Yeah, that's really not great at all! From their website:
> Wait, it's single use? Yes. We know this sounds a bit odd, but in this particular circumstance we believe it's the best solution to the given set of constraints
I don't want to be too harsh, since it seems like the pebble team are working hard at producing some exciting tech. But intentionally making a single use device is phenomenally irresponsible in today's climate.
I know they say they'll recycle them, but it'd be naive to expect anything other than a tonne of these becoming e-waste.
I was initially put off by the lack of recharging too, but I've changed my mind a bit.
I think the amount of ewaste is pretty small. My uneducated guess is that it's probably about the same as a musical birthday card. And unlike a singing card that probably gets used a dozen times and thrown away, the Index can be used >10,000 times before it's time to recycle it (assuming it lives up to the specs)
For comparison, check out the rechargable Stream ring. It's bulkier, costs >2x as much (before including subscription... The sub alone costs more than buying an index every 2 years), and needs to be recharged every night. It's sort of in line with Pebbles advantage over other smart watches- doesn't need to sleep on a charger every night
A phone has 10-20x if not more weight of electronics.
I assume you will use your phone for 20-40 years?
The ring can record for 12-15 hours before it's empty. I'd guess it's incredibly rare that people throw away their phone before reaching 15h * 20 = 12.5 days of active screen time.
Constraints include needing to keep component cost low and ensuring that they could sell more hardware in 2 years.
What do you mean by “today’s climate”?
The EU just mandated cell phones must have user replaceable batteries by 2027: https://www.cereport.eu/news/european-union/91054
So making this single use is kinda flying into the wind in that regard.
The EU just backtracked on user replaceable batteries for wearables.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/07/14/apple-watch-meta-...
I was thinking about the combination of:
- Human impact on the environment, which e-waste is a big part of, is causing damage to wildlife, and serious climate change.
- There's huge awareness of and push back against bad hardware practices (often around non-replacable batteries) so they must have at least considered this.
Western Europe is experiencing a record setting deadly heatwave, for one interpretation.