Great watch and app

I wanted a new watch and decided I wanted a smart watch because I was tired of having to go somewhere every year to get the battery changed, whereas I can just charge up a smart watch. My wife wanted me to have a watch that would notify me via vibrations that I got her text messages because I never seem to be able to hear or feel my phone.

An Apple Watch was not an option for me, because (for complicated reasons) Im currently stuck at iOS 8.4.1 on my iPhone and Apple requires iOS 9 to pair with Apple Watches running WatchOS 2.0. I couldnt find a Apple Watch with WatchOS 1 to buy. I decided to go with Pebble because its compatible with my iPhone 5s and current iOS and meets my above requirements.

With a steel watch band and the Pebble Time Steel, Ive spent less than half of what I would have had to spend to get an Apple Watch with a steel band (obviously NOT a fair and direct comparison since the two watches have completely different features). The Pebble Time Steel does NOT have a touch screen or a heartbeat monitor but is waterproof to 30m. Interaction with the Pebble Time Steel is only through the four buttons on the side. Pebble Time Steel has a nominal battery life of 10 days instead of 18 hrs as is typical for Apple Watch.

I was concerned because many people have reported that they have trouble with their phone disconnecting from their phone in their reviews of the Pebble iOS app. I have not had any problems keeping my phone connected to my watch. I think that people may not be aware that the Pebble phone app must be running for the watch to stay connected. The Pebble phone app suggests that I enable Background App Refresh, but I do not normally enable Background App Refresh to preserve my iPhone battery life. The app seems to work fine without enabling it.

Ive customized the watch face to my liking and installed an app to look at my Wunderlist to-do list on my watch. It wasnt immediately obvious that I access my Timeline (aka Calendar items) by pressing the up/down buttons on the watch when the watch is on watch face (there isnt a "calendar" app in the app menu). Ive spent a week with my Pebble Time Steel. I havent had to recharge my watch yet and Im completely satisfied so far.

Not my usual game about Pebble™, v3.14