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I am convinced that there must be Pebble fans on the Android team that keep a Pebble in CI and ensure it keeps working with each new release. Otherwise its cont
by modeless 2y ago
I am convinced that there must be Pebble fans on the Android team that keep a Pebble in CI and ensure it keeps working with each new release. Otherwise its continued extended working lifespan is inexplicable given the amount of churn in Android in general and the Bluetooth stack in particular.
- crossroadsguy 2y agoActually kinda to the contrary BT is extremely back-supporting. It adds/removes features so slow that it’s too boring. That’s why I left my BT expertise at the start of my career and moved to app development (it was a mistake in the hindsight but that’s another story).
- modeless 2y agoSure, it's backwards compatible in theory. In practice I haven't had any device that kept working reliably with zero issues through every Android update and every phone upgrade. Including very important ones like Tesla's phone key. Even Pebble wasn't flawless at the very beginning, but it got good fast and hasn't stopped working since the company went under.
- Moldoteck 2y agoMy speculation is that they used very low level software design to achieve such reliability. This could be harder to maintain but who knows...
- xd1936 2y agoNot as crazy of a theory as you might imagine. Years after death and acquisition after acquisition, a mystery Googler recompiled the long-discontinued Pebble app with the original signing keys so that it would work with new 64-bit app requirements. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/pebble-a-2013-smartwatch-updated-to-work-with-2022-pixel-7/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/pebble-a-2013-smartw...