Almost 10 years after the emblematic Pebble Smartwatch has been abandoned, the emblematic watch is back with two new SmartWatch models “similar to pebbles” sporting low power screens and packing a 30 -day battery life – designed by the founder of Pebble Eric Migicovsky.
Limited smartwatches will be available from July, running the open source pebble operating system.
Duo Core 2
The first of the two watches is the Core 2 duo, a device very similar to the old Pebble 2 abandoned, with some improvements.
With four buttons and a sloping screen of “ultra-close” electronic paper Best Garmin watchesThis low power screen allows the Core 2 Duo to maintain a long battery life for more than 30 days.
The intelligent watch, which is available in white or black polycarbonate frames and matching synthetic straps, also has a speaker and microphone table, monitoring and sleep tracking.
Interestingly, the sleep tracking function does not use heart rate monitor (the Core 2 duo does not have it) but an accelerometer, which analyzes movement during sleep. A barometer and a compass complete the material features.
“It’s my dream watch,” Migicovsky told Techradar in an exclusive interview. “It is similar to the Pebble Time 2, which we announced in 2016 but that we never shipped, to the chagrin of many people who sent me by e-mail or sent me one e-mail in the past eight years.
“The main reason for which we do them is that the market does not meet the needs of people who want exactly this set of features.
Regarding the software, the roller operating system and its accompanying phone application are completely open-source, which makes the watch eminently piratable. Migicovsky told us that there were already 10,000 applications available for the aircraft thanks to the old infrastructure of Pebble OS, and 12,000 developers have registered to potentially create new ones since the initial announcement.
The new equipment allows developers to use the watch of new ways, such as basic chatgpt integration using the loudspeaker and the microphone of the watch.
“Smartwatch is an excellent form factor for people who can make a quick catpt question,” says Migicovsky. “I put it just so that the developers know that we have a speaker for something … We keep our options open here.”
The Core 2 duo will cost $ 149 (around £ 115 / $ 235 in) and will be shipped in July, available exclusively in the Pebble online store.
Central time 2
In addition to the Core 2 duo, Migicovsky and his core-person company of two people also start the Core Time 2, a premium version with a color screen and a heart rate monitor.
A little larger, the Time 2 Core 2 has a 1.5 inch electronic paper screen of 64 layers, comprising 88% more pixels as the Duo Core 2 display. The display is also a touch screen, mainly because Migicovsky wanted to add complications reminding the Best Apple watches.
“We keep all our buttons, and they will be the main interface, but I wanted to add a touch screen – again, mainly to keep our options open – but a key use is complications,” explains Migicovsky. “Otherwise, on Pebble, you need to dig into a menu to access an application, and at this stage, I could also remove my phone.
“I love the complications on the Apple Watch where you can have a small widget that displays a little information, then you press this widget for a larger display.”
The Core Time 2 always contains all the features listed above on the Core 2 duo, including 30 days of life of the estimated battery, but has a metal frame instead of that of polycarbonate. The watch will cost $ 225 (around £ 175 / $ 355 in) and is also dispatched in July.
The two watches are available in pre-order now to Store.repebble.com
