Apple Watch is ‘definitely lacking’ says Pebble founder

Pebble is going to have its work cut out for it taking on the Apple Watch. Photo: Pebble

Pebble is going to have its work cut out for it taking on the Apple Watch. Photo: Pebble

Becoming the most funded Kickstarter in history is certainly enough to boost confidence — and if you’re Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky it’s enough to get you to take some potshots at giant-sized rival, Apple.

With Cupertino’s March 9 Apple Watch event just one week away, Migicovsky has thrown out a few barbed comments about Apple’s eagerly-anticipated debut wearable. Describing the device as “definitely lacking,” Pebble’s founder noted how he’s just not that into smartwatches that are “relegated to being an accessory to your mobile phones.”

Oh, snap!

Speaking with The Next Web, not all of Migicovsky’s comments were damning, but it’s pretty clear that he’s not ready to throw in the towel against Apple just yet, despite the massive predictions that are being made for how many units the Apple Watch could sell in its first year alone.

“Obviously Apple is coming into the space and they seem like they’re interested,” Pebble’s CEO said. “It says ‘iPhone, Mac, Watch’ [at the top of Apple’s website] so it’s going to be pretty exciting, but it’s a pretty different product.”

Migicovsky said that, “in some ways, [the Apple Watch is] definitely lacking, in quite a few ways, but they’re going after a pretty different market segment.” This could be a reference to the recent reports that Apple was forced to change the direction of the project midway, after it was discovered that some of the sensors it was originally using just weren’t working.

Pebble’s CEO denied the company’s interest in exploring other wearables, saying that, “We’re focusing on the wrist right now, it’s a big opportunity for us because we know it well. The wrist can be a platform unto itself; it’s not just relegated to being an accessory to your mobile phones, and it can be the basis for a computing platform.”

For all the brave talk, of course, Migicovsky would be foolish not to be a bit concerned about the Apple Watch — and he’s certainly no fool. At least he’s not alone when it comes to being a wearable company still waiting to see how the Apple Watch will play out.

But with $13 million+ in crowdfunding under his belt with this latest campaign alone, Pebble has certainly demonstrated once again that it’s got an enthusiastic fanbase behind it, and if nothing else that should be enough to convince Migicovsky that this can be far more than just a one-horse race.