More than a decade after its initial launch, the original Pebble app is now re-listed on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. It’s compatible with all models of the Pebble smartwatch, including the new Pebble 2 Duo and Pebble Time 2.<\/p>\n
The concept of a “smartwatch” predates Pebble by at least a decade. Products like the Sony Ericsson MBW-100 offered on-wrist call and text notifications as far back as 2006, and Microsoft’s SPOT wristwatch could pick up personalized news or weather data over FM radio in 2004 (the ads from that time<\/a> are pretty weird, by the way). But Pebble introduced some fresh ideas that define modern smartwatches, such as the ability to install third-party apps. It was also a fantastic platform for hobbyists, it had an amazing weeks-long battery life, and it sold for the bargain-bin price of just $150.<\/p>\n We had a positive experience with the Pebble smartwatch when we reviewed it in 2013<\/a>, about a year after the product’s record-setting Kickstarter campaign. And we’re still having positive experiences<\/a>with this product, largely thanks to the rebble community<\/a> and Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky’s rePebble team<\/a>. These old products still work 13 years after launch, and they should work even better now that the Pebble app has exited beta testing<\/a> on Android and iOS.<\/p>\n Pebble’s revived companion app features 10,000 watchfaces and 2,000 smartwatch applications. It’s not perfect\u2014some of the old watchfaces and applications don’t work anymore (because they were abandoned a decade ago), Timeline apps aren’t working yet, and you can’t sync Pebble health data to the companion at this time. Still, it’s exciting to see Pebble’s glorious return. Products that people bought for $150 a decade ago are still functioning today, and Pebble is selling a pair of new smartwatches<\/a> for new customers who want to get in on the fun.<\/p>\n I should note that Pebble is still owned by Google (the company was bought by Fitbit in 2016, and Google bought Fitbit about 6 years later). But Google is working to open-source all of the old Pebble stuff and recently published the Pebble OS source code<\/a> on GitHub, effectively giving the green light for Pebble’s return.<\/p>\n You can download the Pebble companion app at the Google Play Store<\/a> or Apple App Store<\/a>. I also suggest that you look into Rebble<\/a>, a community-driven Pebble project that cropped up two days after Pebble’s original demise.<\/p>\n