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Pebble Watch software is now open source

ericmigi.com

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Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#51

Post by apparent »

jsheard wrote: post #44
apparent wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IDK about Coros or Suunto, but the only Garmins with a battery life approaching 30 days cost ~$1,000. This could be competition for AWU, but wouldn't communicate that there is demand for a more basic/long-lasting Apple Watch.

30 days is asking a lot of any reasonably sized smartwatch, but if you set your sights a bit lower then a $250 Coros Pace 4 will do ~3 weeks with AOD off, ~1 week with AOD on, and 30-40 hours of continuous GPS recording. That's still a lot longer than any Apple Watch even if it's not hitting the 30 day milestone.

Yeah I don't need 30 days, but starting out at a week with AOD puts a pretty low ceiling on future battery life. Appreciate the pointer though.

In thinking further, I realized that the buttons are actually a pretty good moat against the big tech company competitors. Their UIs are all about touchscreens, so they'll never have as many/useful buttons as Pebbles do.

Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#52

Post by apparent »

lawn wrote: post #50
apparent wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IDK about Coros or Suunto, but the only Garmins with a battery life approaching 30 days cost ~$1,000. This could be competition for AWU, but wouldn't communicate that there is demand for a more basic/long-lasting Apple Watch.

I've got an Instinct Solar 2x and it does last 30 days for me, and it's much cheaper than $1000.

Didn't realize Garmin made monochrome solar watches. It is much cheaper. However, looks like an absolute tank, which would not fit under many shirtsleeves...

Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#53

Post by krabizzwainch »

jsheard wrote: post #44
apparent wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IDK about Coros or Suunto, but the only Garmins with a battery life approaching 30 days cost ~$1,000. This could be competition for AWU, but wouldn't communicate that there is demand for a more basic/long-lasting Apple Watch.

30 days is asking a lot of any reasonably sized smartwatch, but if you set your sights a bit lower then a $250 Coros Pace 4 will do ~3 weeks with AOD off, ~1 week with AOD on, and 30-40 hours of continuous GPS recording. That's still a lot longer than any Apple Watch even if it's not hitting the 30 day milestone.

My Coros Pace 2 was my solution to my desire for a less smart watch. It cost $200 when I got it 3 years ago. I run a ton and the exercise features of the Pebble just didn’t do it for me (and I don’t want to keep swapping watches based on what I’m doing). I easily get 2+ weeks with 7-8 exercises with GPS on. The screen is some variation of those transflective LCDs or MIPs LCDs.

I can never go back to a 2 day battery life for a watch, even if my 5 year old iPhone technically can’t make it through half a day of use….

Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#55

Post by exceptione »

notpachet wrote: post #38
weinzierl wrote: post #27

"Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, You hereby grant to Core Devices and to recipients of software distributed by Core Devices a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Your Contributions and such derivative works.…

> lachrymosely Learned a new word, thank you!

The h is peculiar, as the latin word reads `lacrimosus`

Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#56

Post by collingreen »

erohead wrote: post #25
apparent wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And of course, video adds another layer of complexity. Would you say that the video looks accurate to you, or does calling it "Rivian blue" help people understand what it looks like in real life?

I don't actually own a Rivian. I've seen them from afar. They look cool. I have not held a Pebble Time up to a Rivian yet. Maybe I'll creepily do that in downtown Palo Alto today :)

Get your creep on, for science!

Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#57

Post by DrammBA »

(Un)related new post made by rebble today: https://rebble.io/2025/11/24/rebble-in-your-own-world.html

Doesn't address the multiple feed support for the app store, and seems to be calling Eric to action a few times, but it would be too much of a coincidence that these two posts come out so close to one another.

Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#58

Post by apparent »

collingreen wrote: post #56
erohead wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't actually own a Rivian. I've seen them from afar. They look cool. I have not held a Pebble Time up to a Rivian yet. Maybe I'll creepily do that in downtown Palo Alto today :)

Get your creep on, for science!

No need to creep. It appears there is a Rivian store in Palo Alto. [1]

Surely they must have one on hand in their namesake blue.

1: https://rivian.com/spaces/palo-alto

Re: Pebble Watch software is now open source

#60

Post by com2kid »

apparent wrote: post #33

In terms of long-term market viability, have you considered whether your success could encourage Apple or other large competitors to make a battery life-optimized version of their smartwatches? I understand that some Pebble fans are all about the customization, and will be with you forever. But probably many people care mostly about the battery life, which is severely lacking in watches from Apple, Google, etc. If Ap…

When I first bought my pixel watch 2 I was able to optimize the settings to get almost 3 days of battery life.

A year of firmware updates later, I am back down to less than 2 days using the same settings.

I don't think the big manufacturers are going to change their ways anytime soon...

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