man’s land of Apple approval; it’s been there for 43 days with no end in sight.

As Apple Watch soars, Pebble is dropping like a rock

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Investors and consumers alike are skipping Pebble
Investors and consumers alike are skipping Pebble
Photo: Pebble

Apple Watch hasn’t even been out for a month yet but it may have already claimed its first victim in the war for your wrist.

Smartwatch maker Pebble is in big trouble and has applied for a $5 million loan from a Silicon Valley bank to stay afloat, according to a new report that claims the company is having a hard time maintaining growth.

Apple rejects iOS apps that support the Pebble watch

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Investors and consumers alike are skipping Pebble
Investors and consumers alike are skipping Pebble
Photo: Pebble

Apple has begun rejecting iOS apps that support Pebble, the immensely popular and more affordable alternative to Apple Watch.

One developer received an email to say that their app, SeaNav US, was no longer welcome in the App Store because it mentions the Pebble — a third-party mobile platform — in its description.

Apple Watch is ‘definitely lacking’ says Pebble founder

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Becoming the most funded Kickstarter in history is certainly enough to boost confidence — and if you’re Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky it’s enough to get you to take some potshots at giant-sized rival, Apple.

With Cupertino’s March 9 Apple Watch event just one week away, Migicovsky has thrown out a few barbed comments about Apple’s eagerly-anticipated debut wearable. Describing the device as “definitely lacking,” Pebble’s founder noted how he’s just not that into smartwatches that are “relegated to being an accessory to your mobile phones.”

Oh, snap!