15 ms·

Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

288 points by net01 1y ago

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
joewhale 1y ago
been wearing my apple watch less and less. really miss my old pebble. might pull the trigger on this.
- net01 1y ago
  it looks superb. I love the small bezels and E ink display.
  - duomo 1y ago
    It’s not e ink, just an LCD that they misleadingly market as “e-paper”
    - aidenn0 1y ago
      That helps explain all of the mentions of a "backlight" in the video.
    - 4ggr0 1y ago
      wait, what? i specifically ordered a Pebble 2 Duo because i wanted an e-Ink smartwatch :(
      - yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
        It's kind of a mix. You can update quickly without burning battery on changes, but it needs power to keep displaying things. On the other hand I'm not sure that's a bug on a watch; I don't want it to display the last time before its battery died indefinitely. And it does work in direct sunlight which is great
        latexr 1y ago
        > I don't want it to display the last time before its battery died indefinitely. That seems like an easy fix: Make the software switch to something else (like a “charge me” message) right before turning off for lack of power.
      - zevon 1y ago
        If you have not seen a transreflective color LCD in person, my suggestion would be to search for reviews of the old Pebbles to get a feel for it (or just get one, they can be had for very cheap sometimes). It's very different that the LCD in a phone - and much more readable in sunlight, for example.
- teekert 1y ago
  I'm going ahead when there is general availability. I would not have liked it if I would have missed this design bump while waiting for the older model to still arrive.
  - jkestner 1y ago
    You can change your preorder without losing your place in line.
    - teekert 1y ago
      Thanx! Just placed the order, the video even says: Don't worry about the color, pick it later, which was indeed something I wondered about. Really love this guy and Pebble!
kwanbix 1y ago
Love that they are coming back. I still think Pebble 2 Duo is a dumb name.
h1fra 1y ago
Congrats for actually delivering! The design looks straight out of star-trek or something super cheap, not a huge fan
- RandomBacon 1y ago
  Pebble has a long track record of delivering. As someone who preordered and received a Pebble Time Steel before Pebble was bought by Fitbit, I can attest that their steel watches are very high-quality.
- micromacrofoot 1y ago
  It's a production sample, not the final quality — he mentioned this in the video
avanai 1y ago
Man I loved my Pebble but I’d say the three things I use my Apple Watch for most are: telling time (++), reading notifications (~), and getting Siri to set timers or control my Home Assistant* (—-). Since Apple simply won’t allow 3rd party apps the full api access they need to do everything, I’m stuck with my Apple Watch if I want all the Apple stuff, and I’m too lazy/annoyed to try to switch ecosystems. *via Apple Home via Homebridge
- mavamaarten 1y ago
  Time to cut out the middle man (Apple / homebridge) and speak to HA directly? I didn't check the capabilities of Pebble, but knowing HA, there's probably a way.
  - cyberax 1y ago
    HA now supports MCP ( https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/mcp_server/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/mcp_server/ ), so just connect it directly to one of the assistants.
- peterclary 1y ago
  Fellow Home Assistant/Apple Home user here. You may already be aware, but Apple Home/Siri can talk to Home Assistant directly using https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homekit/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homekit/ which is how I have it set up. You can also have HomeKit devices paired directly with an instance of the HomeKit Bridge, or expose devices in your Apple Home to Home Assistant. Out of interest, what API access are you missing?
- zevon 1y ago
  There is a (relatively recent, for the Pebble-verse) Home Assistant app on Rebble that works with the current Home Assistant version. You can even do voice control and stuff. You can also do timers, reminders, web searches and similar basic assistant things with Bobby - another recent addition to what the Pebbles can do: https://rebble.io/2025/03/24/introducing-bobby-our-new-pebble-assistant.html https://rebble.io/2025/03/24/introducing-bobby-our-new-pebbl...
denismi 1y ago
I've pulled the trigger. When Pebble died I decided that I'd rather less smart and more battery than more smart and less battery, so I got a Withings watch and have been reasonably happy since. But this looks really good now and I'm happy to support it even if it doesn't win over my wrist space. Hopefully they sort out Health Connect support on the Pebble Android app by January so that I can at least sync steps between watches if I'm switching between them.
- poniko 1y ago
  Me as well, I have a drawer of watches and I want to use one but the 1-2 day battery life is just a dealbreaker .. 30 days will probably make me care to put it on again after the charge is done.
  - jama211 1y ago
    I’m always surprised by this, I charge my watch every night when I take it off for bed, I just put it on the magnet snap charger instead of on the wood itself, I’d be taking it off either way. Why is short battery life a deal breaker for people?
    - apparent 1y ago
      Because one of the best things about wearing a smartwatch is that you can use it as a silent (vibrating) alarm that doesn't wake anyone else up. I've heard some people say that newer AWs can last indefinitely if you charge only while in the shower. That could be good enough. But I still don't want to have to bring another charge cable with me every time I take a trip. One week is good. Two weeks is great. A month is amazing (partly because after the battery degrades for years, it will still be two weeks).
      - jama211 1y ago
        That’s a fair use case I suppose, but honestly I find my smart watch a bit chunky to sleep with. I could buy a $20 smart watch or a fit bit off of amazon or something and just wear that as my bed alarm, but I totally get that has its own trade off.
dingi 1y ago
Pebble Time 2 looks awesome. Shame I just bought an Apple Watch not long ago.
- RandomBacon 1y ago
  Did you buy it with a credit card that offers an extended return period? I think my credit card offers a 3 month return period (2 months longer than an average store's 30 day return period).
  - dingi 1y ago
    No, unfortunately there was no such offer.
pnemonic 1y ago
I am so very excited. Feels like Christmas in the 1990s all over again and I'm getting my first PlayStation.
crims0n 1y ago
I want to buy one but told myself I wouldn't until the Pebble 2 Duo shipped, which is presently delayed to late August, early September.
pmlamotte 1y ago
If I wasn't tied to Garmin for the fitness aspect I would be all over this. I really miss my original Pebble.
hyperbolablabla 1y ago
Lack of GPS is the dealbreaker for me. Otherwise this would be an insta purchase -- I bought the Time in 2014, and was hoping for a "smartstrap" with GPS back then, but when it never came I slightly lost interest.
- jadbox 1y ago
  Does it at least have heart rate?
  - Rohansi 1y ago
    It does
- Anonbrit 1y ago
  Just out of interest, what is the benefit of GPS on your watch if you already have it on your phone?
  - nradov 1y ago
    With a GPS (GNSS) receiver on the watch you can get instant position and speed data without having to maintain a stable Bluetooth connection to the phone. Some athletes prefer to record activities on a watch without having to bring a phone. And in certain races, such as most sanctioned triathlons, phones aren't allowed on the course at all.
    - bcraven 1y ago
      Sounds like a use case for a fitness watch, not a Pebble.
      - crispinb 1y ago
        Or to put it another way: a Pebble would cover more uses with a GPS. They're clearly not expensive nor necessarily profligate with battery. My now 5 year old Amazfit bip, which was cheap as chips, still gets 3 weeks of battery life with a daily gps-mapped run.
yobbo 1y ago
It feels to me like the conceptual ancestor of all black-square-display digital watches is the Commodore Watch, which now looks like a timeless classic. Would be cool to see a modern recreation.
micromacrofoot 1y ago
Hell yeah RGBA LED, I love all the little details Eric shares about this whole journey
apparent 1y ago
> We’re planning to release 4 different Pebble Time 2 colourways. These haven’t been finalized yet. No names yet, we still need to pick them! Would be great if we could vote. I am excited that there's a metallic option, but IMO the silver is too light. A dark gunmetal, or even medium-darkness silver, would be better in my book. The silver comes across as a bit flashy (which is perhaps good for the company), and I'd rather something that fades into the background a bit more. The color-accented ones are nice, especially with matching bands. But for my taste (and the ability to wear it in more formal/dressy settings), black or metallic options will win out.
- JaggerJo 1y ago
  I really like the silver. Red and Blue are IMO not needed as you can always add an accent using the band. Probably just makes everything more complicated.
  - apparent 1y ago
    Would you use the silver with a contrasting band, as shown? Or would you try to get a band that roughly matches it? It sounds like the colors don't add much complexity because it's just a polycarbonate piece that's sandwiched between the metal front and back. It does add complexity and and there are surely some fixed costs associated with making these and the matching bands. But it's kind of a neat innovation to have a pop of color on the side, matching the band. I think the red one could actually look nice with a plain black band.
    - JaggerJo 1y ago
      Yea, I’d pair it with a contrasting band. Or maybe with one that adds another accent. True. It might be just me but I think the color makes it look cheap.
bronlund 1y ago
Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time? Eric isn't in this because he want you to have a better watch, he is in this so he can sell you out at the first opportunity. It may not be FitBit or Automattic this time, but that's just what he does.
- _ink_ 1y ago
  Maybe. I still enjoyed my Pebble till it died. I think I will enjoy the new one just as much.
  - bronlund 1y ago
    The first Pebble was kind of cutting edge when it came in 2013 and it looked awesome. This new one looks like an electronic tag and is just a medium priced smartwatch with limited capabilities.
- potatolicious 1y ago
  I'm a bit lost here, and to be fair my memory from that long ago is a bit hazy... but I was a initial Pebble kickstarter and also got whatever the metal one was called. They were totally fine products, I enjoyed using them. I am no longer using them, but such is the nature of consumer gadgetry. I don't recall getting rogered at any point in that process?
  - bronlund 1y ago
    I too was part of the initial Kickstarter and I had both the first and the second version. When FitBit bought Pebble in 2016, some may argue that this was a good thing, the development of the watch and the OS just stopped - it was dead. FitBit had no intention of keeping the Pebble and just wanted to implement the software into it's own ecosystem. Google bought FitBit in 2019 and released the source code for PebbleOS this year - but that is kind of late now, isn't it?
    - platelminto 1y ago
aidenn0 1y ago
My concern with the Pebble Time 2 is the lower contrast that color e-ink has compared to grayscale. I don't know how bad it is in person, but next to the Pebble 2 Duo in the video it looks much worse. If it were B&W I would have bought it immediately.
- colingauvin 1y ago
  They are making a b&w one as well.
  - aidenn0 1y ago
    Which I preordered. However, the case looks a lot nicer on the PT2 than the P2D, and there's no HRM on the P2D.
- FirmwareBurner 1y ago
  >My concern with the Pebble Time 2 is the lower contrast that color e-ink has compared to grayscale That's not eink technology, it's most likely Sharp Memory-in-Pixel (MIP) LCD display, where the difference between BW and color isn't as bad as in eink technology which uses actual pigment particles inside the pixel cells that "cloud" the contrast.
  - Wowfunhappy 1y ago
    My Pebble 2 definitely had better contrast than my Pebble Time Steel. Not sure if that's still the case with modern screens.
    - aidenn0 1y ago
      It looked like there was higher contrast on the posted video, but it's very hard to tell what the magnitude is on camera.
herval 1y ago
I admire this dude a lot. Clearly obsessed about this product/space
maxglute 1y ago
NGL, kind of looks bad compared to blocky P2D. Doesn't feel charming at all, and there's budget Chinese smart watches with smaller bezels.
- bigstrat2003 1y ago
  Yeah, I agree with that. I really like the classic Pebble look and am disappointed that they have gotten away from that for this watch. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to still get a Time 2 (for the increased durability), or switch to a Duo 2 (to get the look I enjoy).
- unclad5968 1y ago
  Yeah, I don't like the rounded corners.
- dontlaugh 1y ago
  Exactly. I was considering it, but not if it’s ugly like this. I don’t even care about colours. If the other one had a heart rate sensor I would’ve ordered it.
criddell 1y ago
I love that it doesn't say Pebble on the bezel! I never wanted one before, but now I do. My only issue is that I have pretty small wrists and this watch would likely be too large for me.
- modeless 1y ago
  I have one on order and can't wait, but I'm also hoping that they are successful enough to justify developing a successor to the smallest smartwatch ever made (to this day, which is wild), the excellent Pebble Time Round. Which, of course, should be named the Second Time 'Round.
  - kiddico 1y ago
    I absolutely agree on that naming convention lol
  - wlesieutre 1y ago
    I ordered one (the screen just fell off my Apple Watch anyway) and if they do another Time Round I'd be tempted to get one of those too. Had a Pebble Time back when those were new and after using Apple Watch for a while I think it's time to try a return to that minimalism.
- RandomBacon 1y ago
  Please Eric, if you are reading this, do not put branding on it where it is visible. We have enough distractions in our lives that we don't need more advertising pushed in our faces, especially for something we already own.
- bjackman 1y ago
  With normal watches, the straps are usually on a standard attachment, they only differ in one dimension (the width of the strap in the axis parallel to your arm) so you just need to find a strap that fits that dimension. Unclear if Pebble 2 follows that standard but would be worth checking. I'm sure you can find a strap that fits your wrist.
numpad0 1y ago
For those confused like I was: - Pebble 2 Duo: $149, B&W, original Pebble look - Pebble Time 2: $225, color, new round square look * both with intended IPX8, 30-day battery, "e-paper" aka gameboy style LCD, suite of sensors, Pebble app compatibility
- steve_adams_86 1y ago
  > new round square look I really like the term "squircle" "The new pebble time 2 sports the chic squircle aesthetic"
  - bowsamic 1y ago
    That sounds way too American
    - steve_adams_86 1y ago
      Haha, I can't think of anything distinctly American about it. A cursory search suggests it's a word coined by an Austrian architect while he was working in Canada.
      - bowsamic 1y ago
        Just the way the word sounds
- mikepurvis 1y ago
  I’m shocked they think they can get such long battery life with a heart rate monitor running all the time.
  - yellingdog 1y ago
    I would expect an extremely infrequent heart rate sample rate at idle. I believe the current-gen watches only sample every 10 minutes unless activity is detected.
  - 1y ago
amirhirsch 1y ago
This is awesome Eric! I'd want to give something like this to my kids, any way to add a tracker?
deanc 1y ago
What is the use-case now in 2025 for an e-ink watch? I have a Garmin Epix pro gen 2 which gets about a month of battery life and has a gorgeous AMOLED, has profiles for pretty much every sport ever invented, incredibly accurate GPS tracking, all day HR-tracking, ECG etc. I understand it's about 4x the price, but there's also lower-end Garmin's that are about 2x the price with the same screen, slightly less features and similar battery life
- zevon 1y ago
  It's not e-ink but a transreflective LCD. As to "why": I'm not interested at all in Garmin's sports and health features and their cloud stuff. Pebbles work well, get out of the way and have a nice, friendly and slightly quirky interface. There are many apps and watchfaces out there. As of the new ones, the OS is open source. Reasons enough for me. ;)
  - JeremyNT 1y ago
    Absolutely. I likely will continue to use my Garmin watch because I rely heavily on the fitness stuff that they do so well, but outside of that the Garmin is "just OK." If you want a fitness tracker that is also a smartwatch the Garmin is a great choice. If you want a smartwatch and don't care about fitness tracking then you're wasting a lot of money on stuff you don't care about with Garmin, for just an OK and extremely locked down device.
  - bornfreddy 1y ago
    What is not e-ink? GP said that Garmin is AMOLED and according to [0] pebbles are e-ink/e-paper. Can you clarify? Otherwise I agree. I would love an opensource fitness watch though, but I understand why this is not (yet?) possible. [0] https://store.repebble.com/ https://store.repebble.com/
    - PlatinumHarp 1y ago
      e-ink is not a synonym of e-paper. Reflective LCDs are a type of e-paper.
officeplant 1y ago
Why do they never show the back of the watch? They are tempting but I'm concerned they went with the usual intrusive heart rate monitor sensor package that jabs into your wrist.
- svl7 1y ago
  It's visible at ca 6:47 in the video.
  - officeplant 1y ago
    Thanks, I went straight to the ordering page hoping for more product photos and didn't watch the video.
- Karawebnetwork 1y ago
  You can see it here: https://youtu.be/pcPzmDePH3E?si=qIbTk_6yaxXE5sIB&t=220 https://youtu.be/pcPzmDePH3E?si=qIbTk_6yaxXE5sIB&t=220
  - pfooti 1y ago
    Yeah it looks pretty similar to the pebble 2 (2016) in that regard. I had an original pebble and a pebble 2, and the heart monitor on the 2 was super uncomfortable, to the point where I mostly just kept wearing my original pebble. I currently have a pixel watch, and the body is fatter but it is also way more smooth of a transition into the hr sensor. I can see myself buying one of these new pebbles, but not the one with the hr sensor. I really just want it for the notifications support.
kevinwang 1y ago
Oooo, that looks a lot better than the initial designs!
tmchu 1y ago
Not sure if this will be answered here. But how is the repair-ability of these new pebble? I have the original pebble time steel and although it still run fine, the battery have degraded a lot without an easy way to replace them. Part of the appeal of traditional watches is that you can open them up yourself and fix them if needed. I don't see why Pebble have go glue everything together and make it so hard to repair.
- modeless 1y ago
  In the podcast Eric said that in the current design the back is fastened with screws and no adhesive. They may end up having to add some adhesive (presumably for water resistance) but hopefully not.
__jonas 1y ago
I wish I could get the specs of the time 2 in the design of the 2 duo, this just looks very generic to me design wise. The 2 duo is at least a little bit fun aesthetically, but I would like a heart rate monitor if I’m gonna be wearing a smart watch.
user_7832 1y ago
(My personal perspective or views below.) To misquote Bernie, I am once again ~~asking~~ requesting for a single watch to have both heart rate/health tracking, as well as compass and barometer in a single watch. I had an Amazfit Bip which, just like a Pebble, also had a transflective screen and between 1 to 2.5 months of battery life. However, it did have a compass along with a barometer, alongside HR/activity/sleep tracking. I was (and still am) sad when my watch broke (screen pops out, known failure mode). Since then I got a basic Band (7), and very recently, the Amazfit Active 2. The latter is amazing on many aspects. Every sensor mentioned above of course, but a few nice add ons like continuous barometer readings for storm warnings, a thermometer, and so on. What it notably does not have, s nither the transflective screen, nor the week to month(s) long battery life. I searched a good bit for transflective watches, and it seems garmin is the only half-decent brand in town, and they appear to paywall nicer features to their expensive products. In the absence of much of a budget, my choice was easy. But I really hope Pebble makes something in a single package that makes my next watch purchase a real dilemma if not an outright purchase :)
- fullstop 1y ago
  > I had an Amazfit Bip I still have mine. The front fell off, but I glued it back on. The battery life is not as good as it was when I got it in 2019, but it still keeps a charge for over three weeks. I keep looking for replacements, but haven't found anything that can match that lifespan while also not being huge. Maybe this Pebble is the ticket.
  - jmcphers 1y ago
    Same, Bip S over here. The battery life is starting to really go downhill, so I checked Amazfit and was sad to discover that they appear to have abandoned transflective watches entirely. :-( I pre-ordered one the cheaper Pebble.
- zevon 1y ago
  I was also initially disappointed by this but if I'm reading the announcement right, both models will now have a compass, at least.
diego_moita 1y ago
I already have 7 Pebbles. Now I'll have 8. There, Eric. Take my money..
cyberax 1y ago
Is there a possibility to add NFC payments, like on Apple/Android devices? Is it even feasible? This is really a killer feature for me. GPS tracking would be nice to track runs, but I can live without it.
- ZeWaka 1y ago
  The technology exists to embed the NFC chips in the bands, but in the US this is limited to certain banks, and from what I know is largely discontinued.
- rvz 1y ago
  Yeah, I would wait a while for the Pebble to gain those sensors. But there is a need for a watch with a color e-ink screen. Until then, I'm sticking with the Apple Watch.
- iAMkenough 1y ago
  The payment processors would be your biggest hurdle.
  - ethersteeds 1y ago
    Yes, features like this are what leads to DRM and locked bootloader requirements. It's a shame.
    - cyberax 1y ago
      Intuitively, segregating the payment processing into its own secure enclave seems to be feasible? As I understand, the "secure" nature of iWatch means that the signature requirement is waived when you pay with it. Regular contactless cards still require you to sign (in the US).
      - ryukafalz 1y ago
        There's secure enclave chips and there's the software you actually run on them, and convincing those who can provide you with tokens to do so with your own hardware/firmware. I'm sure this involves a lot of compliance work and it seems to be "contact sales" pricing all around. Too much for a small project like this! Although this has gotten me looking into what exactly is required to implement mobile payments, and it's given me some clarity. This doc in particular: https://www.uspaymentsforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/EMV-Payment-Tokenization-Primer-Lessons-Learned-FINAL-June-2019.pdf https://www.uspaymentsforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/E... It reads to me like the entity you need an agreement with is a "TSP" (token service provider), and they are at least the sort of organization that you can get a quote from. I don't know if you or the TSP needs an agreement with each bank, but given the relatively slow rollout of Apple Pay support between banks I assume someone somewhere in the chain does. I can't see the actual specifications though, it costs at least $850/yr as an individual to view them. I did find an old FOSS EMV implementation, but I don't know how much of the spec this implements/what compliance work would be required to use something like it in an actual product: https://github.com/JavaCardOS/OpenEMV https://github.com/JavaCardOS/OpenEMV So, thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole. It was somewhat informative at least. :)
ncruces 1y ago
Is the color pixel arrangement still the same as the older pebbles? I was working on a subpixel rendering algorithm for it at the time, but then it was killed, and I shelved it.
- modeless 1y ago
  The screen is the very same one that the Pebble Time 2 was going to use. I'm pretty sure it's the same as the other Pebbles.
neom 1y ago
Looks great! The very first Pebble was actually instrumental in building digitalocean - I met them at MLH hackathon at CalTech and forced one of the founders to sell me a demo unit- all I used it for was notifications on the digitalocean twitter and outages pushed from slack, I tried to reply to every single tweet at us immediately. A little memento of when I hired Mikeal Rogers: https://s.h4x.club/4guEJN95 https://s.h4x.club/4guEJN95 Funny, now in 2025, 10 years later, I'm not a fan of smart watches due to their enabling bad habits, think I'll pick up this pebble and leave notifications turned off this time. :)
- telesilla 1y ago
  Agreed. I'd kill for a watch that you could hold all notifications until you decided to receive them all, ideally at a slow pace over a period of time. For now, I disable notifications but it's a shame I can't access them when I'm ready to do so. I have hopes for this pebble!
  - tills13 1y ago
    I mean that's the killer app for a watch like Pebble that is at it's core open source. > a watch that you could hold all notifications until you decided to receive them all build it. _Even if_ you wouldn't know where to start I think a modern LLM could get you 90% of the way there.
  - bibanez 1y ago
    My Garmin watch on Do Not Disturb accomplishes this. I always forget to look at them though!
    - modeless 1y ago
      PebbleOS has always had a feature called "Quiet Time" which does the same thing as "Do Not Disturb". Hopefully the new app will also respect the phone's native "Do Not Disturb" setting which has a bunch of nice automation features to e.g. turn on during meetings or at night automatically.
    - 1y ago
MortyWaves 1y ago
Having a real https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion moment! Somehow I never knew the word “colorways” existed until a few days ago and now I’m seeing it all over.
gsibble 1y ago
That is one ugly watch.
jmcphers 1y ago
I'm surprised more hasn't been made of the difference in screen resolution between this device and other Pebbles (and even the "new" Pebble 2 Duo). Old watchfaces and apps are not going to render without black borders, and given the niche market and limited run of this new model, it doesn't seem likely to attract much in the way of developer attention, so a healthy marketplace of new faces/apps may not surface. If I could design _my_ dream watch (to borrow Eric's phrase), I'd put a larger version of the black and white MIP display in Time 2's case -- not more pixels, just bigger and easier to read.
- daemonologist 1y ago
  I think they're working with a very limited selection of off-the-shelf MIP displays. (The 2 Duo itself is using new old stock of a custom display manufactured for the Pebble 2.) There is one bright spot, which is that I believe the new Time 2's higher resolution display matches the original Time 2 specification and therefore has been supported by the SDK for years already. There were only a handful of physical prototypes, so no users of course, but some developers probably did build support for it.
- 51Cards 1y ago
  It doesn't really need to surface. This is PebbleOS, so all the faces developed for all of the previous models will also work here. There is already a huge library of faces and I see people still making new ones.
- infotainment 1y ago
  You'd be surprised how many of the old devs are coming out of the woodwork to fix their old watchfaces and apps. It seems like a lot of people who were excited enough about Pebble in the past to develop apps seem to still be excited about it. Plus, it's not particularly difficult to support the bigger screen size in the SDK.
gazpachotron 1y ago
This is terrific to see. I was an original Pebble kickstarter backer and had a tremendous amount of fun developing apps for my Pebble. Also, I saw you present at a Meetup at Evernote's HQ, and the story you told about Pebble's inception was fascinating. Keep up the great work.
Y_Y 1y ago
The word "colorway" just reminds me of a dabacle with a certain browser. Does it mean anything more than "color" or "color scheme"? Do humans use the word in real life? I've never heard it outside of marketing copy.
- delecti 1y ago
  I hear it all the time in reviews or discussions of tech products. I don't think it really means anything other than "color" or "color scheme", it's just a more product focused way of talking about it.
  - ragazzina 1y ago
    >I don't think it really means anything other than "color" I am not a native English speaker, but isn't "color" more ambiguous than "colorway"? If I say "The red color is gorgeous", I could or could not be talking about a product. If I say "The red colorway is gorgeous", I am definitely talking about the color of a product.
    - delecti 1y ago
      That's a good point. Saying you like the red "colorway" would make it clear that you're talking about the overall presentation, rather than commenting only on the red part of the overall product.
    - frosted-flakes 1y ago
      "The red one is gorgeous" would be the idiomatic way of saying that. Adding the word "colour" is redundant. "Colourway" is just marketing-speak that is not common outside of tech reviewers.
      - darrenf 1y ago
        > "Colourway" is just marketing-speak that is not common outside of tech reviewers. This needs a big dose of YMMV, I think. I've heard the term way more outside of tech, especially for footwear and in skateboarding.
lawlessone 1y ago
That backlight might be good for stargazing, could set to red.
christiangenco 1y ago
Preordered! I'm so excited; I had a pebble way back in the day and I remember liking the vibe of it way more than any Apple Watch/fitbit I've owned since. It feels the closest to the watch I would make if I made watches. Where might I find the SDK or developer docs for how to make apps for this thing?
varispeed 1y ago
I love the idea of having it, but as with every watch I ever had, I wear it, put it to charge and then eventually forget it exists. I have a couple of "smart" watches just taking space in the drawer. Probably one I worn the most was just the Casio F-91W. I think the idea of having to charge the watch (means taking it off and not wearing it for a while) breaks the "connection". Then another thing is that I always have a phone with me, so I just reach for it to check what time it is. What would you use this watch for?
- ryukafalz 1y ago
  Checking the time and specific notifications without getting distracted by apps :)
  - varispeed 1y ago
    I only have a handful of apps that I use for business. I stopped adding friends to my socials since 2015, so I don't really get much notifications anyway. I also make sure I am not contactable by work on any other device than my laptop and only during work hours.
- diego_moita 1y ago
  > What would you use this watch for? * Because its battery lasts 30 days you can use as an alarm clock that doesn't wake your wife. Unlike the Apple watch, you don't need to leave it charging overnight and you can configure it to emit light only when you press a button. * Because you're wearing it at night and can control its light you can use it as a flashlight if you need to go to bathroom. * Because its screen is reflexive you can store barcodes from the library and gym cards on the watch and use it to authenticate on those places. * Reading and replying messages while driving, control music from your phone and making phone calls while driving and not getting a ticket for distracted driving. And then there are all the other health related things: heart rate monitor, step counter that you can also use to measure swimming strokes, etc
  - varispeed 1y ago
donkeylazy456 1y ago
I need Pebble Time Sports.
nosrepa 1y ago
Now if only they'd extend their warranty to something longer than 30 days.
eduardojusti 1y ago
250 bucks to ship one to Brazil, yikes. I really wanted to try one, but this pricing plus customs tariffs make it very prohibitive.
9356097198 1y ago
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cyprien_g 1y ago
I remember participating in the crowdfunding for the last Pebble. I was so excited to receive it, and it was great. But a few months later, the company shut down, along with support for their products, and it was hard to swallow. This, combined with the fact that the buttons on my Pebble started to fall apart less than a year later (which is when the lack of support became problematic), made the experience pretty bad in the end. But I’m really excited to see Pebble come back to life, and maybe I’ll be a customer of their watches again in the future.
ceving 1y ago
Where is the official source repository for the OS? Can just find the outdated and non-functional Google repository.
- infotainment 1y ago
  https://github.com/coredevices/PebbleOS https://github.com/coredevices/PebbleOS
fanatic2pope 1y ago
Forgive my ignorance but I am curious if this be a good alternative for an android user who uses a Fitbit primarily for tracking sleep and heart rate and who would love a more open platform? Would something like this be usable as a reliable replacement or is it more targeted at hobbyists? What apps do pebble users use for tracking things like heart rate, sleep and steps?
imiric 1y ago
The screen is underwhelming. I was hoping it would be actual color e-ink, but the viewing angles and contrast on that LCD are horrendous. It looks like a first generation TN panel.

288 points by net01 1y ago

deleted 1y ago

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joewhale 1y ago

been wearing my apple watch less and less. really miss my old pebble. might pull the trigger on this.

net01 1y ago
it looks superb. I love the small bezels and E ink display.
- duomo 1y ago
  It’s not e ink, just an LCD that they misleadingly market as “e-paper”
  - aidenn0 1y ago
    That helps explain all of the mentions of a "backlight" in the video.
  - 4ggr0 1y ago
    wait, what? i specifically ordered a Pebble 2 Duo because i wanted an e-Ink smartwatch :(
    - yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
      It's kind of a mix. You can update quickly without burning battery on changes, but it needs power to keep displaying things. On the other hand I'm not sure that's a bug on a watch; I don't want it to display the last time before its battery died indefinitely. And it does work in direct sunlight which is great
      - latexr 1y ago
        > I don't want it to display the last time before its battery died indefinitely. That seems like an easy fix: Make the software switch to something else (like a “charge me” message) right before turning off for lack of power.
    - zevon 1y ago
      If you have not seen a transreflective color LCD in person, my suggestion would be to search for reviews of the old Pebbles to get a feel for it (or just get one, they can be had for very cheap sometimes). It's very different that the LCD in a phone - and much more readable in sunlight, for example.
teekert 1y ago
I'm going ahead when there is general availability. I would not have liked it if I would have missed this design bump while waiting for the older model to still arrive.
- jkestner 1y ago
  You can change your preorder without losing your place in line.
  - teekert 1y ago
    Thanx! Just placed the order, the video even says: Don't worry about the color, pick it later, which was indeed something I wondered about. Really love this guy and Pebble!

kwanbix 1y ago

Love that they are coming back. I still think Pebble 2 Duo is a dumb name.

h1fra 1y ago

Congrats for actually delivering! The design looks straight out of star-trek or something super cheap, not a huge fan

RandomBacon 1y ago
Pebble has a long track record of delivering. As someone who preordered and received a Pebble Time Steel before Pebble was bought by Fitbit, I can attest that their steel watches are very high-quality.
micromacrofoot 1y ago
It's a production sample, not the final quality — he mentioned this in the video

avanai 1y ago

Man I loved my Pebble but I’d say the three things I use my Apple Watch for most are: telling time (++), reading notifications (~), and getting Siri to set timers or control my Home Assistant* (—-). Since Apple simply won’t allow 3rd party apps the full api access they need to do everything, I’m stuck with my Apple Watch if I want all the Apple stuff, and I’m too lazy/annoyed to try to switch ecosystems. *via Apple Home via Homebridge

mavamaarten 1y ago
Time to cut out the middle man (Apple / homebridge) and speak to HA directly? I didn't check the capabilities of Pebble, but knowing HA, there's probably a way.
- cyberax 1y ago
  HA now supports MCP ( https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/mcp_server/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/mcp_server/ ), so just connect it directly to one of the assistants.
peterclary 1y ago
Fellow Home Assistant/Apple Home user here. You may already be aware, but Apple Home/Siri can talk to Home Assistant directly using https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homekit/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homekit/ which is how I have it set up. You can also have HomeKit devices paired directly with an instance of the HomeKit Bridge, or expose devices in your Apple Home to Home Assistant. Out of interest, what API access are you missing?
zevon 1y ago
There is a (relatively recent, for the Pebble-verse) Home Assistant app on Rebble that works with the current Home Assistant version. You can even do voice control and stuff. You can also do timers, reminders, web searches and similar basic assistant things with Bobby - another recent addition to what the Pebbles can do: https://rebble.io/2025/03/24/introducing-bobby-our-new-pebble-assistant.html https://rebble.io/2025/03/24/introducing-bobby-our-new-pebbl...

denismi 1y ago

I've pulled the trigger. When Pebble died I decided that I'd rather less smart and more battery than more smart and less battery, so I got a Withings watch and have been reasonably happy since. But this looks really good now and I'm happy to support it even if it doesn't win over my wrist space. Hopefully they sort out Health Connect support on the Pebble Android app by January so that I can at least sync steps between watches if I'm switching between them.

poniko 1y ago
Me as well, I have a drawer of watches and I want to use one but the 1-2 day battery life is just a dealbreaker .. 30 days will probably make me care to put it on again after the charge is done.
- jama211 1y ago
  I’m always surprised by this, I charge my watch every night when I take it off for bed, I just put it on the magnet snap charger instead of on the wood itself, I’d be taking it off either way. Why is short battery life a deal breaker for people?
  - apparent 1y ago
    Because one of the best things about wearing a smartwatch is that you can use it as a silent (vibrating) alarm that doesn't wake anyone else up. I've heard some people say that newer AWs can last indefinitely if you charge only while in the shower. That could be good enough. But I still don't want to have to bring another charge cable with me every time I take a trip. One week is good. Two weeks is great. A month is amazing (partly because after the battery degrades for years, it will still be two weeks).
    - jama211 1y ago
      That’s a fair use case I suppose, but honestly I find my smart watch a bit chunky to sleep with. I could buy a $20 smart watch or a fit bit off of amazon or something and just wear that as my bed alarm, but I totally get that has its own trade off.

dingi 1y ago

Pebble Time 2 looks awesome. Shame I just bought an Apple Watch not long ago.

RandomBacon 1y ago
Did you buy it with a credit card that offers an extended return period? I think my credit card offers a 3 month return period (2 months longer than an average store's 30 day return period).
- dingi 1y ago
  No, unfortunately there was no such offer.

pnemonic 1y ago

I am so very excited. Feels like Christmas in the 1990s all over again and I'm getting my first PlayStation.

crims0n 1y ago

I want to buy one but told myself I wouldn't until the Pebble 2 Duo shipped, which is presently delayed to late August, early September.

pmlamotte 1y ago

If I wasn't tied to Garmin for the fitness aspect I would be all over this. I really miss my original Pebble.

hyperbolablabla 1y ago

Lack of GPS is the dealbreaker for me. Otherwise this would be an insta purchase -- I bought the Time in 2014, and was hoping for a "smartstrap" with GPS back then, but when it never came I slightly lost interest.

jadbox 1y ago
Does it at least have heart rate?
- Rohansi 1y ago
  It does
Anonbrit 1y ago
Just out of interest, what is the benefit of GPS on your watch if you already have it on your phone?
- nradov 1y ago
  With a GPS (GNSS) receiver on the watch you can get instant position and speed data without having to maintain a stable Bluetooth connection to the phone. Some athletes prefer to record activities on a watch without having to bring a phone. And in certain races, such as most sanctioned triathlons, phones aren't allowed on the course at all.
  - bcraven 1y ago
    Sounds like a use case for a fitness watch, not a Pebble.
    - crispinb 1y ago
      Or to put it another way: a Pebble would cover more uses with a GPS. They're clearly not expensive nor necessarily profligate with battery. My now 5 year old Amazfit bip, which was cheap as chips, still gets 3 weeks of battery life with a daily gps-mapped run.

yobbo 1y ago

It feels to me like the conceptual ancestor of all black-square-display digital watches is the Commodore Watch, which now looks like a timeless classic. Would be cool to see a modern recreation.

micromacrofoot 1y ago

Hell yeah RGBA LED, I love all the little details Eric shares about this whole journey

apparent 1y ago

> We’re planning to release 4 different Pebble Time 2 colourways. These haven’t been finalized yet. No names yet, we still need to pick them! Would be great if we could vote. I am excited that there's a metallic option, but IMO the silver is too light. A dark gunmetal, or even medium-darkness silver, would be better in my book. The silver comes across as a bit flashy (which is perhaps good for the company), and I'd rather something that fades into the background a bit more. The color-accented ones are nice, especially with matching bands. But for my taste (and the ability to wear it in more formal/dressy settings), black or metallic options will win out.

JaggerJo 1y ago
I really like the silver. Red and Blue are IMO not needed as you can always add an accent using the band. Probably just makes everything more complicated.
- apparent 1y ago
  Would you use the silver with a contrasting band, as shown? Or would you try to get a band that roughly matches it? It sounds like the colors don't add much complexity because it's just a polycarbonate piece that's sandwiched between the metal front and back. It does add complexity and and there are surely some fixed costs associated with making these and the matching bands. But it's kind of a neat innovation to have a pop of color on the side, matching the band. I think the red one could actually look nice with a plain black band.
  - JaggerJo 1y ago
    Yea, I’d pair it with a contrasting band. Or maybe with one that adds another accent. True. It might be just me but I think the color makes it look cheap.

bronlund 1y ago

Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time? Eric isn't in this because he want you to have a better watch, he is in this so he can sell you out at the first opportunity. It may not be FitBit or Automattic this time, but that's just what he does.

_ink_ 1y ago
Maybe. I still enjoyed my Pebble till it died. I think I will enjoy the new one just as much.
- bronlund 1y ago
  The first Pebble was kind of cutting edge when it came in 2013 and it looked awesome. This new one looks like an electronic tag and is just a medium priced smartwatch with limited capabilities.
potatolicious 1y ago
I'm a bit lost here, and to be fair my memory from that long ago is a bit hazy... but I was a initial Pebble kickstarter and also got whatever the metal one was called. They were totally fine products, I enjoyed using them. I am no longer using them, but such is the nature of consumer gadgetry. I don't recall getting rogered at any point in that process?
- bronlund 1y ago
  I too was part of the initial Kickstarter and I had both the first and the second version. When FitBit bought Pebble in 2016, some may argue that this was a good thing, the development of the watch and the OS just stopped - it was dead. FitBit had no intention of keeping the Pebble and just wanted to implement the software into it's own ecosystem. Google bought FitBit in 2019 and released the source code for PebbleOS this year - but that is kind of late now, isn't it?
  - platelminto 1y ago

aidenn0 1y ago

My concern with the Pebble Time 2 is the lower contrast that color e-ink has compared to grayscale. I don't know how bad it is in person, but next to the Pebble 2 Duo in the video it looks much worse. If it were B&W I would have bought it immediately.

colingauvin 1y ago
They are making a b&w one as well.
- aidenn0 1y ago
  Which I preordered. However, the case looks a lot nicer on the PT2 than the P2D, and there's no HRM on the P2D.
FirmwareBurner 1y ago
>My concern with the Pebble Time 2 is the lower contrast that color e-ink has compared to grayscale That's not eink technology, it's most likely Sharp Memory-in-Pixel (MIP) LCD display, where the difference between BW and color isn't as bad as in eink technology which uses actual pigment particles inside the pixel cells that "cloud" the contrast.
- Wowfunhappy 1y ago
  My Pebble 2 definitely had better contrast than my Pebble Time Steel. Not sure if that's still the case with modern screens.
  - aidenn0 1y ago
    It looked like there was higher contrast on the posted video, but it's very hard to tell what the magnitude is on camera.

herval 1y ago

I admire this dude a lot. Clearly obsessed about this product/space

maxglute 1y ago

NGL, kind of looks bad compared to blocky P2D. Doesn't feel charming at all, and there's budget Chinese smart watches with smaller bezels.

bigstrat2003 1y ago
Yeah, I agree with that. I really like the classic Pebble look and am disappointed that they have gotten away from that for this watch. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to still get a Time 2 (for the increased durability), or switch to a Duo 2 (to get the look I enjoy).
unclad5968 1y ago
Yeah, I don't like the rounded corners.
dontlaugh 1y ago
Exactly. I was considering it, but not if it’s ugly like this. I don’t even care about colours. If the other one had a heart rate sensor I would’ve ordered it.

criddell 1y ago

I love that it doesn't say Pebble on the bezel! I never wanted one before, but now I do. My only issue is that I have pretty small wrists and this watch would likely be too large for me.

modeless 1y ago
I have one on order and can't wait, but I'm also hoping that they are successful enough to justify developing a successor to the smallest smartwatch ever made (to this day, which is wild), the excellent Pebble Time Round. Which, of course, should be named the Second Time 'Round.
- kiddico 1y ago
  I absolutely agree on that naming convention lol
- wlesieutre 1y ago
  I ordered one (the screen just fell off my Apple Watch anyway) and if they do another Time Round I'd be tempted to get one of those too. Had a Pebble Time back when those were new and after using Apple Watch for a while I think it's time to try a return to that minimalism.
RandomBacon 1y ago
Please Eric, if you are reading this, do not put branding on it where it is visible. We have enough distractions in our lives that we don't need more advertising pushed in our faces, especially for something we already own.
bjackman 1y ago
With normal watches, the straps are usually on a standard attachment, they only differ in one dimension (the width of the strap in the axis parallel to your arm) so you just need to find a strap that fits that dimension. Unclear if Pebble 2 follows that standard but would be worth checking. I'm sure you can find a strap that fits your wrist.

numpad0 1y ago

For those confused like I was: - Pebble 2 Duo: $149, B&W, original Pebble look - Pebble Time 2: $225, color, new round square look * both with intended IPX8, 30-day battery, "e-paper" aka gameboy style LCD, suite of sensors, Pebble app compatibility

steve_adams_86 1y ago
> new round square look I really like the term "squircle" "The new pebble time 2 sports the chic squircle aesthetic"
- bowsamic 1y ago
  That sounds way too American
  - steve_adams_86 1y ago
    Haha, I can't think of anything distinctly American about it. A cursory search suggests it's a word coined by an Austrian architect while he was working in Canada.
    - bowsamic 1y ago
      Just the way the word sounds
mikepurvis 1y ago
I’m shocked they think they can get such long battery life with a heart rate monitor running all the time.
- yellingdog 1y ago
  I would expect an extremely infrequent heart rate sample rate at idle. I believe the current-gen watches only sample every 10 minutes unless activity is detected.
- 1y ago

amirhirsch 1y ago

This is awesome Eric! I'd want to give something like this to my kids, any way to add a tracker?

deanc 1y ago

What is the use-case now in 2025 for an e-ink watch? I have a Garmin Epix pro gen 2 which gets about a month of battery life and has a gorgeous AMOLED, has profiles for pretty much every sport ever invented, incredibly accurate GPS tracking, all day HR-tracking, ECG etc. I understand it's about 4x the price, but there's also lower-end Garmin's that are about 2x the price with the same screen, slightly less features and similar battery life

zevon 1y ago
It's not e-ink but a transreflective LCD. As to "why": I'm not interested at all in Garmin's sports and health features and their cloud stuff. Pebbles work well, get out of the way and have a nice, friendly and slightly quirky interface. There are many apps and watchfaces out there. As of the new ones, the OS is open source. Reasons enough for me. ;)
- JeremyNT 1y ago
  Absolutely. I likely will continue to use my Garmin watch because I rely heavily on the fitness stuff that they do so well, but outside of that the Garmin is "just OK." If you want a fitness tracker that is also a smartwatch the Garmin is a great choice. If you want a smartwatch and don't care about fitness tracking then you're wasting a lot of money on stuff you don't care about with Garmin, for just an OK and extremely locked down device.
- bornfreddy 1y ago
  What is not e-ink? GP said that Garmin is AMOLED and according to [0] pebbles are e-ink/e-paper. Can you clarify? Otherwise I agree. I would love an opensource fitness watch though, but I understand why this is not (yet?) possible. [0] https://store.repebble.com/ https://store.repebble.com/
  - PlatinumHarp 1y ago
    e-ink is not a synonym of e-paper. Reflective LCDs are a type of e-paper.

officeplant 1y ago

Why do they never show the back of the watch? They are tempting but I'm concerned they went with the usual intrusive heart rate monitor sensor package that jabs into your wrist.

svl7 1y ago
It's visible at ca 6:47 in the video.
- officeplant 1y ago
  Thanks, I went straight to the ordering page hoping for more product photos and didn't watch the video.
Karawebnetwork 1y ago
You can see it here: https://youtu.be/pcPzmDePH3E?si=qIbTk_6yaxXE5sIB&t=220 https://youtu.be/pcPzmDePH3E?si=qIbTk_6yaxXE5sIB&t=220
- pfooti 1y ago
  Yeah it looks pretty similar to the pebble 2 (2016) in that regard. I had an original pebble and a pebble 2, and the heart monitor on the 2 was super uncomfortable, to the point where I mostly just kept wearing my original pebble. I currently have a pixel watch, and the body is fatter but it is also way more smooth of a transition into the hr sensor. I can see myself buying one of these new pebbles, but not the one with the hr sensor. I really just want it for the notifications support.

kevinwang 1y ago

Oooo, that looks a lot better than the initial designs!

tmchu 1y ago

Not sure if this will be answered here. But how is the repair-ability of these new pebble? I have the original pebble time steel and although it still run fine, the battery have degraded a lot without an easy way to replace them. Part of the appeal of traditional watches is that you can open them up yourself and fix them if needed. I don't see why Pebble have go glue everything together and make it so hard to repair.

modeless 1y ago
In the podcast Eric said that in the current design the back is fastened with screws and no adhesive. They may end up having to add some adhesive (presumably for water resistance) but hopefully not.

__jonas 1y ago

I wish I could get the specs of the time 2 in the design of the 2 duo, this just looks very generic to me design wise. The 2 duo is at least a little bit fun aesthetically, but I would like a heart rate monitor if I’m gonna be wearing a smart watch.

user_7832 1y ago

(My personal perspective or views below.) To misquote Bernie, I am once again ~~asking~~ requesting for a single watch to have both heart rate/health tracking, as well as compass and barometer in a single watch. I had an Amazfit Bip which, just like a Pebble, also had a transflective screen and between 1 to 2.5 months of battery life. However, it did have a compass along with a barometer, alongside HR/activity/sleep tracking. I was (and still am) sad when my watch broke (screen pops out, known failure mode). Since then I got a basic Band (7), and very recently, the Amazfit Active 2. The latter is amazing on many aspects. Every sensor mentioned above of course, but a few nice add ons like continuous barometer readings for storm warnings, a thermometer, and so on. What it notably does not have, s nither the transflective screen, nor the week to month(s) long battery life. I searched a good bit for transflective watches, and it seems garmin is the only half-decent brand in town, and they appear to paywall nicer features to their expensive products. In the absence of much of a budget, my choice was easy. But I really hope Pebble makes something in a single package that makes my next watch purchase a real dilemma if not an outright purchase :)

fullstop 1y ago
> I had an Amazfit Bip I still have mine. The front fell off, but I glued it back on. The battery life is not as good as it was when I got it in 2019, but it still keeps a charge for over three weeks. I keep looking for replacements, but haven't found anything that can match that lifespan while also not being huge. Maybe this Pebble is the ticket.
- jmcphers 1y ago
  Same, Bip S over here. The battery life is starting to really go downhill, so I checked Amazfit and was sad to discover that they appear to have abandoned transflective watches entirely. :-( I pre-ordered one the cheaper Pebble.
zevon 1y ago
I was also initially disappointed by this but if I'm reading the announcement right, both models will now have a compass, at least.

diego_moita 1y ago

I already have 7 Pebbles. Now I'll have 8. There, Eric. Take my money..

cyberax 1y ago

Is there a possibility to add NFC payments, like on Apple/Android devices? Is it even feasible? This is really a killer feature for me. GPS tracking would be nice to track runs, but I can live without it.

ZeWaka 1y ago
The technology exists to embed the NFC chips in the bands, but in the US this is limited to certain banks, and from what I know is largely discontinued.
rvz 1y ago
Yeah, I would wait a while for the Pebble to gain those sensors. But there is a need for a watch with a color e-ink screen. Until then, I'm sticking with the Apple Watch.
iAMkenough 1y ago
The payment processors would be your biggest hurdle.
- ethersteeds 1y ago
  Yes, features like this are what leads to DRM and locked bootloader requirements. It's a shame.
  - cyberax 1y ago
    Intuitively, segregating the payment processing into its own secure enclave seems to be feasible? As I understand, the "secure" nature of iWatch means that the signature requirement is waived when you pay with it. Regular contactless cards still require you to sign (in the US).
    - ryukafalz 1y ago
      There's secure enclave chips and there's the software you actually run on them, and convincing those who can provide you with tokens to do so with your own hardware/firmware. I'm sure this involves a lot of compliance work and it seems to be "contact sales" pricing all around. Too much for a small project like this! Although this has gotten me looking into what exactly is required to implement mobile payments, and it's given me some clarity. This doc in particular: https://www.uspaymentsforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/EMV-Payment-Tokenization-Primer-Lessons-Learned-FINAL-June-2019.pdf https://www.uspaymentsforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/E... It reads to me like the entity you need an agreement with is a "TSP" (token service provider), and they are at least the sort of organization that you can get a quote from. I don't know if you or the TSP needs an agreement with each bank, but given the relatively slow rollout of Apple Pay support between banks I assume someone somewhere in the chain does. I can't see the actual specifications though, it costs at least $850/yr as an individual to view them. I did find an old FOSS EMV implementation, but I don't know how much of the spec this implements/what compliance work would be required to use something like it in an actual product: https://github.com/JavaCardOS/OpenEMV https://github.com/JavaCardOS/OpenEMV So, thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole. It was somewhat informative at least. :)

ncruces 1y ago

Is the color pixel arrangement still the same as the older pebbles? I was working on a subpixel rendering algorithm for it at the time, but then it was killed, and I shelved it.

modeless 1y ago
The screen is the very same one that the Pebble Time 2 was going to use. I'm pretty sure it's the same as the other Pebbles.

neom 1y ago

Looks great! The very first Pebble was actually instrumental in building digitalocean - I met them at MLH hackathon at CalTech and forced one of the founders to sell me a demo unit- all I used it for was notifications on the digitalocean twitter and outages pushed from slack, I tried to reply to every single tweet at us immediately. A little memento of when I hired Mikeal Rogers: https://s.h4x.club/4guEJN95 https://s.h4x.club/4guEJN95 Funny, now in 2025, 10 years later, I'm not a fan of smart watches due to their enabling bad habits, think I'll pick up this pebble and leave notifications turned off this time. :)

telesilla 1y ago
Agreed. I'd kill for a watch that you could hold all notifications until you decided to receive them all, ideally at a slow pace over a period of time. For now, I disable notifications but it's a shame I can't access them when I'm ready to do so. I have hopes for this pebble!
- tills13 1y ago
  I mean that's the killer app for a watch like Pebble that is at it's core open source. > a watch that you could hold all notifications until you decided to receive them all build it. _Even if_ you wouldn't know where to start I think a modern LLM could get you 90% of the way there.
- bibanez 1y ago
  My Garmin watch on Do Not Disturb accomplishes this. I always forget to look at them though!
  - modeless 1y ago
    PebbleOS has always had a feature called "Quiet Time" which does the same thing as "Do Not Disturb". Hopefully the new app will also respect the phone's native "Do Not Disturb" setting which has a bunch of nice automation features to e.g. turn on during meetings or at night automatically.
  - 1y ago

MortyWaves 1y ago

Having a real https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion moment! Somehow I never knew the word “colorways” existed until a few days ago and now I’m seeing it all over.

gsibble 1y ago

That is one ugly watch.

jmcphers 1y ago

I'm surprised more hasn't been made of the difference in screen resolution between this device and other Pebbles (and even the "new" Pebble 2 Duo). Old watchfaces and apps are not going to render without black borders, and given the niche market and limited run of this new model, it doesn't seem likely to attract much in the way of developer attention, so a healthy marketplace of new faces/apps may not surface. If I could design _my_ dream watch (to borrow Eric's phrase), I'd put a larger version of the black and white MIP display in Time 2's case -- not more pixels, just bigger and easier to read.

daemonologist 1y ago
I think they're working with a very limited selection of off-the-shelf MIP displays. (The 2 Duo itself is using new old stock of a custom display manufactured for the Pebble 2.) There is one bright spot, which is that I believe the new Time 2's higher resolution display matches the original Time 2 specification and therefore has been supported by the SDK for years already. There were only a handful of physical prototypes, so no users of course, but some developers probably did build support for it.
51Cards 1y ago
It doesn't really need to surface. This is PebbleOS, so all the faces developed for all of the previous models will also work here. There is already a huge library of faces and I see people still making new ones.
infotainment 1y ago
You'd be surprised how many of the old devs are coming out of the woodwork to fix their old watchfaces and apps. It seems like a lot of people who were excited enough about Pebble in the past to develop apps seem to still be excited about it. Plus, it's not particularly difficult to support the bigger screen size in the SDK.

gazpachotron 1y ago

This is terrific to see. I was an original Pebble kickstarter backer and had a tremendous amount of fun developing apps for my Pebble. Also, I saw you present at a Meetup at Evernote's HQ, and the story you told about Pebble's inception was fascinating. Keep up the great work.

Y_Y 1y ago

The word "colorway" just reminds me of a dabacle with a certain browser. Does it mean anything more than "color" or "color scheme"? Do humans use the word in real life? I've never heard it outside of marketing copy.

delecti 1y ago
I hear it all the time in reviews or discussions of tech products. I don't think it really means anything other than "color" or "color scheme", it's just a more product focused way of talking about it.
- ragazzina 1y ago
  >I don't think it really means anything other than "color" I am not a native English speaker, but isn't "color" more ambiguous than "colorway"? If I say "The red color is gorgeous", I could or could not be talking about a product. If I say "The red colorway is gorgeous", I am definitely talking about the color of a product.
  - delecti 1y ago
    That's a good point. Saying you like the red "colorway" would make it clear that you're talking about the overall presentation, rather than commenting only on the red part of the overall product.
  - frosted-flakes 1y ago
    "The red one is gorgeous" would be the idiomatic way of saying that. Adding the word "colour" is redundant. "Colourway" is just marketing-speak that is not common outside of tech reviewers.
    - darrenf 1y ago
      > "Colourway" is just marketing-speak that is not common outside of tech reviewers. This needs a big dose of YMMV, I think. I've heard the term way more outside of tech, especially for footwear and in skateboarding.

lawlessone 1y ago

That backlight might be good for stargazing, could set to red.

christiangenco 1y ago

Preordered! I'm so excited; I had a pebble way back in the day and I remember liking the vibe of it way more than any Apple Watch/fitbit I've owned since. It feels the closest to the watch I would make if I made watches. Where might I find the SDK or developer docs for how to make apps for this thing?

varispeed 1y ago

I love the idea of having it, but as with every watch I ever had, I wear it, put it to charge and then eventually forget it exists. I have a couple of "smart" watches just taking space in the drawer. Probably one I worn the most was just the Casio F-91W. I think the idea of having to charge the watch (means taking it off and not wearing it for a while) breaks the "connection". Then another thing is that I always have a phone with me, so I just reach for it to check what time it is. What would you use this watch for?

ryukafalz 1y ago
Checking the time and specific notifications without getting distracted by apps :)
- varispeed 1y ago
  I only have a handful of apps that I use for business. I stopped adding friends to my socials since 2015, so I don't really get much notifications anyway. I also make sure I am not contactable by work on any other device than my laptop and only during work hours.
diego_moita 1y ago
> What would you use this watch for? * Because its battery lasts 30 days you can use as an alarm clock that doesn't wake your wife. Unlike the Apple watch, you don't need to leave it charging overnight and you can configure it to emit light only when you press a button. * Because you're wearing it at night and can control its light you can use it as a flashlight if you need to go to bathroom. * Because its screen is reflexive you can store barcodes from the library and gym cards on the watch and use it to authenticate on those places. * Reading and replying messages while driving, control music from your phone and making phone calls while driving and not getting a ticket for distracted driving. And then there are all the other health related things: heart rate monitor, step counter that you can also use to measure swimming strokes, etc
- varispeed 1y ago

donkeylazy456 1y ago

I need Pebble Time Sports.

nosrepa 1y ago

Now if only they'd extend their warranty to something longer than 30 days.

eduardojusti 1y ago

250 bucks to ship one to Brazil, yikes. I really wanted to try one, but this pricing plus customs tariffs make it very prohibitive.

9356097198 1y ago

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cyprien_g 1y ago

I remember participating in the crowdfunding for the last Pebble. I was so excited to receive it, and it was great. But a few months later, the company shut down, along with support for their products, and it was hard to swallow. This, combined with the fact that the buttons on my Pebble started to fall apart less than a year later (which is when the lack of support became problematic), made the experience pretty bad in the end. But I’m really excited to see Pebble come back to life, and maybe I’ll be a customer of their watches again in the future.

ceving 1y ago

Where is the official source repository for the OS? Can just find the outdated and non-functional Google repository.

infotainment 1y ago
https://github.com/coredevices/PebbleOS https://github.com/coredevices/PebbleOS

fanatic2pope 1y ago

Forgive my ignorance but I am curious if this be a good alternative for an android user who uses a Fitbit primarily for tracking sleep and heart rate and who would love a more open platform? Would something like this be usable as a reliable replacement or is it more targeted at hobbyists? What apps do pebble users use for tracking things like heart rate, sleep and steps?

imiric 1y ago

The screen is underwhelming. I was hoping it would be actual color e-ink, but the viewing angles and contrast on that LCD are horrendous. It looks like a first generation TN panel.