The Popular Pebble E-Paper Smartwatch is Making a Return

Eight years after Pebble closed its beloved smartwatch business, the wearable is making a comeback and could soon be back on your wrist.

This revival is thanks to its creator, Google’s team who open-sourced the operating system, and the dedicated Pebble community that maintained its services over the years.

The Smartwatch Born from Kickstarter Fame

If the name doesn’t sound familiar, here’s a refresher: Pebble was a smartwatch brand featuring e-paper displays and a custom operating system, emerging from one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history.

Launched in 2013, the Pebble smartwatch arrived before the Apple Watch and Google’s WearOS, winning over devoted fans with its well-crafted user interface, innovative e-paper display, and the versatility offered by its app store.

Sales Shortfalls and Financial Struggles

Despite selling 2 million units and generating $230 million, Pebble ultimately stumbled. The company fell short of its sales projections and struggled with financial management. In 2016, founder and CEO Eric Migicovsky, who had started the venture with friends in 2008, filed for insolvency and sold the Pebble brand and intellectual property to Fitbit, which was later acquired by Google.

After Pebble shut down, devoted users kept the smartwatches running by creating custom web services to support its cloud-connected apps and functions—a collective effort known as the Rebble project. Thanks to this initiative, Pebble devices have remained functional and cherished by fans long after the company’s closure.

Now, there’s exciting news: Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky, who had connections with those managing the Pebble intellectual property at Google, politely requested they open-source the operating system. A year later, they agreed.

A New Era for Custom Devices

As of today, the Pebble OS codebase is available to the public, with some removed components and other parts needing updates. This development allows anyone, including Migicovsky and the Rebble volunteers, to access and build upon the original OS. Most importantly, it opens the door to the possibility of creating new devices running PebbleOS—and Migicovsky intends to do just that.

In a blog post, Migicovsky explained that no current wearable meets his dream feature list: an always-on e-paper display (like a Kindle), long battery life, a straightforward user interface, physical buttons, and hackable capabilities for custom app development.

“Manufacturing hardware for a product like Pebble is infinitely easier now than 10 years ago,” he wrote. “There are plenty of capable factories, and Bluetooth chips are now cheaper, more powerful, and more energy-efficient.”

New Era for Pebble

Migicovsky and his small, focused team are set to develop a brand-new watch. This upcoming wearable will feature the same specs and functionality as the original Pebble, but with some exciting new additions. It will run open-source PebbleOS and be compatible with all Pebble apps and watch faces. For those who loved the original Pebble, this is the smartwatch to look out for.

I had the opportunity to use a Pebble for a few weeks eight years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. The ability to see notifications and alerts in a scrollable timeline, its easy navigation, and the minimal need for charging made it a pleasure to wear. I’m really excited about this new project and look forward to seeing more Pebbles back in action.

Migicovsky mentioned that it will be some time before a specific launch date for the new Pebble can be shared. In the meantime, the PebbleOS code is available on GitHub, and you can sign up for updates on the project via email on the rePebble site.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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