Pebble is back, baby. On Monday, Google (which owns Pebble’s IP via its Fitbit purchase) open-sourced the OG modern smartwatch’s software. Although that paves the road for anyone to make new Pebble-esque wearables (or custom firmware for the old models), one high-profile figure has already raised his hand: Pebble creator Eric Migicovsky.
Google says the open-source PebbleOS includes most of the software’s source code. The only exceptions are proprietary code for chipset and Bluetooth software. Google’s Matthieu Jeanson, Katharine Berry and Liam McLoughlin wrote that developers face “a non-trivial amount of work” in finding replacements for the stripped-out pieces of code. Migicovsky says he spurred the project by asking friends at Google if they would open-source the software.
The Pebble founder, who went on to run Beeper (the iMessage for Android app that sparked a short-lived war with Apple), wrote on his blog that he wants his planned smartwatch to be a modern take on the original Pebble — a spiritual successor that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. “No one makes a smartwatch with the core set of features I want,” he wrote. “I had really, really, really hoped that someone else would come along and build a Pebble replacement. But no one has.”
His wishlist for the as-yet-unnamed product includes an always-on e-paper screen, long battery life, a “simple and beautiful user experience,” physical buttons and hackability (like custom watch faces). Those were indeed the hallmarks of the innovative and charming Pebble, which broke Kickstarter records and preceded Apple, Samsung and Google’s models by several years.
“The new watch we’re building basically has the same specs and features as Pebble, though with some fun new stuff as well,” the Pebble founder wrote, adding that his team still needs to nail down the product’s exact specifications and timeline. “It runs open source PebbleOS, and it’s compatible with all Pebble apps and watchfaces.”
Developers can get Google’s open-sourced Pebble OS on GitHub. And if you’re interested in Migicovsky’s as-yet-unnamed spiritual successor to the 2013 smartwatch, you can sign up for updates on its webpage.
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