Google uploads pebble smartwatch’s open-source code
Pebble smartwatch with e-paper display expects a comeback after Google releases the device’s open-source code. The announcement follows after founder Eric Migicovsky asked the Google team if they could open source the PebbleOS. They say yes and have uploaded most of the OS, which includes the entire operating system and all the standard smartwatch functionality, such as notifications, media controls, fitness tracking, and support for custom apps and watchfaces. Some of the features are not yet back, like the chipset support and the Bluetooth stack.
The Google team – comprising Matthieu Jeanson, Katharine Berry, and Liam McLoughlin – writes in the announcement that they hope the release will assist the community and volunteers from the Rebble project to ‘carry forward the support for Pebble watches that users still love.’ The Pebble hardware and software support were discontinued eight years ago. With the open-source code from Google, fans of the smartwatch can update and tweak the operating system, which the team acknowledges has not been maintained for a few years.
all images courtesy of Pebble and Eric Migicovsky, unless stated otherwise
Eric Migicovsky and his team develop the device’s new hardware
Google releasing the open-source code of the Pebble smartwatch is only the first news. Next is when Eric Migicovsky shares that the very device he launched on Kickstarter back in 2012 is about to make its comeback. There’s no news yet on the official release date. So far, the founder writes in a blog post that he and a small team are developing the hardware of the upcoming Pebble. He promises that it’ll have the same specs and features as the 2012 smartwatch, but this time, there’ll be ‘some fun new stuff as well.’ The device runs on the open-source code that Google has released, and it is compatible with all Pebble apps and watch faces.
For a quick recap, the Pebble smartwatch has an e-paper display. It connects to iPhones and Android smartphones using Bluetooth. Then, it alerts users with a silent vibration about the incoming calls, emails, and messages. It has apps, including maps for navigation and music for streaming, as well as trackers for exercise and even a rangefinder for when the user plays golf. The e-paper display is readable enough in the glare of the sun. The design team has also created lots of watch faces, so users can change how the device tells time. All of these and more are set to return as soon as Eric Migicovsky and his team release the new set of Pebble smartwatches.
the Pebble smartwatch has an e-paper display and connects to iPhones and Android smartphones
A Brief timeline of the device’s making and discontinuation
Eric Migicovsky first launched the Pebble smartwatch as a Kickstarter campaign in 2012. It was successful, amassing 68,929 backers and a total pledge of 10,266,845 USD. Over the next few years, the team sold two million watches. This nudged them for a second version of the smartwatch. It came in 2015, but it didn’t take off as the team hoped for, unlike the first launch. They faced oversupply in inventory, and this put them into a ‘major cash crunch,’ as Eric Migicovsky describes it in his blog post. ‘The underlying problem was that we shifted from making something we knew people wanted to making an ill-defined product that we hoped people wanted,’ the founder continues.
At the end of 2016, they sold part of the business to Fitbit, alongside its intellectual property. Later on, Fitbit itself was acquired by Google, and this meant taking the Pebble OS with it. Eight years later, the Pebble smartwatch sets its eye on its return. Still with an e-paper display, the Google open-source code fuels the engine of the upcoming device, and Eric Migicovsky and his team are ready to bring its classic functions back. It’ll also be hackable, unlike other smartwatches. While fans wait for the return of the classic device, the founder says they’re supporting the development of Cobble, which is an open-source Pebble-compatible app for iOS and Android.
the Pebble hardware and software support were discontinued eight years ago, in 2017
with the open-source code from Google, fans can update the OS | image courtesy of Open Source Google Blog
view of the previous smartwatch with e-paper display
project info:
name: Pebble smartwatch
founder: Eric Migicovsky
google open-source code: here
matthew burgos | designboom
jan 30, 2025
