Pebble Steel vs Samsung Gear S Specs, Price Comparison: Features Review - The Gear S is Bigger and Costlier

Virginia D'Cruz Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Two versions of Pebble Steel (L and 2nd from L) and two versions of Samsung Gear S (R and 2nd from R). | PEBBLE/SAMSUNG

There is no doubt that the Pebble Steel and the Samsung Gear S are two birds of a different feather as they vary in size and specifications. Despite competition from the Korean tech giant, the smaller smartwatch from Pebble has managed to build a devoted following.

Design

Even though the Pebble Steel and the Gear S both have rectangular watch faces, they differ in size as the device from Samsung is bigger. The Pebble Steel has a steel body and optional steel strap and can be used in up to 50 feet of water. However, it does not have a touchscreen. On the other hand, the Gear S comes with a variety of interchangeable straps, but its default version is made from plastic in different colors. It has an IP67 certification, which means it is waterproof in up to one meter of water and can be submerged for up to 30 minutes. In a major difference, the Gear S only works with Android devices and comes with a SIM slot so it can be used to make calls without being paired with a phone. The Pebble Steel can be used with both Android and iOS devices.

Display

On the Pebble Steel is a 1.26-inch e-paper display with a resolution of 144 × 168 pixels and a LED backlight, on top of which is a layered a scratch-resistant coating. Meanwhile, the Gear S has a curved super AMOLED screen measuring 2.0 inches with a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels and a density of 300 pixels per inch.

Specs

An ARM Cortex-M3 CPU is present in the Pebble Steel while the Gear S has a dual-core 1 GHz CPU with 4 GB of internal memory and 512 MB of RAM.

Sensors

On the Pebble Steel is a 3D light sensor, accelerometer and compass while the Gear S has an accelerometer, proximity sensor, gyro, compass, heart rate monitor and barometer.

Battery

The 130mAh battery on the Pebble Steel can last for seven days without recharging while the 300 mAh battery on the Gear S can last for one and half day.

Price

The Pebble Steel cost $199 while the Gear S is priced at $299.99 without a service plan and $199 with one.