Pebble Smartwatch Sales Climb to 400,000 Units, Revenue to Double in 2014

Pebble launched its smartwatch Kickstarter campaign in 2012 and started shipping the device early last year. Since January 2013, the company has sold over 400,000 smartwatch units, earning Pebble an estimated $60 million in revenue, reports Fortune, which spoke to Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky.

Pebble

Pebble as a company has grown significantly in the intervening years, becoming profitable in early 2013 and almost doubling its workforce from 45 up to 70 this year. Revenue also is expected to double year over year in 2014.

"When we started working on wearables six years ago, there were few players in the space and a lot of skeptics," says Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky of Google's news. "It's exciting to see this market grow so quickly -- enabling more interesting use cases and keeping all of us laser-focused on creating the very best user experiences we can."

As the company matures, Pebble's ecosystem is experiencing its own expansion. The company recently rolled out an Appstore for its smartwatch and has over 1,000 apps in its library, with 12,000 registered developers ready to add more titles in the future.

As for Pebble's next steps, Migicovsky is not concerned about Google's recent Android Wear announcement and the unveiling of Motorola's Android-based Moto 360 smartwatch.

For now, Migicovsky is more worried about making his products better than Google shaking up the market. He's exploring technologies that could help boost Pebble's week-long battery life further and keeping tabs on newer screen displays, particularly ones made from flexible materials.

Besides adding an Appstore, Pebble also recently started selling a new version of the smartwatch. The $249 Pebble Steel features a stainless steel body with a leather or steel band and a face covered with durable and scratch resistant Gorilla Glass material.

Apple also is expected to enter the wearables market in 2014 with its iWatch product. Recent rumors suggest the device will focus on fitness with support for heart rate measurement, step count and more. The device may pair with Apple's Healthbook app, a Passbook-inspired wellness app that could debut alongside iOS 8. The iWatch may also include Siri and mapping functionality.

Top Rated Comments

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chr1s60

71 months ago

I recently bought a Pebble Steel and am a big fan of it. No, it doesn't have the flare of the Samsung with the camera and color screen, but it does what it needs to in a very classy and simple way. It seems like a smart watch that remembers that at the end of the day it is still supposed to be a watch with some added functionality and not a shrunk down tablet that has a clock.

Rating: 5 Votes

ArtOfWarfare

71 months ago

Is it just me or does anyone else think that once the iWatch is introduced Pebble will crumble.

There is no way that their revenue will double.

They're safe until the day Apple reveals an iWatch. Then they'll receive returns and shipment cancellations from everyone who ordered within the past month, and everyone else will put theirs in a drawer to be forgotten and Pebble will vanish

That's my expectation. I haven't bought a Pebble (or Android watch, or Gear) because I haven't seen what Apple's got, yet. Also because I haven't seen a killer app, yet.

Rating: 3 Votes

roadbloc

71 months ago

I'd get one. But I don't need one. Because I have a phone.

Rating: 3 Votes

Gudi

71 months ago

Since January 2013, the company has sold over 400,000 smartwatch units, earning Pebble an estimated $60 million in revenue ...

Oh look, a $0.06b market Apple is not serving. Now they got to make an iWatch. :D

Rating: 3 Votes

za9ra22

71 months ago

They're safe until the day Apple reveals an iWatch.....

Unless Apple takes a surprising turn and makes the iWatch Android compatible, I suspect a large segment of the market will continue to have to look elsewhere for a smartwatch.

Rating: 3 Votes

Dulcimer

71 months ago

I'd get one if it wasn't so ugly and if the screen resolution wasn't so low.

Rating: 2 Votes

luckydcxx

71 months ago

Is it just me or does anyone else think that once the iWatch is introduced Pebble will crumble.

There is no way that their revenue will double.

Rating: 2 Votes

APlotdevice

71 months ago

It is a nice toy, but as soon as the big guys come out with a full color / touchscreen / voice whatever that works well, Pebble is toast.

The "big guys" have already come out with such devices: Samsung and, to a lesser degree, Sony. So far Pebble has been holding its own. Why? Well, I'd argue that, for one thing, their implementation is much more practical for this form factor. The monochrome screen may not be all that flashy, but what it does do [that a color screen generally cannot] is provide a persistent, daylight friendly display of information while sipping battery life. The lack of a touchscreen also improves battery life.

Rating: 2 Votes

APlotdevice

71 months ago

You missed the part of my post "that works well". Samsung's first try was obviously subpar in the absence of an Apple version to copy. But in time, the big guys will eventually get it right.

Still, for a smart watch to "work well" it absolutely MUST have a persistent (reflective or transflective) display. OLED-based watches are basically the modern equivalent of this:

Now I'm not saying that smart watches should remain black and white. High contrast reflective/transflective color displays will enter the market eventually.

Rating: 2 Votes

Stella

71 months ago

I predict confidently that 400,000 pebble smartwatches will be appearing on ebay shortly after the iWatch is unveiled.

You do know that Android users buy Pebbles and that iWatch will only connect to the iPhone?

Also price point: I highly doubt that iWatch will cost $150... as the rumours go, this iWatch will also contain a Tricorder component, with a retina display.. and still manage a 7 day battery life and priced at less than $1K :-)

Rating: 1 Votes

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