Smartwatch pioneer 'Pebble' is revived by its founder, and the release of two models is immediately announced
A new smartwatch using PebbleOS, which Google made open source in 2019, has been announced. It is compatible with over 10,000 Pebble apps and can also be customized by hacking the firmware.
Introducing two new PebbleOS watches!
https://ericmigi.com/blog/introducing-two-new-pebbleos-watches
Pebble is a smartwatch that began development in 2008, earlier than the Apple Watch. It gained popularity, selling over 2 million smartwatches, but mispredicting demand led to financial difficulties, and founder Eric Migicovski sold part of the business to Fitbit in 2016.
The founder of the smartwatch 'Pebble,' which came before the Apple Watch, explains why it failed - GIGAZINE
When Google acquired Fitbit in 2019, Pebble was also owned by Google. In January 2025, Migikovsky, who developed Pebble, asked Google to open source the Pebble OS, and Google readily agreed, so Migikovsky started the Pebble revival project.
Google open-sources the OS of the pioneering smartwatch 'Pebble', former developers launch Pebble revival project - GIGAZINE
On March 18, 2025, the new PebbleOS-equipped smartwatches 'Core 2 Duo' and 'Core Time 2' were announced. Migikovsky said that he focused on the following five points in development:
・Always-on e-paper screen
-Long battery life
-Simple and beautiful design
・Physical buttons
-Hackable
The Core 2 Duo is a model with a vivid 1.26-inch black and white display and a polycarbonate frame, and is scheduled to be released in July 2025 for $ 149 (about 22,000 yen). The resolution is 144x168 pixels and can be operated with four buttons.
In addition, it is equipped with a 6-axis sensor (IMU), compass, and barometer, and can track steps and sleep. It also has a microphone, speaker, backlight, and linear resonant actuator (vibration motor), and can be used for 30 days on a single charge. It is IPX8 waterproof.
The Core Time 2 is a model with a 1.5-inch 64-color display, an aluminum frame, an improved resolution of 200x228 pixels, and touch operation in addition to four buttons. The price is $225 (about 34,000 yen) and is scheduled to be released in December 2025.
The Core Time 2 is equipped with a 6-axis sensor (IMU) and a heart rate sensor, so it can track your heart rate in addition to your steps and sleep. It also has a microphone, speaker, backlight, linear resonant actuator (vibration motor), can be used for 30 days on a single charge, and is IPX8 waterproof, just like the Core 2 Duo.
The company is also developing apps for Android and iOS, but says that they won't be able to implement the same features as the Apple Watch because Apple restricts the functionality of third-party smartwatches on iOS.
The Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2 are available for pre-order now at
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in Hardware, Posted by log1d_ts