Published on : 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.
       
 (IMG)  Garmin Instinct 2 Solar
        ( 17 days of battery life with 87% battery )
 (IMG)  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.
       
 (IMG)  My Original Pebble
       
       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.
       
 (IMG)  My Pebble Time Steel
        ( weather didn't update because the Original Pebble was connected 
       
       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!
       
 (DIR)  Back to my phlog