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Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:07PM (#43401077)
I'll be hanging out here - happy to answer any questions you have!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by voxadam on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:20PM (#43401209)
The Nordic nRF52840[1] SoC on which these are based support not only Bluetooth 5.4 but also Thread, Zigbee, and 802.15.4. These three standards are becoming commonplace in the home automation space. Has any thought been given to how the new Pebble devices could utilize these protocols?

[1] https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF52840

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:25PM (#43401276)
Nope, but the OS is open source so you could try getting it to work yourself: https://github.com/pebble-dev/pebble-firmware
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by sevg on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:55PM (#43401696)
Is it actually open source though? The repository description may be outdated then, but it currently says this:

> This is the latest version of the internal repository from Pebble Technology providing the software to run on Pebble watches. Proprietary source code has been removed from this repository and it will not compile as-is. This is for information only.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by hexxeh on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:09PM (#43401880)
This just hasn't been updated since it was forked from the initial OSS release from Google, I've started a discussion on the firmware Discord to update it.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by pokeymcsnatch on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:26PM (#43402097)
Just a guess, but Nordic pushes a proprietary bluetooth stack. You don't have to use it, but it's the fastest way to get up and running.

edit: not sure they use the proprietary stack... at the very least, it looks like they're in the process of switching to a free BT stack

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by __turbobrew__ on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @11:40PM (#43408087)
> Proprietary source code has been removed from this repository and it will not compile as-is. This is for information only

How are you supposed to do that?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by Avamander on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:36PM (#43403968)
Pretty sure those different radio stacks do not run very well in parallel or if they do, they'd likely start to starve the rest in terms of resources needed.

The nRF52840 is not the most performant, I would've really liked if they had chosen a SoC, like the nRF5340, with more RAM or cores for this reason amongst others.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by TickleSteve on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:45PM (#43404092)
There are similar devices (i.e. SiLabs) that allow multi-protocol use with the radio (I would expect Nordic to have a similar feature set), tho yes, you're right the resource issue would be a major limitation.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by varbhat on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:19PM (#43401196)
I was interested in NFC payments using a smartwatch. Do these watches support NFC payment? I didn't see any mention of it.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by isjustintime on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:28PM (#43401318)
Personally I never found myself using my NFC payment watch. It felt like if I was venturing far enough to the store, I'm just going to bring my phone with me anyways. I wonder if this differs for areas that don't get as much suburban sprawl.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by bentcorner on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:04PM (#43401815)
I use NFC payments on my watch all the time, even though I have my phone and card in my pocket. Tapping my watch is just easier than digging into my pockets and/or opening my wallet app on my phone.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by spaceguillotine on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @08:16PM (#43406861)
i like you use NFC via watch way more than by Phone. I don't wanna take out my phone all the time, i'd like to look at my phone screen less and less as time goes on.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by fennecfoxy on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @11:23AM (#43413234)
Yeah it's very useful if your PT system takes card (such as tube/buses in London).
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by eisa01 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:40PM (#43401475)
I never bring my phone with me when I go running, but occasionally pick something up and pay with my watch afterwards
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by bigstrat2003 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @05:07PM (#43405135)
I personally don't use NFC payment at all. I just can't see the utility in it. If I leave the house I have my wallet, and I find it easier to take my card out of my wallet than to fiddle with NFC on my phone.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by vel0city on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:50PM (#43406116)
Sometimes I leave the house with only my phone. Why carry two things when one thing will do fine for a quick trip? Its my car keys, my credit card, my transit pass, etc.

I've been moving towards using NFC payments for activating gas pumps as those readers still have you fully insert your card exposing the full mag strip.

Its also often faster for me to just tap my phone than to take my wallet out, pull out the specific card I'm wanting to use to pay, tapping/inserting that card, putting that card back, and then putting my wallet back. Instead my phone which still has a touch unlock is already unlocked before I take it out of my pocket and ready to be tapped and then put back in my pocket.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by bigstrat2003 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @08:37PM (#43407032)
I can't say I relate - for one thing I don't have any of those things on my phone (except payment), but also I don't want them on my phone. We put way too much on them already, imo. But regardless, I always have wallet, phone and keys any time I leave the house. It doesn't really take effort to bring them, and that way I won't need them.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by 4ndrewl on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @05:48PM (#43405572)
Wonder if this is a nationality thing? In the UK I'd say ~30% of sales are done via phones/watches these days.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by bigstrat2003 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:03PM (#43405706)
That's fascinating to me, because many times I've tried to do that it's an exercise in frustration. Terminals don't always have the sensor in the same spot, phones sometimes don't register the connection, and so on. Maybe things work better in the UK?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by fphhotchips on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @08:26PM (#43406940)
It can be a bit difficult, particularly now that some phones are getting more demanding about re-authorising before it will go through. Tap-try to get fingerprint scanner working-tap again is a much less fluid procedure than tap-go.

The position thing is just something you get used to. There's not that many reader models in active use and most of them are pretty good about marking where the nfc reader is these days.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by phatskat on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @10:17AM (#43412337)
I’m in the US and in the last few years things have flipped to where I’m more surprised when a place doesn’t have tap to pay.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by theragra on Thursday March 20, 2025 @09:29AM (#43423040)
How is that fiddling? Just put the phone to the terminal, that's it. Sometimes press finger to the fingerprint sensor.

For card, you need to get the wallet, get the card from the wallet, and then put it back.

Some people don't use wallet or put it close, because I only need wallet to pay or use loyalty card, and I can do that with my phone.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by theshackleford on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @03:20AM (#43409062)
I use mine constantly, it’s been one of my favourite things to be able to leave the house and not having to take my wallet/phone with me.

Less to carry, less to idly distract myself with.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by doublepg23 on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @10:44PM (#43419474)
I use NFC for all my payments minus bars and restaurants. (NE USA) I also switched all my door locks to use Apple Home Key which is a fun party trick.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by 1024core on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:46PM (#43401571)
The chip inside claims to support Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth mesh, NFC, Thread and Zigbee. Maybe someone can hack together a payments app using the NFC?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by numpad0 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:17PM (#43401983)
Payment is more of tamper resistance and trust problem than protocol problem. You don't want a hackable card tied to your credit.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by stavros on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:18PM (#43402797)
Speak for yourself, I'd love one!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by asveikau on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @11:43AM (#43413512)
Banks probably don't want it, though.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by garaetjjte on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:10PM (#43405772)
Maybe you could reverse-engineer HCE from bank Android app, but that would be rather fragile.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by fennecfoxy on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @11:24AM (#43413255)
You can't really, unless you get involved in the financial systems afaik. It's not just some open thing that anybody can implement; there's a chain of trust involved and for good reason.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by jsheard on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:35PM (#43401416)
These use standard watch straps, so you could put them on one of those NFC-payment straps as a workaround.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by itomato on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:45PM (#43401555)
Chameleon Ultra on the band
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by ZeWaka on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:57PM (#43406195)
The deprecated Timex Pay (w/ Chase Bank) would be an option.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:24PM (#43401260)
Nope. I just use my phone.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by yalok on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @02:26AM (#43408781)
anecdotally, NFC payment is my #1 use for Apple Watch, by far. It's so much work to pull out a phone and unlock it! :)
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by fennecfoxy on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @11:22AM (#43413221)
Tbf I want a ring to do it. Samsung execs screwed up bad when they released the galaxy ring not only without nfc payments but also for that horrendous price. What a joke, now the big boy companies are proving that once you ditch engineers for suits enshittification begins.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by goosedragons on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:14PM (#43401137)
What does Intel think about that name and was it intentional?

Any plans for a more sporty model (i.e., HR, GPS?)?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:23PM (#43401252)
Intentional?? :)

Core Time 2 has a heart rate monitor!

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by pblfan2000 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:22PM (#43401231)
Just ordered! I saw a comment about a new app - Will that use new backend services, or will it use the rebble appstore.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:24PM (#43401266)
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by JoshTriplett on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:24PM (#43401271)
The Core Time 2 mentions heart-rate monitoring. Have you considered also adding an oximeter?

The comparison chart, under "sensors", doesn't mention the compass under the Core Time 2; does the Core Time 2 drop the compass? A 3D magnetometer seems like a useful sensor for orientation purposes.

Is there a light sensor, to allow automatically disabling the backlight when there's enough ambient light and enabling it when there isn't?

You mention "Standard Pebble charger" for both; I'm guessing that that isn't USB-C?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by dreamcompiler on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:37PM (#43401439)
You cannot put oximetry in a watch without getting sued by Masimo. Just ask Apple.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by JoshTriplett on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:40PM (#43401478)
The heart rate sensor patents were ruled unpatentable:

https://www.tomsguide.com/wellness/smartwatches/apple-watch-...

> This week, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the previous verdict of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that concluded all three of AliveCor’s patents were unpatentable. This is generally the outcome when courts conclude that patents are either obvious or too generic to enforce.

The case over the oximeter functionality is still ongoing, but with luck it'll go the same way.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by themaninthedark on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:27PM (#43402952)
It looked like it was not just the oximeter but the arrangement of the sensors and the fact that they fist approached Masimo with a licensing deal but then canceled and hired engineers from Masimo instead....

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34360292

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by JoshTriplett on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @04:35PM (#43404736)
Interesting. So, potentially, using a different source might have helped?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by dreamcompiler on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:06PM (#43401843)
That story is about heart rate sensors. The Masimo case is about oximetry, and AFAIK Apple is still blocked from selling watches with this feature.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by bornfreddy on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:27PM (#43402112)
Yes, it looks like Apple "won" their reciprocal patent cases against Masimo but basically got $250 for it, and no injunction. The case against Apple is still blocking them from selling watches with oximetry.

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/apple-wins-masimo-lawsuit-its-...

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by ratmice on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:07PM (#43401859)
I think the article is referencing two different cases, and the ones invalidated don't seem related to oximetry, I'm not sure what happened with the oximetry one though.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by apparent on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:38PM (#43401449)
The 360° view on the product page shows the charger interface on the back of the watches. Definitely not USB-C!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by JoshTriplett on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:42PM (#43401509)
Ah, when it said "standard Pebble charger" I incorrectly assumed it was a charging port, rather than something like pogo pins. What's on the back of the watch seems pretty reasonable.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by bigstrat2003 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:25PM (#43401286)
What are the dimensions (length and width) of both models? I'm trying to decide if the Time would be too big for my taste, and I'm having a hard time trying to picture what the increased screen diagonal size translates to.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by jsheard on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:26PM (#43401292)
What's the lens material this time? The page just says "glass" which could mean a generic mineral crystal or something fancy like Gorilla Glass.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:27PM (#43401301)
Something fancy
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by ramses0 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @04:22PM (#43404568)
re: glass... please please learn from that awful shadow curvature issue on the pebble time (color).

Seems like you did as the screens look blessedly flat!

Congrats!

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by kulahan on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:37PM (#43406004)
The post specifically addresses how they’re changing the screen curvature
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by 999900000999 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:28PM (#43401319)
Anyway to put in even a slow LTE chip for emergency calls ?

I would pay an irrational amount of money for a watch that can make calls that has a very long battery life.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by LeifCarrotson on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:18PM (#43402796)
Calls? Or just emergency texts?

The closest thing to what you probably want is the Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE:

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/698632

Discontinued, but young for Garmin devices and still available if you're willing to pay irrational amounts of money. It doesn't make audio calls out, but can receive audio messages (to Bluetooth headphones) and send/receive "emergency" text messages either to the Garmin emergency response center (sends a helicopter to your location, if required) or by SMS with a few canned messages or tediously entered custom messages to to a predefined, pre-approved set of emergency contacts, as described here:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/garmin-forerunner-945-de...

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by 999900000999 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:27PM (#43402951)
I've come across this.

I really would like calling too. There's a lot of daylight between I lost my phone and need to call a cab, and send a helicopter.

Right now I have an LTE smart watch, but the battery is optimistically about 24 hours( on a good day ).

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by LeifCarrotson on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @05:33PM (#43405408)
With the Garmin emergency contacts system, you can set up arbitrary messages to send to your emergency contacts. One of mine is "I'm OK, but need you to come pick me up".
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by nycdotnet on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:29PM (#43401344)
Excited for this release! Have you heard from Intel yet? “Core 2 Duo” was the name of one of their processors in the early days of multicore on a single package.

Edit: preordered!

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by seanp2k2 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @07:45PM (#43406638)
Yeah, that lawsuit is probably going to bankrupt them here.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by kevin_thibedeau on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @07:59PM (#43406738)
Also a weird way to make your product unsearchable.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by sixothree on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @09:14AM (#43411485)
Today, I very literally received a vintage laptop with a Core 2 Duo sticker on it.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by thesuitonym on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @09:46AM (#43411927)
This comment aged me 100 years.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by blockarchitech on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:31PM (#43401363)
I see you link to apps.rebble.io in the blog post - will this use Rebble's web services as well?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:35PM (#43401407)
It's using the appstore right now
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by csours on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:31PM (#43401365)
If I buy one of each will you consider adding all the sensors to an e-paper watch?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by joewhale on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:42PM (#43401512)
We love you
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by debunn on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:46PM (#43401568)
Any ideas what the screen refresh rate is going to be at this point? All the screenshots don't have time that includes seconds, and having a watch face that can update at least every second would be a requirement for me.

(I know e-ink displays can have fast refresh rates, like the 60Hz / fps Daylight computer - but that may not be cost effective / battery efficient here?)

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by skiman10 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:17PM (#43403701)
The Daylight computer DC-1 isn't e-ink it's a reflective LCD by the way. Different screen technology.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40457491

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by debunn on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @04:13PM (#43404476)
TIL! Thanks for the link - all the demos / videos had me convinced this was just e-ink technology!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:57PM (#43401713)
30fps
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by apparent on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:36PM (#43402228)
What is the impact on battery life to have the screen update every second, versus every minute? Will it be possible to have the HR display, on faces that include it, rate-limited to achieve better battery life?

One of the nice things about Amazfit watches was that I could dial down the HR polling and get better battery life that way.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:05PM (#43403531)
I think it's a little bit more. I don't know if I've ever measured it. You can definitely see it in battery life though. Using a watch face that only updates every minute will give you longer, better life.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by seltzered_ on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:40PM (#43406034)
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by rcarmo on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:48PM (#43401590)
Apple Health integration - what are your plans?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:04PM (#43403511)
We supported it before, should be pretty straightforward to support now.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by JLO64 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:29PM (#43402141)
Being able to sync steps taken, heart beat, and especially sleep tracking with Apple Health would 100% push me to Core Time 2.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by apparent on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:13PM (#43401940)
Presumably the same as the original Pebbles, which were able to feed step data and HR data into the Apple Health app.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by alternatex on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:14PM (#43401952)
Google Health Sync as well?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by aaronax on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:42PM (#43404042)
And I'll be looking for Vitality integration for my employer's health program!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by Robelius on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:48PM (#43401592)
6 months from announcing rePebble (Jan '25) to shipping your first units (July '25) seems like a quick turnaround for a compact consumer electronics device. Curious to know if these first units are closer to a white label of existing hardware or more of a JDM model.

Side note - I got the first pebble through the kickstarter pre-orders in my first year out of high school. Seeing something so novel was definitely a contributor to me switch from CS to Mech E and working in the consumer electronics space now. Thanks for making cool and interesting things :)

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:56PM (#43401707)
Aww really glad to hear it!

It is fast - but we've done this before (many times) and know what we're doing. I've been blogging about the experience too https://ericmigi.com/blog/february-shenzhen-trip-update

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by modeless on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:49PM (#43401616)
Whoa, whoa. Touch screen?!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by wibbily on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @12:53PM (#43401656)
Just bought both. One for each arm

Will the watch ship with a JTAG clip? Or is that coming later. Not sure if I missed the option in the store

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:03PM (#43403505)
it will be an option for Core 2 Duo, coming later.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by tomgag on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:08PM (#43401871)
Hey, this is pretty slick! I'm not into smart wearables myself, but if I change my mind (or if I have to recommend one to family or friends) I know where to look!

Question: does either of the model have NFC capabilities, or is there any plans to add this feature in the future? I am looking specifically for a way to pay contactless with Graphene OS (which does not support NFC payments because Google does not want to).

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by beeflet on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:16PM (#43401972)
What's the status of "small android phone" is it basically just a petition atm?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:03PM (#43403500)
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by bitsoda on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @01:16PM (#43414737)
This is what I'm most interested in. My only hope at the moment is for Apple to revive the iPhone mini -- even if they only refresh it every 3-5 years! I'm so bummed I'll be 'forced' to upgrade from my 12 mini later this year for mostly camera and battery reasons, but oh how I wish an iPhone 17 mini was on the horizon.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by its-kostya on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:17PM (#43401979)
Hey Eric!

Any chance to open up support and reparability for old pebbles? For example, run the newly open OS on old hardware or source parts for old pebbles, like batteries for pebble time ;)

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by noname120 on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @05:33PM (#43405415)
Not enough money to be made + older parts are hard to source (discontinued)
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by stebalien on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @01:23PM (#43402056)
Will the Android companion app be open source? And/or will the watch APIs be documented such that someone could write an open source companion app?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:03PM (#43403497)
there's an open-source companion app already, called Cobble. https://github.com/pebble-dev/mobile-app

Core Devices will publish an open source fully featured library, that anyone can use to build an open source companion app as well.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by stebalien on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:46PM (#43404111)
Awesome! Thanks!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by happosai on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:26PM (#43402937)
Gadgetbridge support (or open docs of the BLE interface for dyi) planned? https://gadgetbridge.org/
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:01PM (#43403468)
The new watches will use the exact same protocol as Pebble watches, so Gadgetbridge should work by default.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by hobo_mark on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @06:36AM (#43410243)
That is all I needed to know, preordered :D
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by crims0n on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:32PM (#43403020)
The original pebble was almost entirely dependent on it's connection with the android/ios app. Given the increase in onboard processing capabilities, are there any plans to allow for a more standalone experience?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:02PM (#43403477)
Not sure how that would work. You still need connectivity, which the phone provides.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by rollcat on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @10:37AM (#43412602)
As an iPhone+AW (S6) user, I consider the two devices married, perhaps even sharing the same mind. Almost everything that I can do with one is instantly and transparently mirrored on the other.

I can still leave my phone at home, and since I don't have a mobile connection on the watch (intentionally), it means I'm truly and fully offline - but I get to keep many features. I can listen to music (direct connection to BT headphones), tick items off the shopping list, pay for stuff, look up my schedule, etc. Some things could work offline where they currently don't (e.g. weather, maps/public transport), but the caching/syncing is overall surprisingly decent.

Unfortunately, it's all using private APIs, no third party watch has the same access, and you can't e.g. pair the AW with an iPad. But otherwise I think it should be the golden standard (perhaps DMA could get Apple to open up the APIs).

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by pizzafeelsright on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:46PM (#43403221)
I ordered one, with no experience although like the story and heard about the original.

One very frustrating concern - the warranty. This is $255+ for a device that is only good for 3 million seconds. Would it be possible to arrange replacement at cost after 2 years?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by erohead on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:00PM (#43403450)
I have no reason to think that it will not work well for 2 years, but I am not prepared to guarantee that in a warranty. That would be taking on too much risk as a small company.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by pizzafeelsright on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:19PM (#43403724)
Your explanation is reason enough to cancel. I have experienced enough hardware fails the day after the warranty to avoid purchasing anything that I do not consider disposable. I still have my Vector watch which suffered the same fate as Pebble. I am curious about the risk of a "at cost" replacement. I have avoided buying a FitBit to replace my existing FitBit because their warranty is also limited to "one year" which is basically Wearable as a Service.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by robocat on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @04:16PM (#43404511)
> curious about the risk of a "at cost" replacement

You can't tell consumers the raw manufacturing cost because people act weird when they are told it: they usually assume the "markup" is profits. They assume that they're getting ripped off because most people don't understand development costs or overheads and they always argue that any profit is too much. This problem can't be fixed.

Apart from the risk of scammers buying a watch to sell, saying it is broken, getting a replacement at cost and the scammer steals the markup/profit.

You can maybe think of ways to make it work, but they are likely to have excessive support costs or other hidden costs for the manufacturer or consumer.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by ahel on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:21PM (#43405863)
Hey, I completely agree and I also suffer from this same bias: it's ruining me from enjoying stuff that I would like to buy but in the end I just give up because it feels that any profit is a scam. What kind of resource can I study for me to understand and accept other people making profits?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by GlacierFox on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @08:35PM (#43407020)
What do you mean? Excessive profit or _any_ profit? Haha. You'd prefer it people made things and just broke even?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by ahel on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @07:33AM (#43410630)
I think I would like to be able to answer the following two questions:

1. what percentage of this object price is net profit? 2. is that percentage a "fair" proportion?

but atm, I don't have a "scientific" way to respond to those questions so I usually go with my gut, or do whatever other people in my circle do (which is not ideal and I'd like to change)

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by unregistereddev on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @08:54AM (#43411238)
When you set pricing for a product, profit is a goal. You don't know how many devices will be returned, whether the device or its marketing will attract lawsuits, or whether you'll be able to sell all the devices at asking price.

You only know the actual profit margins much later, after you have sold the devices and seen them last through their warranty period.

If you'd like to minimize excess profit, take note of which products seem overpriced compared to their peers. Traditionally, anything Apple makes is a prime example. For a non-tech example, look at disposable alkaline batteries. Rayovac has been owned by Energizer since 2018 and their batteries have become increasingly comparable over time, yet Rayovac batteries are much less expensive than comparable Energizer batteries. The difference? Mostly marketing and profit margin, at this point.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by hombre_fatal on Thursday March 20, 2025 @11:41AM (#43424805)
Maybe reframing it can help you. You want the people to make money who produce the things/content you want to use and consume. It serves you as well as them.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by robocat on Friday March 21, 2025 @05:40PM (#43441073)
> it feels that any profit is a scam

It is so weird we talk about caring about an invisible variable that is actually irrelevant.

In theory we should only look at the price and judge whether our expected benefits are likely to exceed that price. And we get distracted by measuring things in $, when what really matters is our benefits which can't be measured in $.

We are also distracted by ideals of fairness (a foolish goal in a business transaction) and zero-sum thinking (am I getting ripped off?)

I don't mind spending money on quality. What I hate is the information gap, and the costs of having to learn how to judge quality myself (because price is no proxy measure). I am distrustful of so many biased signals, plus so many other people's opinions are either unhelpful or influenced.

Mostly we each just fall back on an A versus B heuristic. I find it absolutely mad that the world works at all.

And an answer: look at the bad buying decisions made by others, and learn from their mistakes. I watch my father with money to spare, he wastes 2 hours to save $1, or he avoids spending money on something that would benefit his life or the life of someone he cares for, or he won't buy a Toyota because he hated their adverts once, or he keeps buying a Nissan even after being burnt by a severe costly design flaw.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by flakeoil on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @03:54AM (#43409244)
This is a DIY watch for enthusiasts. It gives you a head start versus building one yourself. And you can for sure use it as-is and with pre-made apps. But don't expect it to be a mass market consumer product. Look elsewhere. The website clearly highlights this too.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by fennecfoxy on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @11:21AM (#43413203)
This project isn't Apple or Google, lmao. I think a 2 year warranty is already a boon for what is essentially a KS project.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by kubatyszko on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:59PM (#43403428)
I remember that my Pebble 2 (HR) over time (pun intended) would develop play around the rubber button area especially on the right side. Eventually the rubber covering the buttons would break off. This was common to the point people were making 3d-printed replacement parts. See https://help.rebble.io/pebble-2-buttons/ What's the expected longevity of the buttons this time around, and will you have replacement parts available ?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by jerlam on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:26PM (#43403839)
The post says:

More reliable buttons (up to 30% longer lifetime in testing)

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by kubatyszko on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @01:11AM (#43408444)
doh, should have read the full post ;)
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by horseless on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:35PM (#43403959)
I want to get a smartwatch that has enough functionalities to run a time tracker app with the purpose of not having to carry a phone most of the time. The existing ones are all WearOS or Apple watch, neither of which can be used in a freedom-preserving way. Would it be possible to write time tracking apps for these watches?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by zevon on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @04:01PM (#43404314)
Sure it would and there are existing Pebble time tracking apps. Here's a search for "Time Tracker" in the Rebble store but I'm sure you will find more with other search terms: https://store-beta.rebble.io/apps/search?query=time%20tracke...
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by zevon on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:51PM (#43404174)
No questions but a comment: I rarely get emotionally attached to devices, especially since I have to handle a lot of fancy hardware for work and it gets old quickly. However, there are a few pieces of technology like my Walkman or my Thinkpad X61t that I really liked and was sad to have to let go when their time had come. The Pebble is another one of those devices for me and I'm quite happy that I won't have to it let go for a lot longer that I thought thanks to your new project. Thanks. :-)
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by lonjil on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:59PM (#43404283)
You mention only producing a limited quantity, but do you have any plans to do a second batch next year? I know that knowing the future is impossible and that you thus can't make any promises, but are you at least hoping to be able to make more batches in the future?

I can't spend $225 right now, and by next month I'm guessing the pre-orders will already have blown way past your production quantity ^^

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by fencepost on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @04:31PM (#43404682)
How is the sleep monitoring on the base model being done without a heart rate sensor, just with stillness as measured by the accelerometer?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by krambs on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @04:37PM (#43404770)
So awesome. Ordered!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by qingcharles on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @05:50PM (#43405584)
This is great. I was an OG backer in like 2012(?).

What affect are tariffs having?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by spearman on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:30PM (#43405938)
Until when will you take pre-orders?
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by girvo on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @06:57PM (#43406196)
I've preordered the Core Time 2, I'm so incredibly excited that you've resurrected Pebble like this!

My only hope is that you can bring the Time Round back in some form: Mine is unfortunately dead, and they're very difficult to purchase even second hand these days! It was the single best smartwatch I've ever owned and used

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by OkGoDoIt on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @08:09PM (#43406817)
Thank you for making this happen! My family and friends are sick of my decade-long attachment to my pebble steel by now, haha.

Any chance the particular extra color for the metal one could be an actual metal color? My pebble steel with the metal link band was a great combination of stylish and functional. I never really liked the look of any of the later models so even when I bought them I always went back to my pebble steel. I went ahead and pre-ordered the new metal one and I suppose I’ll go for black if I have to but I really hope you come out with a stainless steel or silver color.

Also what’s the watchband compatibility? Will this work with the original pebble bands or with standard watch bands or something new and proprietary?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by patrickk on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @06:54AM (#43410371)
> Also what’s the watchband compatibility? Will this work with the original pebble bands or with standard watch bands or something new and proprietary?

It says it works with standard 22mm watchbands, so it seems like you can just put on any 3rd party band you like.

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by krick on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @11:57PM (#43408161)
I think I am not exactly the intended audience for these devices right now, so my comment will be a bit general. I don't want "a geeky alternative to apple watch" (or an apple watch, for that matter), I basically want Garmin Forerunner 955 alternative that won't keep my data hostage. There are many things I hate about Garmin watches (which I buy nevertheless), but I can forgive almost all of them except that one. I want my data to be bulk-exportable via open API, and not it some raw .fit format (because they have to comply with GDPR after all), but as a first-class feature, that tries to satisfy a customer by exporting any data it produces in any (realistic) format that customer wants. (I assume you are familiar with other wearables, since this is your domain, but just in case: GDPR forces them to make the data they record directly exportable, but they won't willingly do it for anything that is "processed data", so I can backup my HR history, but not the data they use to make these "sleep phases" graphs, and I can only manually export relatively useless .csv summaries for a given date.)

In short, I really want to stop giving my money to Garmin. But I don't want to compromise on quality of the data being recorded. What are your thoughts on that market?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by mightysashiman on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @07:02AM (#43410431)
I am so with you.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by Tistron on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @03:22AM (#43409077)
Can you tell us more about the touch screen? Is it only taps or will it support interactions using drag gestures too? How good is the accuracy, how many different simultaneous interaction surfaces can there realistically be?

Is there an emulator available somewhere where one can start prototyping an app with tap support?

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by user_7832 on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @06:12AM (#43410084)
Not sure if you’ll see this but I’l love to understand - why the slightly weird (to me) differentiation between the two models’ sensors? One has heart rate (which might be considered almost fundamental for smart watches today), the other has magnetic/barometric sensors (which are very nice to have when out and moving)… but neither has both? Is the core 2 duo a “geeky” watch and the other one a “premium” product? I assume the latter also doesn’t support JTAG fiddling around, is that a philosophical choice or more of an engineering time/resource constraint? Thanks in any case, these devices are definitely quite tempting!
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by user_7832 on Thursday March 20, 2025 @01:48AM (#43420174)
(I’m here from 1 day after my comment) Btw I partially found an answer to the first question from the AMA on Reddit - the sensors on the duo were a kind of thanks to the person who helped design it.
Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by mentos on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @08:27AM (#43410961)
I ordered a watch and I’m looking forward to making apps for it but I’m more excited at the prospect of making apps for a truly open phone with an eink display and 20x battery life. I think you have enough of a following now to attempt a small run of PebbleOS phones.

I know I’m not the only one and whatever gaps in applications you have aren’t as large as you think and can be filled in by the large passionate community you have fostered.

(and I wouldn’t worry about other attempts that have come before you. Before Breaking Bad, studios told Vince Gilligan that Weeds already existed.)

Re:Two new PebbleOS watches by fennecfoxy on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @11:18AM (#43413158)
A few, not sure HN will format this correctly so my bad if these get mushed together:

* The originals used Sharp MiP but advertised them as "e-paper" do your new models use MiP LCD (or similar) or actual "e-paper" ie "e-ink" (electrostatic capsules).

* Pebble time round 2?!?!

* The touchscreen - this is an issue I had on my Galaxy watch including the bezel rotating as well. Are there efforts to pevent the touchscreen from inadvertently doing things when I'm resting one arm against the other? For Galaxy watch I had to switch off bezel rotation/touch screen waking the watch & only allow buttons, because it would constantly wake up when I had my arms crossed/resting position.

* The backlight, is it backlit or front-lit? I suppose this more relates to if it's genuine capsule e-paper, then it would be nice to be front-lit.

* No compass or barometer on CT2?

Thank you! <3