this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2025
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submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

Google recently open sourced Pebble and today, Repebble has put some of the watches up for preorder.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 12 hours ago

Of all possible names, they're really using "Core 2 Duo"? I feel like anyone who has been following tech long enough would immediately think of the Intel processor when hearing that name.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Is there any company that let's you export your health tracking data in a non proprietary format and doesn't charge you a monthly subscription to use your smartwatch's health tracking features?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Garmin allows you to export data to a csv file. I'm not sure if it's all data because I haven't used it, but I know it's simple.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

That's good to know, I liked the MIP display watches I saw from Garmin, but the only model with that display seems to be their most expensive watch

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I think the forerunner 55 is MIP. It's not a smart watch and it's their base level running watch. I had one before I upgraded to the 265 and I loved it. Off the top of my head, I know it gives you sleep data, heart rate, data, stress level data, a HRV, VO2 max. Max. Maybe some other things. Along with the standard steps and Miles moved or kilometers moved.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Seems like it can be connected to your phone to see notifications and control music using the Garmin app, do I guess it's smart enough for me, that plus health monitoring and long battery life are all I need, and it's more affordable than other smartwatch's as well. Does Garmin charge a monthly subscription to use the health monitoring? And does it allow you to export the health data?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago

No their app is free. You can access via your phone and on the web. Fyi music control on the Garmin is a bit clunky, but it works.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago

The 255 is also MIP and is basically the same as the one I have (265). The 265 swapped out the display for an amoled display.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

If only there was a company out there that did it. Alas...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I still have my circa-2016 email confirming my pledge for the Time 2 Silver, which ultimately got cancelled just before the fulfillment date due to Pebble selling out to Fitbit.

While I loved my original Pebble back then, I would really want something similar to look and function of the T2S so will watch this project in hopes it too is resurrected

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

due to Pebble selling out to Fitbit.

Due to Pebble going bankrupt, and managing to sell its software assets to Fitbit to gain just enough money to refund the kickstarter pledges and pay off it's biggest debts.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Subscriber paywalled. I am so unbelievably sick of these.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wearing a Pebble Time steel right now, and I'm cautiously optimistic for this.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Pebble time 2

Just got this to talk to my phone, gadget wraps carbon and clear screen protector. All I need now is to find out how to change the watch face.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

The app has a nice selection of faces, and you can also make your own (I made a few), though tbh I most use "blue futuristic" on mine

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks, I found them on rebvle but they won't download to my watch.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Does the pebble app show your current watch face as active?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 minutes ago

I don't have the pebble or rebel.io app. I am connected via gadgetbridge.org and the rebel.io site.

No current face is showing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I backed the original pebble on kickstarter and it’s what got me into smart watches. Happy they’re coming back and that they’re open source.

Edit: if I’m remembering correctly wasn’t there some server that the original pebble used that shut done that ended up knee-capping it? Wonder if there’s anything server-side being used here that could do the same.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Pebble still works thanks to the Rebble project. Everything else is free, but the dictation and weather services require a monthly $3 subscription to use as those are the parts that have rather hefty API call costs.

Though the experience is miserable on iOS. That's entirely all thanks to Apple.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What makes it miserable on iOS?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The Pebble app was removed from the App store, so you have to manually sideload it every 7 days.

And:

Here are the things that are harder or impossible for 3rd party smartwatches (ie non Apple Watches) to do on iPhone:

  • There’s no way for a smartwatch to send text messages or iMessages.
  • You can’t reply to notifications or take ‘actions’ like marking something as done.
  • It’s very difficult to enable other iOS apps to work with Pebble. Basically iOS does not have the concept of ‘interprocess communication’(IPC) like on Android. What we did before was publish an SDK that other apps (like Strava) could integrate to make their own BLE connection to Pebble. It was a clunky quasi-solution that other apps didn’t like, because it was hard to test (among other things)
  • If you (accidentally) close our iOS app, then your watch can’t talk to app or internet
  • Impossible for watch to detect if you are using your phone, so your watch will buzz and display a notification even if you are staring at your iPhone
  • You can’t easily side load apps onto an iPhone. That means we have to publish the app on the iPhone appstore. This is a gigantic pain because Apple. Every update comes with the risk that a random app reviewer could make up some BS excuse and block the update.
  • Because of iOS Appstore rules, it would be hard for us to enable 3rd party watchface/app developers to charge for their work (ie we can’t easily make an appstore within our app)
  • Getting a Javascript engine to run in PebbleOS forced us to go through many hoops due to iOS — creating a compiler inside the Pebble iPhone app that in itself needed to be written in (cross-compiled to) JS to work with Apple's restriction on downloadable code can only be JS
  • As a Pebble watch/app developer, using the iOS app as relay to the watch sucks since the "developer mode" terminates every few minutes
    https://ericmigi.com/blog/apple-restricts-pebble-from-being-awesome-with-iphones
[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 hours ago

Oh yeah that is wack. When I used my old pebble I was on android but now I use both with iOS being more for communication. I think it’s easier to get apps into TestFlight. I wonder why they don’t do that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I recently did out my old 401B after the screen fell off my Galaxy Active2. It charged right up and still lasts about a week.

Finding a new band was a PITA because of the weird segmented hinge bit but one person was selling diver bands for it on Amazon (I think it was Amazon)... Really not bad for a watch from a decade ago.

Edit: Yes, you can still use them without the OG servers being up, look up 'Rebble' (rebble.io)

[–] [email protected] 65 points 2 days ago (8 children)

Genuinely considering it as I love e ink, lightweight, long battery life, and open source

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 2 days ago (6 children)

I still can't believe that no one else has made a smart watch with physical buttons and low energy use that has surpassed the pebble after all this time. I'm still cautious that this venture will pan out, but honestly there really hasn't been a smart watch released that matches my use case. Sleep tracking makes no sense if I have to charge the watch daily, as I'd probably charge it over night. Media control with screen buttons is awful. Fossil came close with their hybrid smart watch, but the layout of the media controls made no sense and couldn't easily be used without looking at the watch. Just let me check my calendar and texts and skip through ads in podcasts, and last over a week of battery and you will have my money.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Don't love the closed-in ecosystem but Garmin watches with MIP display do almost all you just said.

  • Touch screen + also Buttons for 100% touch-free interaction
  • Battery life of around 3 to 4 weeks (depending on what you are doing)... more with the Solar models
  • Media control is there, but don't really use that

Podcast ad skipping sadly not a thing.

Price might be an issue though. The top end models with all the whistles come at a smartphone flagship price point.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No NFC !!???? Whyyyyyyyyyy

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Basic payment options would be sick

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Pebble sounds cool but i really dont like square watches(except the retro casios and gshocks) and now its owned by google so thats shit as well.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago

Google dumped the Pebble OS code on GitHub when this whole "rePebble" thing (not Rebble) started. Now there's a new phone app coming out soon (or out now, depending on your platform and abilities) that handles old and new Pebbles and modern phone platforms.

None of this is from Google.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago

...and now its owned by google so thats shit as well.

Google acquired it back in 2021, this move to open source it is a good thing.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 days ago (6 children)

I'm still very confused about why we needed PebbleOS for this. It's been like 10 years and no one could come up with any comparable software? They whipped up the hardware design in a few months.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

To anyone reading - this person is intentionally obtuse.

PebbleOS was sold to Fitbit, Fitbit sold to Google, Google made PebbleOS open source this year. It couldn't have been made before.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 days ago (24 children)

From what I've read from Eric since this relaunch was announced, he just wants a new pebble and so do some of the userbase. This project isn't really intended as a viable, polished product. Rather it's a niche thing made for a Core audience of nerds.

Disclaimer: I'm one of the nerds this is intended for. I instantly pre-ordered a watch because it's a pebble. I7

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago

PebbleOS was awesome, though. Such a well thought out system for end-users, and it already has tons of apps. Developing for it (in C!) is also super easy because it has an amazing SDK.

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