- Google made the PebbleOS source code available for download in January
- Founder Eric Migicovsky has wasted no time getting PebbleOS running on new hardware
- He teased progress and promised fans it would be “a Pebble and almost exactly as you remember it”
Just days after Google confirmed that it was making PebbleOS open source, founder of the iconic smartwatch brand Eric Migicovsky has already got it running on new hardware, and has revealed the progress he’s made on launching a new Pebble smartwatch.
Before the best Apple Watch models flooded the market, Pebble was a Kickstarter smartwatch project with a cult following that attracted some $10 million in backing. Its devices could be connected to both Android and iOS smartphones, and display notifications and messages on an e-paper display.
The company folded in 2016, and its intellectual property was bought up by Fitbit for a paltry $23 million, ending up in the filing cabinets at Google when it took over the popular fitness tracker maker.
Migicovsky announced he was bringing Pebble back as soon as Google open-sourced the PebbleOS code, now he’s moving at lightning pace to get hardware out into the world.
PebbleOS in the wild
“We’ve already got PebbleOS compiling and running on real hardware,” Migicovsky announced in a blog post. He also confirmed that he’s targeting a new chipset, and open-sourcing all of its updates. In fact, he’s flying to Shenzhen imminently to meet with factories and suppliers, gearing up for a hardware launch.
He confirmed a “small group of folks” are helping him with the project, including other Pebble alumni such as Steve Penna.
So what can the Pebble faithful expect from the new device? “Please don’t get your hopes up that the new watch will have X/Y/Z new feature,” he warned. “It’s going to be a Pebble and almost exactly as you remember it, except now with open source software that can you can modify and improve yourself. More hardware details will be shared in the future.”
As previously noted, Migicovsky has committed to many resurrecting many of the design tenets that made Pebble popular: an always-on e-paper display, long battery life, buttons, a simple user experience, and hackability.
We weren’t sure just how serious Migicovsky was, but this latest development proves he isn’t messing around.
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