When you think of smartwatches to this day – sleek touchscreens, heart rate sensors, AI assistants – you may forget about one that really got this category off to a great start: the Pebble smartwatch. Long before Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch were featuring in the headlines, Pebble arrived in silence (well, mammoth Kickstarter campaign fashion) and changed a lot of our expectations as to what we were going to have on our wrists.
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The Rise of Pebble
The story begins with founder Eric Migicovsky and the idea for a watch that’d connect to your smart phone, display your notifications and not require you to constantly charge it. In April 2012 Pebble debuted in Kickstarter and immediately broke records – in a short period of time Pebble had raised millions of dollars and inspired the imagination of the tech community worldwide.
Pebble’s original model had made up of some simple, but revolutionary features for the time: indications of calls, music control, and a readable e-paper style display to save battery. “It drove for days now not hours with one charge”. It was light, available as an Android and iOS application it had a dedicated community of passionate developers developing and churning out custom watch faces and apps.
Why Pebble Stood Out?
What was special about the Pebble smartwatch and was different from the others before it was the philosophy behind it. Instead of going whole hog with touchscreen and heavy sensors and flashy graphics, Pebble focussed on practicality. A display which could be read in sunlight, buttons rather than gesture so that you’d be able to use it even if you were jogging in the rain, a platform which developers could clamber on to.
Users often applauded its battery life, its simple notification system and the fact it made your smart phone smarter without distracting you. The early joke was a prevailing community joke something to the effect that: “My phone got smarter; my watch just did what a watch should.”
The Fall and Transformation
But it wasn’t all up, either. In 2016, Pebble announced their shutdown and underlying technology and brand was sold to Fitbitlight Many users loved their Pebble watches, market moved fast – fitness tracking, sensors, deep health integration, heavy ecosystems started dominating. Pebble’s simplification effort was a double edged sword: fantastic to the people who were its users who wanted a wearable that was not too overwhelming – but it was less strong a contender in a world where “everything in one” wearables were growing.
Even when official support came to an end, a dedicated community called Rebble stepped in and kept apps, servers and firmware alive for older watches. Remarkably, people are still using their Pebbles on a daily basis to this day, several years after the closeout of the company.
Why It Still Matters Today
You are going to ask in 2025 if Pebble is like one of those retro gadgets. But is not irrelevant for a number of reasons:
- Legacy of Battery Efficiency: Many of modern smartwatches are still struggling to beat and the no of days of battery of Pebble.
- Developer mindset: With open communities and custom watch faces Pebble created foundation of what wearables could be more than factory software
- Minimalism and usability: Not everybody wants to have a mini-computer on their wrists. The way of smart but not obtrusive wearables was demonstrated by Pebble.
- Community driven revival: Just because the original brand folded doesn’t mean the product died. The open source push and work of the community is keeping the spirit of Pebble alive.
Features That Made Pebble Great
Here is a few stand out features which made the Pebble smartwatch ahead of its time:
- Long battery life (days in the case of days not hours).
- E-paper /memory-LCD display that readable under sunlight
- Simple notification system which is synced with your phone, as well as is compatible to Android as well as the iOS.
- Physical buttons for navigation – this would be great for trick-or-treaters or use outside
- Custom apps, watch faces and hacks were available to the developer ecosystem, these hacks offered functionality that went beyond what the company strictly stuck to shipping.
What Happened to Pebble and What Happens Next?
After being taken over by Fitbit and the slow closing off of official servers many people thought that Pebble would be forgotten. However, the story did take a turn, in early 2025 with the original software going open source and the original founder, Eric Migicovsky, re-assembling efforts under a new company called Core Devices the Pebble Brand is making a comeback. This includes new announcements of hardware that comes with the essence of Pebble – long battery, simplicity, developer friendly – as well as the updated software support.
Why You Might Want One (Or a Revival)
Or one of the current smartwatches on the market nowadays, then why would you opt for the Pebble solution (or wait for it to rise from the dead) over a crowded expensive smartwatch. If you prefer something that:
- Doesn’t need daily charging.
- Offers notification app and basic apps in no performance and battery exchange.
- Allows you to control your wrist gadget, instead of your wrist gadget controlling you
- Comes with a great user and developer community, meaning screw-y hacks, custom watch faces and extended functionality.
Conclusion
The Pebble smartwatch may not have brought down the wearable market to the degree that some of the devices that came after it were – but it staked out a lasting legacy for itself. Its combination of usability, simplicity and support from the community set a standard. As new versions and revival efforts are underway, it’s worth remembering – in this case, sometimes the best tech isn’t about piling on the features – it’s about focusing on the right ones.
If you’re interested in wearables if you’re interested in something that doesn’t abuse your time, or doesn’t abuse your battery and doesn’t abuse your wrist space I think it’s the way of the Pebble philosophy it’s still worth exploring. Maybe for it’s time for dusting off the old Pebble, having an eye for what the revival brings.