--- title: Apple Watch: 3 Ways Smartwatch Upstarts Can Survive the Apple-anche description: The little guys who were on their way up the mountain now have to fight for air. canonical: https://time.com/3312615/smartwatch-makers-apple-watch-iwatch/ author: Liz Wiseman article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-10T14:34:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:03:07.885Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Apple Watch: 3 Ways Smartwatch Upstarts Can Survive the Apple-anche og:description: Pebble, Omate and others will have to fight to survive. og:url: https://time.com/3312615/smartwatch-makers-apple-watch-iwatch/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438a826d532ec767/6986a28f1eebf701bd3728d5/pebble-apple-watch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2700 og:image:height: 1519 og:image:alt: Apple unveils new gadgets og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Apple Watch: 3 Ways Smartwatch Upstarts Can Survive the Apple-anche twitter:description: Pebble, Omate and others will have to fight to survive. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438a826d532ec767/6986a28f1eebf701bd3728d5/pebble-apple-watch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Three Ways Smartwatch Upstarts Can Survive the Apple-anche > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=75f76bce-f526-4177-9095-929a08572435&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 430,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 50.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=75f76bce-f526-4177-9095-929a08572435&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=75f76bce-f526-4177-9095-929a08572435&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. It reaches 430,000 subscribers with a 50.7% open rate as of August 2026. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Liz Wiseman](https://time.com/author/liz-wiseman/) ## Liz Wiseman Sep 10, 2014 2:34 PM UTC  Left: Pebble watch Right: Apple watch Left: Pebble watch Right: Apple watchOscar Galvan Felez—Getty Images; Monica Davey—EPA by [Liz Wiseman](https://time.com/author/liz-wiseman/) ## Liz Wiseman Sep 10, 2014 2:34 PM UTC The wearables market is technology’s latest battleground with small upstarts like Pebble and Omate, as well as early entrances from big players like LG, Samsung, and Google. Today, with their announcement of the Apple Watch, Tim Cook officially entered the race and upped the ante with Apple Pay. With Apple in the game, can a young, upstart company like Pebble, maker of the popular Pebble Steel smart watch, go the distance? Or will the small players with early leads get trampled? In the technology world, the winners are rarely those with the best product, but rather those who have created the most ubiquitous platform. However, established companies that offer the advantage of experience often operate from a defender mentality – protecting their market leadership and brand. Small companies like Pebble offer a challenger mindset. Less tethered to existing platforms, they are free to push boundaries and explore new possibilities. Consider the differences in how newcomers vs. veterans tend to think and act. I studied over 400 workplace scenarios inside corporations, comparing how inexperienced versus experienced professionals approach a particular type of work. My research shows that being a rookie – facing a new problem or a challenge for the first time – can provoke top performance. In knowledge work, rookies often outperform experienced players, particularly in the realm of innovation and speed. Rookies tend to be unencumbered, with no resources to burden them and no track record to limit their thinking or aspirations. Because they face a daunting challenge, a desperation-based learning kicks in, causing them to work both hungry and smart. They reach out seeking guidance and feedback. They operate in lean, agile cycles and learn through experimentation and improvisation. While veteran players are pacing themselves for a marathon—rookies are sprinting. Pebble CEO, Eric Migicovsky exemplifies much of this mentality that I call “rookie smarts.” When venture funding fell short of their need in 2012, he launched a Kickstarter campaign securing a record-breaking [$10-million](http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/features/internet/3471652/top-5-kickstarter-successes/) in crowdfunded cash. Migicovsky quickly ventured out of his native Ontario to scout for talent and build a network of advisors across Silicon Valley. When the company faltered from an early bet on the Blackberry platform, he quickly course-corrected and rebuilt the device to pair with Android and iPhone handsets. Through scrappy, fast, but smart action, Pebble boasts over 400,000 users. Rookies can certainly outperform the incumbents, but they can also flame out fast or fail to marshal the resources needed to sustain victory in the long haul. Newcomers like Pebble have several options: 1. _Find a new game._ Rather than to go head-to-head with the bigger, established players, upstarts like Pebble may be better suited to continue playing the challenger role but in a different corner of the market. 1. _Stay in the race and compete on innovation and speed._ With their small size and agile cycles, start-ups may be able to move faster and build a loyal fan base for their device and platform. But, even if they can out-innovate a proven innovator like Apple, it is only a matter of time before Apple produces a more distinctly wearable device and ubiquity beats out ingenuity. Without a partner to achieve scale, they will likely become another casualty along the path of technology evolution. They will have labored to loosen the lid, and then the veteran player will move in and open the jar. 1. _Play on a larger team._ By partnering with or being acquired by a big infrastructure player, a start-up like Pebble can combine their fast-cycle innovation and rookie smarts with the critical mass of an established company. As the market continues to consolidate around platforms, the final victors are likely to be the established companies who can acquire the upstart leaders and then embed and nurture this rookie thinking inside their own company. With today’s announcement, it is tempting to assume Apple will repeat its winning streak and will dominate not only the e-payment market but also the wearable technology market that allows users even greater ease and visibility to these transactions. But it’s too early in the race to dismiss the challengers. If companies like Pebble are in it for the long haul, they will need to do more than just think like rookies and sprint for 26.2 miles. To win big, they need to draw on the strength of the peloton and pair their capability with the power, savvy, and resources of industry veterans – those who are defining the rules. The challengers may stand ready to change the world, but they will need the help of those who know how this world works. _Liz Wiseman is the author of_ [Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work](http://www.amazon.com/Rookie-Smarts-Learning-Beats-Knowing/dp/006232263X/) _and is a former executive at Oracle Corporation._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3312615/smartwatch-makers-apple-watch-iwatch/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3312615/smartwatch-makers-apple-watch-iwatch/"},"headline":"Three Ways Smartwatch Upstarts Can Survive the Apple-anche","datePublished":"2014-09-10T14:34:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:07.885Z","description":"The little guys who were on their way up the mountain now have to fight for air","url":"https://time.com/3312615/smartwatch-makers-apple-watch-iwatch/","keywords":["Technology","Tech","Apple","Innovation","Pebble","Kickstarter","Tim cook","Apple watch"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438a826d532ec767/6986a28f1eebf701bd3728d5/pebble-apple-watch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Liz Wiseman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/liz-wiseman/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438a826d532ec767/6986a28f1eebf701bd3728d5/pebble-apple-watch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple unveils new gadgets","caption":"Apple unveils new gadgets","creditText":"Oscar Galvan Felez—Getty Images; Monica Davey—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3312615/smartwatch-makers-apple-watch-iwatch/","name":"Three Ways Smartwatch Upstarts Can Survive the Apple-anche"}}]}] ```