this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2025
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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

Google recently open sourced Pebble and today, Repebble has put some of the watches up for preorder.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Of all possible names, they're really using "Core 2 Duo"? I feel like anyone who has been following tech long enough would immediately think of the Intel processor when hearing that name.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

It's a play on words of core 2 do-over

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Just waiting for an IP lawsuit to happen there

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Wearing a Pebble Time steel right now, and I'm cautiously optimistic for this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Pebble time 2

Just got this to talk to my phone, gadget wraps carbon and clear screen protector. All I need now is to find out how to change the watch face.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

The app has a nice selection of faces, and you can also make your own (I made a few), though tbh I most use "blue futuristic" on mine

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Thanks, I found them on rebvle but they won't download to my watch.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Does the pebble app show your current watch face as active?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't have the pebble or rebel.io app. I am connected via gadgetbridge.org and the rebel.io site.

No current face is showing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh, ok. Sorry, I don't know how to use either of those. You'll need to reach out to them on that one.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Thanks for the help, the app won't work on my phone as it has a too recent android version.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago

Dude, that blows. I'm sorry to hear that :(

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I still have my circa-2016 email confirming my pledge for the Time 2 Silver, which ultimately got cancelled just before the fulfillment date due to Pebble selling out to Fitbit.

While I loved my original Pebble back then, I would really want something similar to look and function of the T2S so will watch this project in hopes it too is resurrected

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

due to Pebble selling out to Fitbit.

Due to Pebble going bankrupt, and managing to sell its software assets to Fitbit to gain just enough money to refund the kickstarter pledges and pay off it's biggest debts.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Subscriber paywalled. I am so unbelievably sick of these.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I backed the original pebble on kickstarter and it’s what got me into smart watches. Happy they’re coming back and that they’re open source.

Edit: if I’m remembering correctly wasn’t there some server that the original pebble used that shut done that ended up knee-capping it? Wonder if there’s anything server-side being used here that could do the same.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Pebble still works thanks to the Rebble project. Everything else is free, but the dictation and weather services require a monthly $3 subscription to use as those are the parts that have rather hefty API call costs.

Though the experience is miserable on iOS. That's entirely all thanks to Apple.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

What makes it miserable on iOS?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The Pebble app was removed from the App store, so you have to manually sideload it every 7 days.

And:

Here are the things that are harder or impossible for 3rd party smartwatches (ie non Apple Watches) to do on iPhone:

  • There’s no way for a smartwatch to send text messages or iMessages.
  • You can’t reply to notifications or take ‘actions’ like marking something as done.
  • It’s very difficult to enable other iOS apps to work with Pebble. Basically iOS does not have the concept of ‘interprocess communication’(IPC) like on Android. What we did before was publish an SDK that other apps (like Strava) could integrate to make their own BLE connection to Pebble. It was a clunky quasi-solution that other apps didn’t like, because it was hard to test (among other things)
  • If you (accidentally) close our iOS app, then your watch can’t talk to app or internet
  • Impossible for watch to detect if you are using your phone, so your watch will buzz and display a notification even if you are staring at your iPhone
  • You can’t easily side load apps onto an iPhone. That means we have to publish the app on the iPhone appstore. This is a gigantic pain because Apple. Every update comes with the risk that a random app reviewer could make up some BS excuse and block the update.
  • Because of iOS Appstore rules, it would be hard for us to enable 3rd party watchface/app developers to charge for their work (ie we can’t easily make an appstore within our app)
  • Getting a Javascript engine to run in PebbleOS forced us to go through many hoops due to iOS — creating a compiler inside the Pebble iPhone app that in itself needed to be written in (cross-compiled to) JS to work with Apple's restriction on downloadable code can only be JS
  • As a Pebble watch/app developer, using the iOS app as relay to the watch sucks since the "developer mode" terminates every few minutes
    https://ericmigi.com/blog/apple-restricts-pebble-from-being-awesome-with-iphones
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Oh yeah that is wack. When I used my old pebble I was on android but now I use both with iOS being more for communication. I think it’s easier to get apps into TestFlight. I wonder why they don’t do that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I recently did out my old 401B after the screen fell off my Galaxy Active2. It charged right up and still lasts about a week.

Finding a new band was a PITA because of the weird segmented hinge bit but one person was selling diver bands for it on Amazon (I think it was Amazon)... Really not bad for a watch from a decade ago.

Edit: Yes, you can still use them without the OG servers being up, look up 'Rebble' (rebble.io)

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Is there any company that let's you export your health tracking data in a non proprietary format and doesn't charge you a monthly subscription to use your smartwatch's health tracking features?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Garmin allows you to export data to a csv file. I'm not sure if it's all data because I haven't used it, but I know it's simple.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's good to know, I liked the MIP display watches I saw from Garmin, but the only model with that display seems to be their most expensive watch

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I think the forerunner 55 is MIP. It's not a smart watch and it's their base level running watch. I had one before I upgraded to the 265 and I loved it. Off the top of my head, I know it gives you sleep data, heart rate, data, stress level data, a HRV, VO2 max. Max. Maybe some other things. Along with the standard steps and Miles moved or kilometers moved.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

Seems like it can be connected to your phone to see notifications and control music using the Garmin app, do I guess it's smart enough for me, that plus health monitoring and long battery life are all I need, and it's more affordable than other smartwatch's as well. Does Garmin charge a monthly subscription to use the health monitoring? And does it allow you to export the health data?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago

No their app is free. You can access via your phone and on the web. Fyi music control on the Garmin is a bit clunky, but it works.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago

The 255 is also MIP and is basically the same as the one I have (265). The 265 swapped out the display for an amoled display.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

One pro of Withings is that they're French, so their policies on data in general are pretty great.

One con of Withings is that they're French, so it's not actually pronounced how you think.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

If only there was a company out there that did it. Alas...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago
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