Pebble: the pioneer of smartwatches announces its comeback (with the help of Google)

© oatjo/Shutterstock.com

Do you still remember Pebble ? Often considered a pioneer of smartwatches, this brand raised more than $10 million in 2012, via a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. And during its existence, the company sold a total of 2 million smartwatches. But, in 2016, when it was in difficulty, Pebble was sold to its competitor Fitbit, which was then sold to Google.

But the good news is that Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble, has just announced the return of the brand. This comeback is possible thanks to a decision by Google, which agreed to publish the code of PebbleOS, the operating system of Pebbles watches, in open source.“I asked friends at Google (which had bought Fitbit, which had bought the Pebble IP) if they could open source PebbleOS. They said yes!”, writes the Pebble founder.

It was a key piece, since the software was the main asset of the Pebble watches. Eric Migicovsky explains that he worked with dozens of engineers for 4 years to develop this software. And starting from scratch would have taken a long time.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

What will the new Pebble watch look like ?

In addition, Eric Migicovsky already has a very precise idea of ​​the product he wants to put on the market. At a time when other brands are offering OLED screens, Pebble should continue to use e-paper screens. The new Pebble watches should also offer significant autonomy and offer “a simple and pleasant user experience” around the most used features. This watch should also have several buttons, and be customizable.

In other words, the experience should be close to that of the Pebble of the 2010s. However, Eric Migicovsky also indicates that he will not repeat the mistakes of the old Pebble. “This time, things are simple. We learned from last time! I am in the process of creating a small company specializing in the manufacture of these watches. I don't plan to raise money from investors or hire a large team. The focus is on sustainability,”, writes the Pebble founder. But for now, it's unclear when the first watch from this new Pebble will be released.

• Despite its success on Kickstarter and the popularity of its watches, Pebble ended up being sold to Fitbit (which was later bought by Google)
• But Google has just released the PebbleOS operating system as open source to allow its founder to relaunch Pebble
• In a blog post, he announces his comeback project

📍 To not miss any Presse-citron news, follow us on Google News and WhatsApp.

[ ]