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Years after the last Pebble smartwatch hit the market, Pebble OS is now open source and new smartwatches are in the pipeline. In a new blog post, revived efforts to get Pebble OS running on updated hardware has already produced its first fruits.
Earlier this month, Google opened up the source code for Pebble OS, the platform that powered Pebble smartwatches up until 2016 when Fitbit bought out the company (itself being purchased by Google a few years later). This opened the door to a revival for existing Pebble hardware, but also to new hardware based on the platform.
Eric Migicovsky, the original founder of Pebble, announced an effort to bring back the Pebble smartwatch with this new open-source platform, and work is already underway.
In a blog post, Migicovsky shared an image of Pebble OS running on actual hardware. The software build was compiled to target a new Bluetooth 5.3 chipset, nRF52840, which supports Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth mesh, NFC, Thread and Zigbee. That’s a big step forward from the Bluetooth 4.1 that the Pebble 2 was using in 2016.
The blog post goes on to explain how developers can help bring this rebooted Pebble dream to reality, such as creating new watch faces or apps for Pebble. Developers can also help out with bigger projects that will contibute towards new hardware efforts.
All of the work around this Pebble revival is on Github.
More on Pebble:
- There’s a new Pebble smartwatch coming – here’s what you should expect from it
- How to use a Pebble smartwatch with Android in 2025
- New Pebble smartwatch is coming as Google opens source code
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