It appears like a Pebble, it really works like a Pebble, however don’t name it a Pebble. Eric Migicovsky, the unique creator of the Pebble smartwatch, simply unveiled two new smartwatches — referred to as the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2.
These religious successors to the Pebble smartwatches are accessible for pre-order, costing $149 and $225 respectively.
Should you aren’t aware of Pebble, the Palo Alto-based startup was one of many first breakthrough successes of the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform — all the way in which again in 2012. The corporate created smartwatches earlier than the Apple Watch and Android-based smartwatches existed.
Whereas Pebble managed to promote over two million units, the corporate abruptly closed in 2016. After an insolvency course of, what was left was acquired by rival Fitbit (now a division of Google, in fact).
Quick ahead to 2024, Migicovsky had a daring concept: what if we might return to these less complicated occasions and less complicated tech units? What if we might deliver again the spirit of the Pebble?
Google has been surprisingly useful on this course of because the tech large is open-sourcing PebbleOS, the working system that powered the unique Pebble smartwatches.
Whereas Google acquired Fitbit a couple of years after Fitbit acquired Pebble’s property, it seems that Pebble’s IP wasn’t value a lot to Google, so the corporate determined to provide it again to the group of Pebble fans.
Now, Core Units, Migicovsky’s new firm, has unveiled two new smartwatches that may run PebbleOS.
The Core 2 Duo is basically a brand new Pebble 2 operating the unique Pebble software program.
It has an always-on E Ink show with a couple of buttons on the facet of the machine. In comparison with different 2025 smartwatches, it’s fairly primary. That E Ink display screen is a non-touch, black-and-white show. However the smartwatch helps alarms and timers — groundbreaking, I do know.
The wearable pairs along with your telephone utilizing Bluetooth in order that it may show notifications and connect with the web. You may also management the music in your telephone because of the Bluetooth connection.
However the two issues that made the Pebble stand out from its successors are nonetheless true in the present day. First, the battery life is superb. The corporate guarantees as much as 30 days of battery life. Second, it’s a enjoyable, hackable machine. There are hundreds of watchfaces and it’s straightforward to create small apps for the machine.
“This challenge is a labour of affection fairly than a startup making an attempt to promote hundreds of thousands of watches,” Migicovsky wrote in a weblog submit saying the units. “There could also be some tough edges (actually). Issues will get delayed. Some options won’t be prepared at launch. Issues might break. Issues couldn’t final so long as you’d like.”
“The one factor we are able to assure is that it is going to be superior and a variety of enjoyable! Each time you look down at your watch, you’ll smile 🙂,” he added.
The opposite smartwatch Migicovsky’s firm introduced in the present day, the Core Time 2, primarily shares the identical specs because the Core 2 Duo, but it surely has a much bigger, 64-color show in a metallic casing. It’s additionally a contact show, however Pebble apps don’t assist contact interactions for now.
Migicovsky says shipments for the Core 2 Duo ought to begin in July.
The Core Time 2 will take a bit longer to supply and ship; it’s slated to be accessible in December.
