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.
Buy the Pebble Cosmos Engage if you dare
Like many other companies, Pebble makes a few smartwatches that appear to be, shall we say, devoted Apple Watch imitators, like the Pebble Frost and the Pebble Cosmos Prime. That’s not too surprising, since Apple’s smartwatch set the standard for wearables everywhere. It makes sense to cop the Apple Watch design while skimping on features and build quality to keep costs down.
Saying its new smartwatch is “designed with perfection,” Pebble appears to precisely mimic Apple Watch Ultra design specifications for the Pebble Cosmos Engage. And it also copies Apple Watch bands designed for Ultra and other Apple Watches.
But the functionality — though hard to assess without having the watch — appears to fall short in some places and maybe many. For one thing, the Engage’s IPS display with 600 nits of brightness doesn’t come close to Ultra’s 2,000-nit (maximum) OLED display. For another, the Engage is made of zinc alloy, not titanium. And Pebble noted the Cosmos Engage is compatible with iOS with no mention of watchOS.
That said, it might be a fairly capable smartwatch for those who want to look a certain part without all the extremophile capability.
Here’s what Pebble promises with Cosmos Engage, its Apple Watch Ultra clone
Photo: Pebble
- 1.95-inch IPS always-on display
- 600-nit HD display (320*385p)
- Heartrate monitoring
- AI voice assistant
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Bluetooth calling with keypad, speakerphone, mic, logs
- Blood oxygen level
- Zinc metal alloy body
- “All-in-One Health Suite”
- Sport modes (“Out perform your sport,” Pebble urges)
- IP67 rating for water and dust resistance
- Average battery life of four to five days
- Android and iOS compatibility
- Colors: salamander orange, starlight, midnight black, celestial blue
Price: About $48 depending on the exchange rate
Where to buy: Pebble
