Making a case for Pebble in the era of Apple Watch

If you were not living on Mars for the past few months, Apple is building a smart watch which goes on sale on April 10. Like with any new Apple product, there has been intense speculation, scrutiny and tons of pre-analysis on the use, viability and potential of the product even before the first order has been taken. It definitely helps (or not) when the most expensive electronic smart watch from Apple will cost $17000. In the past, Apple has defined product categories and wiped out many a competitor.Will the Apple Watch kill scrappy upstart smart watch maker Pebble and fitness tracking pioneer FitBit? I don't believe so. If Pebble and Fitbit plays its cards right (as they seem to be doing so), I believe they can continue to thrive in the Apple Watch era. Here is how they are doing it and can continue to do so. In the first of a two part series, I will make a case for Pebble. In the next post, I will make a case for FitBit.PebblePebble is as interesting a Cinderella story in the space as any other. Pebble used to make smart watches before it was popular. Then came their Kickstarter campaign that blew all existing crowd funding records out of the water.  They recently launched Pebble Time, their second generation product that now holds the record for the largest Kickstarter campaign ever with over $20 million raised.There is widespread belief that there is opportunity for Pebble to thrive after the launch of the Apple Watch. But it will be a challenge. As Apple Watch gains traction, it will attract developers attention which can starve Pebble from critical dev support for its apps. More importantly, there is the topic of mindshare. Already, in tech circles, watch is starting to refer to the Apple Watch. Pebble could potentially suffer from lack of attention. They would continue to sell but not enough to be a meaningful player.Integration with iOSApple Watch will be integrated far more closely with iOS devices than Pebble. Lower level APIs that Apple WatchKit will have access to will not be available for Pebble on iOS. And this is a huge challenge as Apple will start adding features that take advantage of its ownership of the hardware and software stack and differentiate the Watch in a way, no other accessory can do.On the right trackPebble is already doing the right things to compete against the Apple Watch. It is focusing on its core strengths - simplicity, battery life and price. While there are a few hundred apps that can be installed on the Pebble watch, most users have just a few because that is all they need. Pebble has been smart to focus on that. Continuing to insist on long battery life (up to a week) is also critical because it is a key advantage for them over Apple Watch that lasts a day on a charge. Thirdly, Pebble Time costs $199 while the cheapest Apple Watch is $349. This is an area where Pebble will continue to have the advantage as Apple will not move downstream in pricing, anytime soon.Moving aheadLooking ahead, Pebble will need to stay ahead of the Apple curve by innovating constantly while keeping the experience simple. More importantly, they need to make sure people use the Pebbles they buy. That would result in a virtuous cycle that brings developers into the fold, something that Apple benefits from. Other areas of innovation could be:- Add cellular capability and possibly GPS(Fitbit Surge and Microsoft Band) and build a true smart watch, untethered from the phone. Samsung made a Gear model with 3G as did LG but they were clunky. If Pebble could build one with 3G connectivity without growing the size much and retain a good portion of the battery life it has now, that would be a big win and a true differentiator until Apple Watch eventually adds the same.- Continue to stay multi-platform while beefing up on Android integration. Pebble can definitely be the de facto smart watch for Android users. Android Wear is just taking off and Moto360 is at the vanguard. Google will continue to offer more features on the platform and it could help Pebble to position itself as one of the best smart watches for Android phone users. On iOS, Apple will favor Apple Watch which Pebble cannot avoid.- Improve on fitness tracking and metrics reporting through first and third party apps which integrate with data stores like Jawbone, Nike Fuel or Fitbit. Pebble could be the watch that adds steps to your daily fitness/step/cycling count if and when you are wearing the Pebble instead of your personal fitness tracker.- Continue to improve battery life. This is by far the biggest advantage for Pebble today and will continue to be a key product differentiator.- Build unique Pebble experiences and increase stickiness factor. The Smartstrap concept being proposed for Pebble TIme is one such opportunity. One of the biggest complaints against the current crop of trackers and smart watches is that people stop using it after a few weeks or months. If Pebble can continue to make their product a must carry for users every day, they will continue to cultivate the audience over its future product releases.In ConclusionThere is definitely space in the smart watch category for Apple Watch and Pebble (not to mention Android Wear watches too). And Pebble has an early mover advantage coupled with some core features that help differentiate it from the competition. If Pebble continues to build on those strengths (battery life, price) while adding new areas of innovation (cellular connectivity, developers and apps), they will continue to thrive and offer a solid alternative to Android Wear and Apple Watch.Note: The audio version of this post is pending. I will add that in the coming few days.