- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- technology@lemmy.ml
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- technology@lemmy.ml
- technology@lemmy.world
Google recently open sourced Pebble and today, Repebble has put some of the watches up for preorder.
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Genuinely considering it as I love e ink, lightweight, long battery life, and open source
I understand that the watch operating system is open source. However, it seems that the watch will connect to a companion smartphone app. Do you know if the app is a requirement and/or if the app will be open source?
Yeah the mobile app is open source too https://github.com/pebble-dev/mobile-app
It is not clear that this is the app that will be used for the new watches. I imagine it will support the new RePebble watches, but I believe that app was intended for the original Pebble watches.
The thing that makes it so unclear to me is that this is a repo owned by the Rebble team, not the RePebble team. I do not know how much overlap there is between the two teams, but the RePebble team does not have any open source repos that I could find. Any mention of open source software by RePebble (including the OS) are links to repos owned by other teams, which is a little concerning.
It runs basically the same PebbleOS, so they’ll work with any app that works with the original Pebbles. They plan to keep using the community app hosting at https://apps.rebble.io/. There’s also GadgetBridge that’s compatible. Eric mentioned on HN the intention for an official open source library that can be used to make other companion apps too.
Does it spy on us?
The hand-wavy answer is: go check the code and find out, however that’s not accessible to everyone.
The helpful answer is: The code is out there, and the launch date is far enough away that those who do understand it enough to make that distinction should have the time to do so before it ships, so time will tell.
The Rebble folks probably are the closest to knowing, given they’ve been hacking on the current app for the past several years.
My guess is probably not. The target audience probably wouldn’t be cool with it.
Also, there are 3rd party watchfaces and apps that will be available, so that code will need to be evaluated too. So, it’s more complicated than a single yes or no.
Gadgetbridge is compatible with Pebble devices
IIRC, it has a reflective LCD, not epaper display.
Core 2 Duo
- 1.2" black/white e-paper screen
Core Time 2
- 1.5" 64 color e-paper screen
Am I missing something?
The watch featured a 32-millimetre (1.26 in) 144 × 168 pixel black and white memory LCD using an ultra low-power “transflective LCD”
The problem is that e-paper is a category of displays, and some companies label reflective LCDs as “e-paper”. Which is subjective (and I personally heavily disagree with that categorization, cause then LCD clocks and Gameboys have “e-paper” displays, too).
But in the comment I responded to it was said Pebble has “eink” display, which is categorically wrong, as that is a very specific proprietary technology, which is e-paper in traditional sense, like the ones in Kindles.
Your response says, “not epaper” which is categorically wrong. I assume you meant to say “eink”
As I mentioned earlier, whether a screen type is considered e-paper is subjective. And in my opinion, reflective LCD isn’t a type of e-paper. You may disagree, but it’s not “categorically” wrong.
Where exactly is that quote from? I had a look through the product page(s) and could only find e-paper being mentioned…
Quote is from Wikipedia. You can see it’s the case for both models here:
Besides, I own a Pebble Time watch and can tell you, it doesn’t perform like a typical e-paper. It has the bad viewing angles of LCD and screen goes blank when power is lost.
That quote is on under features on the article for the original Pebble, right? Might be that the Pebble 2 used a different screen; I can’t really find info on that though.
Regarding the Time, I think the product page for the new Time 2 specifically says how the curved screen lens on the Pebble Time wasn’t that good.
Edit: Found the quote under the Core 2 Time section
Flat glass lens (less glare and reflections than Pebble Time family curved lens)
From the Verge article:
The first watch that Migicovsky and Core plan to ship is called the Core 2 Duo (not to be confused with the old Intel processor), which Migicovsky says will cost $149 and will ship in July. […] It has the exact same black-and-white e-paper display as the old Pebble 2 (technically a transflective LCD, if you’re curious)
I believe these are sharp’s memory in pixel lcds. They’re much lower power than something like the game boy screen as each pixel retains its state and doesn’t need to be refreshed from the controller constantly. I actually like these little screens quite a lot. Worse pixel density and don’t look as good as e-ink when static, but still really Low power and can refresh way faster and smoother when needed.
I’m not criticizing the screens, they are ok and I loved my Pebble Time Steel until the battery swelled and popped off the screen. I’m just saying that calling these e-paper is a deceptive marketing strategy.
Oh that seems to be new since the original pebble
Epaper and eink are different. Eink consumes no power when idle, and epaper consumes almost no power.
I still can’t believe that no one else has made a smart watch with physical buttons and low energy use that has surpassed the pebble after all this time. I’m still cautious that this venture will pan out, but honestly there really hasn’t been a smart watch released that matches my use case. Sleep tracking makes no sense if I have to charge the watch daily, as I’d probably charge it over night. Media control with screen buttons is awful. Fossil came close with their hybrid smart watch, but the layout of the media controls made no sense and couldn’t easily be used without looking at the watch. Just let me check my calendar and texts and skip through ads in podcasts, and last over a week of battery and you will have my money.
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I have a Vivoactive 4 that I picked up used from Facebook a couple of months back. It’s a few years old now, and the regular LCD screen looks pretty janky once you’ve got used to OLED. But it cost me £50, works perfectly well with GrapheneOS, and the battery still lasts a week.
It’s left me pondering upgrading it to a new one with an OLED screen.
To offer a counter point: I’ve owned 3 different VivoActive 3 Music watches for about 2 years each. All of them had the screen stop working. Could be my bad luck, but I wasn’t super rough with them (never wore them in water)
The Garmin Instinct is what I switched to when my Pebble died. Recently upgraded to the Fenix.
You can absolutely skip ahead through ads with the music controls. Automating it would be the job of the app.
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Garmin watches come close?
My Garmin Forerunner 245 Music does all that I’d say
The benefit if the core repebble watches are that they have 1 month of battery life, they’re cheaper, and they are open source
Honestly daily charging isn’t the worst I just usually charge my watch when I’m in the shower and getting ready in the morning pop it back on when I’m done and I’m good to go.
I’m still very confused about why we needed PebbleOS for this. It’s been like 10 years and no one could come up with any comparable software? They whipped up the hardware design in a few months.
From what I’ve read from Eric since this relaunch was announced, he just wants a new pebble and so do some of the userbase. This project isn’t really intended as a viable, polished product. Rather it’s a niche thing made for a Core audience of nerds.
Disclaimer: I’m one of the nerds this is intended for. I instantly pre-ordered a watch because it’s a pebble. I7
he just wants a new pebble
I’m sure that’s what he wants you to believe.
I had a Pebble Time Steel and it was the best watch I’ve ever head. I want another Pebble. So does Eric. So I gave him money to make me one.
Yeah, I get that. My question is why Eric (or literally anyone else) didn’t just re-make the Pebble (or similar) under a different name at any time in the last 10 years? Why did they wait for the OS to be open sourced instead of just making a new one?
Methinks you underestimate the complexity.
And all the other watch makers I’ve looked at are not doing, or even considering, what Pebble did.
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Methinks you underestimate the complexity.
Maybe I do. But there are dozens of Chinese no-name companies who developed entire smartwatch ecosystems.
Dozens? Name three, and be sure to include number of aps in each ecosystem.
I’m sure there are dozens of Chinese smart watches, but most that I’ve seen are white-labels and sorely missing an ecosystem.
Some reasons:
- It’s a lot of work no one wants to do given there are half-decent proprietary alternatives
- Eric wasn’t sitting twiddling his thumbs
- The corporate landscape wasn’t nearly as hostile to users until the last few years
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Probably. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t usually make dumb decisions with money, but when there’s a potential pebble involved you could sell me an idea of one and I’d go for it. Especially after all this time.
What’s the huge thing about it? I don’t know nothing about the product and an curious as to why somebody would be that hyped about it.
It might be one of those “you had to have been there” moments. It’s 2014, Obama was reelected, Uptown Funk was on the radio (there used to be this thing called FM radio), and there you are - a happy young thing reading texts on your watch in broad daylight, right the middle of a conversation. You felt like a cucumber straight from the freezer.
I know all that sounds slightly laughable now, but there is an undeniable yearning for that zeitgeist compared to where we ended up.
Yeah, I feel you. There was a time, some ten years ago, when computers / the web / tech in general were actually great and not those emshittyfied things we have to use now. There are too much people that are just compliant enough to use every shit that gets shoved down their throat, to the loint that it os damn hard to boycott all the shitty thing and not be effectively Amish.
I never had one (but did want one, just financially couldn’t justify it at the time), but it would have a great fit for me. I just wanted a watch to tell the time, and display my phone notifications plus vibrate to alert me to them. That would have been legitimately useful for the job I was in at the time which was challenging to carry a phone (but it was nearby in my bag).
Now, I have no use for any of that. But I am now interested in a heart rate monitor that doesn’t hoover my data to replace my old dedicated Polar heart rate monitor (which also told the time, but I only wore it exercising), so the more expensive model is tempting!
After Pebble got bought up and went under, I kept mine a good while. It eventually died or I lost the charger, I forget. I’ve had ‘modern’ smart watches since then, and they all just stressed me out and were too fiddly. I need buttons.
I’m not really interested in tracking calories burned or heart rate changes myself, so I preordered a cheap one in black like I used to have. Annoying that I’ll probably have to pay an extra import duty on it, but I miss wearing a watch and this one is worth supporting - for the thing itself, but also because it’s a meaningful story to me.
It’s just a smartwatch that does some basic things right. The software is simple, it has buttons for control, it only does the very basics of smartwatching. There are no bells and whistles.
Most of all, to me, it just feels right. It always did. Other smartwatches I’ve had were all too demanding of my attention.
Fair enough. I feel the compulsion myself.
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Okay so now you’re not only acting in bad faith but following me around to harass me. You’ve been blocked. Goodbye.
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PebbleOS was awesome, though. Such a well thought out system for end-users, and it already has tons of apps. Developing for it (in C!) is also super easy because it has an amazing SDK.
Because good software is hard. The PebbleOS is a gem, and no, no one could in 9 years.
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It has the entire ecosystem of apps.
They didn’t need it, it was just the tipping point
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I’ve pre-ordered the Core Time 2.
Pre-orders are something I never usually do, but given this is essentially just an improved version of an existing product, as opposed to a Kickstarter, I feel more confident. And I can cancel the preorder at any time (plus I’ll see reviews of the cheaper model before the Core Time 2 ships).
The price made me wince, though. It’s very expensive for the functionality. Technically cheaper than the original watches adjusted for inflation, but that ignores the current-day smartwatch market. Still, I loved the Pebble, so I think it’s worth it.
I pre ordered, and I’m usually annoyingly loud about not pre-ordering. That being said, i love my pebble time. I Kickstarted it back in the day, and it still works but the battery is weak. I could replace the battery, but i want more devices like this, so I’ll put some money in and eat Ramen for a few weeks.
Torn between this and a bangle.js 2, if I need a smarwatch at all
Having used both, personally I highly preferred the Pebble over the Bangle JS.
Pebble was solid software, good designs and it all just worked simply and did what I needed. I also thought the Pebble Time Round was near perfect in design and execution. I’m not a fan of the geeky look of the normal pebble and bangle watches (or the apple watch look).
The Bangle was fun to dev for, and I love that it exists, but it all felt like a dev project. Not a finished product. Granted it was early on in the project so I’m sure it’s in a better place now.
They both have similar capabilities. I say go with whichever you think is going to fit what you need a smartwatch to do.
Eh. I prefer the PineTime watch. It was like 25€+shipping and customs and it does everything I need, is fully open-source – it displays weather info, time, date, heart rate (although not very well), and has timer, stopper, etc.
I want one, but I don’t know what I’d do with it. It’s hackable, it pairs with a phone/tablet/etc.
I’m just trying to figure out what it can do for me. My lack of imagination annoys me.
I use my autopebble with tasker. Scripted a few things, like find my phone, load my audiobook, messages, etc. Used to have Google Home messages and lights and stuff, but I stopped using smarthome stuff for the most part. Mostly I use it for music control and weather and time though.
I also scripted a weird one that I could enter my feeling level at work throughout the day (1-10) and based on the average at tthe end tasker would play one of three songs when I got in my car at the end of work (only within a time range and if bluetooth was connected to car)
Pre-ordered one immediately. I miss my old Pebble Time Steel so much. Part of me wishes there’s one with that design but I’ll take what I can get.
How’s navigation with Pebbles? If I start bike navigation in Google Maps on my phone, can I get turn-by-turn directions on the watch, and does it not suck?
No NFC ??? Whyyyyyyyyyy
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?
Withings
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.
Fuck I want that so bad.
Withings
Pebble sounds cool but i really dont like square watches(except the retro casios and gshocks) and now its owned by google so thats shit as well.
…and now its owned by google so thats shit as well.
Google acquired it back in 2021, this move to open source it is a good thing.
Google dumped the Pebble OS code on GitHub when this whole “rePebble” thing (not Rebble) started. Now there’s a new phone app coming out soon (or out now, depending on your platform and abilities) that handles old and new Pebbles and modern phone platforms.
None of this is from Google.
I think Google just owns the software because the product page for these watches say the guy invested his own money to get these produced.
Where’s my round?
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
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.
Isn’t there any way to pre-order without a credit card? I guess I’ll have to wait until other payment options are available…
