Pebble smartwatch founder is launching a smaller-scale, open source reboot
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They still sell the Forerunner 255 (colour MIP display, $349)and Instinct 2 / Instinct E(B&W MIP, $299). Not as cheap as the OG Pebble though, even with accounting for inflation.
Edit: ninja'd by Atpaw, and with a cheaper suggestion to boot!
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And lied to his Pebble employees that he wouldn't sell Pebble unless their jobs were secured.
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if someone can create a smart-watch that looks great in bright sunshine and indoors, and the battery lasts 24+ hours, I'd be down for that, even if the functionality was less extensive than an Apple watch. Fingers crossed for this effort.
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I miss my peeble. The one with blood pulse reader. Use regularly while biking. Unfortunately it's rubber button get crumbed after 2 years, make it unusable forever.
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Super excited about this. I loved my Pebble Steel and would still be wearing it to this day if I could get it repaired (the buttons stopped functioning properly after a few years). Classy and understated, with a long battery life. All I need a smartwatch for (aside from telling the time) is notifications and bluetooth media controls for my smartphone; anything else is not worth the battery life tradeoff. I haven't been able to find anything else comparable to my old black and white Pebble Steel. Some more robust buttons, better backlighting, and yes a more generous screen-to-bezel ratio, and I'll be on this in a heaetbeat.
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I agree it was silly to try to charge $2/mth for Beeper Mini alone.
However, I think it really comes down to one’s view of whether Apple’s ‘walled garden’ approach on iMessage specifically is a net positive for society (particularly in the USA where over 50% of smartphone users are estimated to be iPhones)?
I guess I am less sympathetic with a company which decided not to go cross-platform on a service which likely costs them somewhere around $1 er year per user (see Signal’s cost to user ratio for comparison) because they want to strongly move people to their $400-$1600 phones for it - as Craig Federighi himself put it when iMessage on Android was raised: "I'm concerned iMessage on Android would simply serve to remove [an] obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones."
(I can see the security benefits in some of Apple’s approach, but that argument apparently is not relevant for iMessages.)
It’s be another matter if iMessages for Android was indeed made available for the $1 or $2 Apple would likely need to charge, but that is not the case.
The iPhone 13 mini appeals to me for what it is, not the walled garden, but it is clear this approach heavily impacts people’s decisions too.
Again, not that I expected it to go anywhere. Plus, it never really affected me… iMessage is hardly used in my country.
(I reluctantly use WhatsApp, preferred when it was a clear $1 / year. Would love to switch to Signal, save that I would be the only user I know…)
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I loved Pebble. It just told me what my phone just did, that's all. It was perfect. Too perfect for a world such as this. I'm all in on new Pebble.
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I enjoyed my Pebble, a decade ago, but these were cheap plastic watches. The screen on mine failed, after the band disintegrated. Then the company imploded immediately after shipping the Pebble 2.
I don’t see how this is supposed to work out any differently this time around.
I don’t see how this is supposed to work out any differently this time around.
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My Pebble Time is coming up to 10 years old and is still my daily watch. Battery still lasts 8 days which is incredible for its age. It does notifications, steps, and with a TP app, my 2FA codes. When I need a more formal looking watch, I have a Pebble Time Round which takes seconds to swap over in the Rebble app. And hats off to Rebble for keeping it running smoothly and fault free through all iterations of Android right up to the current version! I'm not interested in endless fitness and health features, and I don't really want to interact with a watch - just a quick glance to see if what just rolled in really needs my attention. I'll definitely be getting a new one.
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Despite achieving significant success, this company demonstrated a lack of strategic thinking and failed to adapt to changing market dynamics. Instead, it resorted to crowdfunding initiatives, which are often associated with short-term projects and limited long-term prospects.
This lack of confidence is concerning for investors and stakeholders alike.
This lack of confidence is concerning for investors and stakeholders alike.
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I've been a long-time fan of the World Tides app on Garmins (paid app in Connect IQ). Gives a wavy line, times and heights, and has been good enough for beach-bumming for years.
Of course today I get my 955 into a boot loop with the current beta, but that's a me thing, cursing stability by thinking "the betas have been pretty good lately". Edit: Not only the beta, apparently, more widespread than that. Fun fun!
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Bangle.js 2 enthusiast here. Display is always on, battery lasts ages between charges. Open source and some Pebble-like watch faces and functions. It’s quite basic compared with many other modern smartwatches but I love it!
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I was a backer of the original Pebble campaign. It... was a curious device. It had something going for it. Novelty, at the time, at least. Great battery life, too.
But, the low-resolution e-ink screen combined with a very slow refresh rate (I'm sure there are better components available now) made it feel very much like a pre-alpha product (which, arguably, it was). And the plastic screen was very prone to scratches. No regrets contributing to the campaign though, I still got my device, which is more than can be said of many crowdfunding projects.
But seeing as I almost exclusively use my current smartwatch only for notifications (to keep the phone quiet at all times, it's bliss), time, timer, and occasionally to locate my phone, I could see myself going back, especially if the battery life remains as impeccable. Why thank you Samsung Health, but I don't need to be reminded that I should get up and take a walk. I will do so when I feel like it. You're not my mom!
But, the low-resolution e-ink screen combined with a very slow refresh rate (I'm sure there are better components available now) made it feel very much like a pre-alpha product (which, arguably, it was). And the plastic screen was very prone to scratches. No regrets contributing to the campaign though, I still got my device, which is more than can be said of many crowdfunding projects.
But seeing as I almost exclusively use my current smartwatch only for notifications (to keep the phone quiet at all times, it's bliss), time, timer, and occasionally to locate my phone, I could see myself going back, especially if the battery life remains as impeccable. Why thank you Samsung Health, but I don't need to be reminded that I should get up and take a walk. I will do so when I feel like it. You're not my mom!
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I miss my Pebble Steel. It was such a great watch and I still despise Fitbit for killing off Pebble. I am hoping they make a comeback and they can count me in as a buyer.
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I think you're misremembering. It had a low power LCD screen, not e-ink, which meant that its refresh rate was not slow.
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Hmm, I stand corrected. "Transreflective LCD" it was called, apparently. Maybe the refresh rate was not so bad and I'm confusing with it with an ancient Kindle.
The point about scratches remains though. It didn't last long with my "not always so active, but occasionally very drunk" lifestyle.
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Scratches is a decent problem for a watch company to solve in a gen2: It's something that's simple to fix with money, but that a lot of people can live without the fix for (see many of the Timex, Casio, etc. watches that scratch just as easily...) while the company uses the gen1 to make the money.
My latter-gen Pebble that I still wear every day isn't scratched, and I'm one to scratch up watches a fair amount.
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That's fair, but this time they were (mostly) helpful. They ended up owning Pebble (via FitBit), and they could have just sat on the IP and never used it, but instead they've released the source code for the Pebble OS, minus a few bits they almost certainly don't have the rights to (eg Bluetooth stack).
If we're being cynical, they probably hope that the (small) reputational benefit, is worth the time it took them to publish the source (and all the lawyers and meetings it probably took).
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Citizen Eco-Drive for me. No smart anything on it, just a classic face that I have to adjust twice a year due to DST.
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I'm not a watch wearer and I find smart watches ostentatious but I found the Pebble a neat use of the technology. Would consider checking it out but will withhold judgement until the product actually materializes.
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There's just no meaningful reason for a new Pebble to exist in today's market. Sorry, but there just isn't. Yes, there is a suuuuper niche audience just because they want to have something different, but it's not enough to sustain itself. It would be foolish to relaunch
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There are a lot of such things on the market, though not as refined as products like Apple Watch.
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You basically just described the Garmin Instinct. Battery lasts for 30 days. Display is about the same as the Pebble's. Operated via hardware buttons. Not sure how well it fits on most women's wrists but my wife prefers her Instinct to her Apple Watch. I've never gotten a scratch on the screen, but there's cheap screen protectors if you're concerned about it. I have a protector on mine and most of the time I can't tell that its there.
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My son (22) wears a Pebble. He actually preferred it to the other devices today. It's a challenge to keep the old hardware running (battery swap, cleaning contacts, etc), but it's still chugging along with all of his personalized hacks.
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The E-ink displays have gotten a lot better since Pebble's heyday, with much better contrast and now full color:
They're used now for slowly-changing posters in stores. You could still get the killer battery life and visibility in sunlight, but with much more attractive dial faces.
They're used now for slowly-changing posters in stores. You could still get the killer battery life and visibility in sunlight, but with much more attractive dial faces.
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I understand principles. I even have some myself. But intentionally snubbing the Apple ecosystem seems like a poor fiscal choice.
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I loved my Pebble watch! I aways called it my smart-enough watch, since it only did those few things I needed and nothing else.
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The Eco-Drives still have batteries that need replacing eventually. I think mine made it almost 10 years before it stopped working. Been meaning to send it in to have the battery replaced, but I don't think I'd wear it much again. I only wear my Garmin Descent G1 now and love it.
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I ended up with an OG Pebble after a coworker received his but no longer wanted it. I loved it, as the battery life was a key selling point for me. After the spot where the band attached broke, I was sad that I could no longer use it. This was right around the time all the Pebble services were shutting down, so I didn't try too hard to keep using the watch.
After a period of not having a smartwatch I picked up a Garmin Vivoactive 3, due to its long battery life (about a week). After having it for about 5 years, the battery life suddenly started to dip, and I was only getting about 18 hours between charges -- which is about standard for a lot of other watches. I can't imagine how those other watches function once their battery life starts to degrade. I guess they just expect you to throw it away and buy a new one.
I ended up replacing it with a Venu 3 a couple weeks before the Vivoactive 5 was released. A year and change after my purchase, I'm still pretty pleased with the nearly 10 days of battery life I get out of the watch. I just top it up for a few minutes when I'm in the shower and it stays at around 50-70% battery most of the time which should be good for its longevity.
After a period of not having a smartwatch I picked up a Garmin Vivoactive 3, due to its long battery life (about a week). After having it for about 5 years, the battery life suddenly started to dip, and I was only getting about 18 hours between charges -- which is about standard for a lot of other watches. I can't imagine how those other watches function once their battery life starts to degrade. I guess they just expect you to throw it away and buy a new one.
I ended up replacing it with a Venu 3 a couple weeks before the Vivoactive 5 was released. A year and change after my purchase, I'm still pretty pleased with the nearly 10 days of battery life I get out of the watch. I just top it up for a few minutes when I'm in the shower and it stays at around 50-70% battery most of the time which should be good for its longevity.
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Would be interested if it was just a watch. I like the design but not all the bells and whistles.
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Yeah, I was going to post about the Amazfit watches also. They already deliver on everything that is being proposed for the new Pebble, other than the always-on e-paper screen. My BIP-U (yeah, their names are pretty dumb) easily goes 5 -7 days without a recharge, has a library of apps pre-installed, and changeable watch faces.You know such watches sort of still exist. 2 years ago I had an Amazit Bip S ($70 USD) that had 30-40 days a battery life in my experience of real life usage. Sure it looked like a 1990s dull VGA monitor, but it has GPS, message/app notifications(just very limited/no ability to respond to notifications). timers and stopwatch capabilities. If you only need to track a jog and be aware that someone messaged you, to works for that.
It seems there is a more current model with over 30 day real world battery life (eg Amazfit GTR3) as well just that they are similarly limited in their ability to respond to the phone (for some that might be a dealbreaker)
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They do, eventually. I know a couple people going on 15 years on the original battery. One battery every 10-15 years is OK with me. Local dealer can replace the battery, assuming they are still around when the time comes.
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You are describing my Casio G-Shock. Its 20 years old and still working. Solar charging, and auto time setting via WWV.
I rarely ever take it off.
I think a similar model is still on the market.
This is the standard that new electronic watches should be held to.
Then work on adding smart features within the power budget they can provide.
Unfortunately most manufacturers don't want to make a product that lasts for 20 years.
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I like my muhle glashutte's and grand seiko's, but basic easy digital functionality like setting a 3 minute timer and finding my phone that I set down somewhere means I wear a smart watch for most occasions.
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Yes please!
Had an OG Pebble until 2020 when it got lost on vacation before the pandemic.
I just want battery life, notifications, custom watch faces.
Had an OG Pebble until 2020 when it got lost on vacation before the pandemic.
I just want battery life, notifications, custom watch faces.
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I find Apple Pay to be one of the more useful features of the watch, less time fumbling with the phone. As for the digital crown, I found that I used to trigger the button press when pressing my wrist, so I flipped it and started using the reverse crown. I find it much easier to scroll with my thumb, though activating Apple Pay requires a larger pinch, I've gotten used to it.
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I've still got my old OG Pebble. It sits in a project box on a shelf and I haven't worn it in a decade, but I still occasionally get it out, charge it up and tinker with it to see how the modern Pebble ecosystem functions. (Verdict: Not great. It's way too fiddly and the OG Pebble still very much has issues with its comms dropping and not reconnecting if the phone it's paired to gets too far away.)
If this project gets the ecosystem going again and working at least as well as it did in 2014, I'm all for it. (My OG Pebble needs a new band, but if memory serves any standard 22mm band will do just fine.) If they pull that off, I'll absolutely buy a new watch.
If this project gets the ecosystem going again and working at least as well as it did in 2014, I'm all for it. (My OG Pebble needs a new band, but if memory serves any standard 22mm band will do just fine.) If they pull that off, I'll absolutely buy a new watch.
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AlicePlaysWithRockets
Smack-Fu Master, in training
I lovingly remember my OG Pebble. It was ahead of its time, had enough features to be useful, and lasted a week+. Buying an Apple Watch 3 was a downgrade for the things that mattered to me (always on display, simple notifications, long battery life). Don't think I would switch back as my needs and expectations have changed over the years and I'm pretty deep in the Apple Ecosystem now. Still nice to see them coming back. If they can keep the price low, it might even be competitive!
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