If you’ve been waiting for the price of Pebble Steel to drop before you take the plunge into wearable tech, prepare to take out your wallet. Pebble announced that its Steel smartwatch lineup will arrive at Best Buy on Sunday, June 15, for just $229. It’s only a $20 price drop, but it’s a symbolic gesture of goodwill from Pebble to potential customers. After all, Pebble has a lot to celebrate – it’s just been named the second most popular smartwatch among buyers by NPD Group.
Best Buy will have the Pebble Steel available in two finishes, Brushed Stainless or Black Matte finish, along with the standard black leather strap. The matching Brushed Stainless and Black Matte watchbands will arrive later in store and online as separate accessories. More finishes will come at a later date. Pebble also plans to bring a third color option for the original Pebble to Best Buy: the Arctic White finish will now be available in addition to Jet Black and Cherry Red finishes. The original Pebble still costs $149 at the retailer.
“Pebble’s first smartwatch, which was launched exclusively at Best Buy, made a big splash with consumers last year. This is technology that people want to test and try before buying, so we’re happy to partner with Pebble again and bring the same exclusive opportunity to our customers for Pebble Steel,” Best Buy spokesperson Carly Charlson said in a statement.
Of course, Pebble will still sell the smartwatches on its website, but the move to Best Buy signals that the smartwatch maker is ready to take Steel to the average consumer.
Currently, Pebble smartwatch sales account for 18 percent of all smartwatch revenue. The only manufacturer that makes more money off its smartwtaches is none other than Samsung, which controls 78 percent of revenue, according to NPD Group. Perhaps the lower price, new apps, and app store, as well as the easy access at Best Buy will boost Pebble’s reputation with buyers.
