Today is an unfortunate day for those who were looking to prolong the use of their Pebble smartwatch. The parent company, Fitbit, announced that it will be ending its support for the smartwatch on June 30, 2018.
Last December, Pebble was acquired by Fitbit with all future hardware plans being canceled. Since then, however, there have been questions about the fate of existing Pebble devices on the market. Now, Pebble has pushed an update to the Pebble app on iOS and Android to ensure that existing smartwatches will keep working…
Following several reports over the past few days, both Pebble and Fitbit have officially announced this morning that Fitbit will acquire Pebble’s software assets as the smartwatch maker is dissolved. The acquisition excludes all hardware.
According to a number of sources, Fitbit is on the verge of acquiring smartwatch maker Pebble. The deal comes as both companies are facing declining fortunes in the wearable industry. Notably, this acquisition will reportedly see the Pebble brand phased out.
Apple Watch competitor Pebble has today announced a hefty update to its smartwatch experience. The update, which bumps the company’s Pebble Time smartphone app for iPhone to version 3.6 and the watch firmware to version 3.9, includes a variety of enhancements to Health, Messages, and more.
Pebble smartwatches just got a little smarter, allowing some iPhone owners to reply to text messages directly on the watch – something that has so far been possible only on the Apple Watch.
Pebble is excited to introduce Text Reply for iOS, a beta feature making us the first non-Apple smartwatch to bring voice and text replies to our iPhone users […]
After setting things up, users can respond with a voice reply or pre-defined text to incoming items from the iOS Messages app.
There are, though, a few disclaimers …
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Pebble Time is an interesting smartwatch. This is a bit different from anything else out there in the sense that it’s super low-tech. There’s absolutely nothing flashy about it. As far as smartwatches go, this is as barebones as it gets, but is that bad thing?
Image via <a href="https://twitter.com/mgbnet/status/605505402885672960/photo/1">Martin B. on Twitter</a>
[Update: Pebble says its app for Pebble Time users has been approved and should hit the App Store in 2-3 hours if you can’t see it yet.]
Despite its official release at the end of May, Pebble’s new Pebble Time watch is not yet fully functional for iPhone users, as its required iOS synchronization app is not yet available in the App Store. The Pebble Time Watch application allows users to set up the Pebble Time wearable, install new applications, watch faces, and software updates, but backers who have received the hardware have taken to social media to complain that there’s no iPhone app to use with it. Android users are unaffected as their version of the app is available on Google Play.
Pebble has used its Kickstarter page to pin the delay on Apple’s App Store review process…
Pebble has updated its Kickstarter page, advising that the first batch of Pebble Time smartwatches will begin shipping on 27th May, and that all orders placed through Kickstarter will ship by mid-June.
Great news: the first batch of Pebble Time shipments are scheduled to go out Wednesday, May 27. With things moving along at this rate, we expect all Pebble Time Rewards to be manufactured by the end of the month […] Every backer with a Pebble Time included in their selected reward tier should receive a tracking number from us by mid-June.
Despite raising $20M from the Kickstarter campaign, however, TechCrunch is reporting that the company is having trouble raising additional funding “in order to stay afloat” …
I’m a self-confessed smartwatch skeptic. The first one I ever tried, the original Pebble, struck me as an extremely ugly solution in search of a problem. The Apple Watch, when it was finally announced, looked like a rather attractive (if too thick) solution in search of a problem.
Which raises the question: why was I up at the crack of 8 am (time zones can be useful things on occasion …) to order one? Three reasons …
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Update: Apple tells Business Insider that “apps won’t be denied on the grounds that they work with Pebble.”
With the Apple Watch debuting tomorrow with well over 1,000 WatchKit apps already on the App Store, Apple may now be rejecting app submissions and updates that mention support for the competing Pebble smartwatch. The developer of SeaNav US for iPhone shared on Pebble’s developer discussions forum that a recent update has been rejected by Apple as the app and description “declare support for thePebble Smartwatch.”
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You don’t want to admit it, but you were talked into being an early adopter of Android Wear or Pebble before Apple Watch was even a thing. Now that Apple Watch preorders have kicked off and the Watch is almost in your hands, it’s time to unload your Android Wear watches before people catch on and resale values plummet.
Good news: NextWorth, one of the leaders in mobile device trade-ins, today announced it will begin paying out for your old Android, Samsung, and Pebble watches (and soon Apple Watches too).
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WIRED has posted a new story on the Apple Watch, which revolves around interviews with Apple human interface designer Alan Dye and Apple’s VP Technology Kevin Lynch, who heads Apple Watch software. The piece shines new light on the foundation of the smartwatch project at Apple as well as some new details about the product — which ships later this month.
Amusingly, Lynch did not know what he would be working on when he accepted the Apple job. He walked into the role with the project already underway; early ‘experiments’ from the iPod team with click-wheels and such. Dye says that the idea for a watch blossomed during design meetings for iOS 7, Apple’s major software overhaul.
Update: The image has been removed and replaced with the below image of an actual pebble… Oops?
We told you last week that Pebble is likely about to announce the next-generation of its smartwatch, featuring a thinner design, a color e-paper-like display, and a revamped OS. Now, thanks to an image hosted on Pebble’s own servers, we have a look at a device with a physical appearance matching the device we described. The device looks to have a larger bezel, as well as buttons that are smaller compared to its predecessor.
My next new car probably won’t have CarPlay. I’ve reached this decision in part due to automakers’ slow crawl to put CarPlay in vehicles that you can actually buy today. While 2015 may bring the feature to more vehicles on the road with more than 30 automobile brands committed to ship CarPlay in the future, we’re still not there yet and the roll out is slow.
More influential, though, is my experience using aftermarket CarPlay in my current car for several months convincing me that CarPlay’s features are not yet where they need to be. As I noted in my hands-on review last fall, CarPlay introduces a new set of problems while trying to make using your iPhone in the car safer and easier.
So if CarPlay isn’t ultimately the answer to creating a better iPhone experience on the road, then what is? I’m convinced the Apple Watch will be better suited…
A new Bloomberg report indicates that Sony might be preparing to produce a smartwatch that uses an e-paper display rather than a traditional LCD display. Not only will the display be made of e-paper, the report continues, but the entire wrist band as well. Could such a device take on Apple’s own smartwatch, set for release early next year?
E-paper, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the same low-power “electronic paper” display used in devices like the Kindle. It allows a display to be legible, even in direct sunlight, by reflecting light rather than emitting it like a standard LCD display.
Apple’s payment-enable smartwatch may still be months off, but PayPal is hoping to beat the Cupertino-based tech giant to the punch with watch-based payments at physical retailers. The payment company today debuted its application for the Pebble smartwatch, which allows users to make purchases at supported locations.
Unlike the Apple Watch and its associated payment system, PayPal’s app doesn’t require a connected smartphone to use. It also doesn’t support NFC-based transactions. Instead, it generates a payment code that can be used to check out and charge an order to a user’s account. In some stores users will also be able to check out simply by checking into the store through the app.
Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Last Call updates:
Kensington PowerBolt USB Car Charger w/ 2.1 Amp port for quick iPhone 6/6 Plus charging: $3 shipped (orig. $25)
Blue Microphones Snowball USB mic for Mac/PC $40 shipped (orig. $100)
Garmin brings smart watch capabilities to its Forerunner GPS fitness tracker
iOttie Easy Flex 2 Car/Desk Mount + RapidVOLT dual car charger $20 shipped (orig. $43)
Small States: Owen & Fred send a message and look good doing it, giveaway worth $412, 10% promo code
Other new deals:
More deals still alive:
More iPhone 6/6 Plus deals, accessories, and trade offers:
New products/ongoing promos:
In the face of new competition from Apple, smartwatch maker Pebble has released an update to the device’s firmware that enables all-new activity tracking features for health applications. To accompany this update, new Pebble apps from Jawbone and others that integrate with the health and fitness tracking features.
The app by Misfit will be capable of monitoring sleep and movement using the watch’s built-in sensors, while Jawbone’s “UP” watchface will be able to track similar data and sync back to the Jawbone UP service via a smartphone connection. Perhaps the most interesting application of these new features is the Swim.com application, which can “measure distance, pace, times, strokes, and efficiency while swimming” and later relay the data back to an app on a smartphone.
The new firmware also includes the ability to quickly launch your favorite apps using one of the device’s hardware buttons.
The update is available for the $99 Pebble or $199 Pebble Steel and can be downloaded through the Pebble iOS app.
Pebble Firmware 2.6 Release Notes
- NEW: Activity. Activity tracking apps (e.g. Jawbone, Misfit, Swim.com) for Pebble now work seamlessly in the background. View installed Activity apps and toggle preferences in the Pebble Settings menu. An Activity icon is visible within Pebble menus when a compatible app is installed and running.
- NEW: Quick Launch. Set shortcuts from a watchface to your favorite Pebble apps with a long press of the Up or Down buttons. Enable Quick Launch and set app shortcuts in the Pebble Settings menu.
- Battery icon is now persistent within Pebble menus.
- Select button once again dismisses notifications when paired with an Android device or iOS device on iOS 7 or lower. iOS 8 users get notificaion dismissal for both Pebble and the paired device when pressing Select.
- Bug fixes and improvements.
Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Last Call updates:
Pebble Smart Watch for Apple and Android $100 (Reg. $150), Moto 360 Stone Leather: $250
Samsung 840 Pro 512GB 2.5-inch Solid-State Drive $250 shipped (orig. $500)
Samsung 60-inch 1080p Plasma $700, TCL 50-inch 4K $450, Seiki 39-inch 4K $299, more
iloome readies “the world’s first” curved tempered glass screen protector for iPhone 6/6 Plus
GoPro’s HERO4 shoots 4K video at 30FPS, while the all-new HERO model is its most affordable ever
Small States: Owen & Fred send a message and look good doing it, giveaway worth $412, 10% promo code
Back again: $5 off $20 iPhone 6 accessories at eBay – chargers, cases, car mounts, more http://t.co/UjFncrQYzt
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) September 29, 2014
Other new deals:
More deals still alive:
More iPhone 6/6 Plus deals, accessories, and trade offers:
New products/ongoing promos:
Pebble has launched version 2.5 of its smartwatch firmware, packing a bunch of great new features—including some interesting new abilities for users who have recently upgraded to iOS 8. Notably, the update now allows iOS users to dismiss notifications by clicking the X button to dismiss one, and holding it down to dismiss all. Pebble also says that the app should stay live in the background more often on iOS, but the company says that users should make sure not to disable “Smartwatch Proximity.”
Additionally, the company says that the firmware brings the ability for the Pebble and Pebble Steel smartwatches to display Emoji, replacing the previous small white boxes that are all too familiar across platforms without Emoji support. And to round off the most interesting new features, the company is launching the Compass app that they promised long ago, which can be picked up on the Pebble appstore. I definitely recommend this one; I’ve tried it out and I’m quite impressed with how fluid the app is.
The smartwatch should have improved Bluetooth and notification reliability compared to previous firmware versions, and Pebble says that 2.5 also fixes a plethora of bugs.
Pebble has updated its smartwatch software and iOS app to bring various improvements, including improved Bluetooth LE connectivity and quick notification management. The notification improvements are shown in the brief video clip above. Here are the release notes:
Pebble Firmware 2.3 (Release Notes)
iOS Pebble App 2.2.2 (Release Notes)
The updated Pebble software is available via the Pebble app’s software update function and you can grab the latest Pebble for iOS via the App Store for free.
When you put the word “smart” in front of anything, most people tend to think that it’s going to be some kind of advanced product. Most smartwatches on the market have a display and offer a simplified (or detailed) look at information from your smartphone along with access to third-party apps and services.
CONNECTEDEVICE is the company that’s trying to put the “watch” back in smartwatch. What if your smartwatch was created with the primary purpose of showing the time? Well, that’s exactly what the Cogito Pop does. It offers style and functionality, but don’t expect anything fancy here. The Cogito Pop puts notifications on the back burner, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Previously revealed in December alongside a new SDK for developers, smartwatch maker Pebble is today launching its dedicated app store for the device. The company’s blog post says the store is now live through the Pebble app on iOS and currently offers over 1000 apps and watchfaces:
The appstore features separate areas for apps and watchfaces, with six app categories: Daily, Tools & Utilities, Notifications, Remotes, Fitness, and Games. This makes it easier than ever to find your next favorite app — whether you’re tracking your workout, managing your music, or controlling your thermostat.
Since Pebble is only capable of running eight apps at any one time, the app also features a locker feature that will allow users to store and manage downloaded apps. All content in the store is currently offered for free as Pebble does not yet allow developers to charge for apps or watchfaces.
You can download the updated Pebble Smartwatch app rolling out today for iOS to check out the new app store.
