We're bringing Pebble back

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction

  • Many commenters are intensely excited and nostalgic; several still daily‑drive original Pebbles, have multiple units, or kept one “waiting for this day.”
  • Others are openly wary: they felt “rug‑pulled” when Pebble shut down and/or Kickstarter devices never shipped, and say they won’t pre‑order or crowdfund again without strong assurances.

Why people loved Pebble

  • Core virtues repeatedly cited:
    • Always‑on reflective/MIP display that’s sunlight‑readable with long battery life (5–10+ days).
    • Physical buttons that work without looking, with gloves, in the shower, and while biking or swimming.
    • Simple, coherent, non‑touch UI (timeline for calendar, easy media controls, quick alarms/timers).
    • A playful, “soulful” UX with great animations and little flourishes.
    • Hackability: C SDK, CloudPebble, JS companions, watchface generators, vibrant hobbyist ecosystem.
  • Many see Pebble as correctly designed as a “phone extension,” not a tiny phone on your wrist.

Skepticism and trust

  • People burned by the shutdown, bricked devices, and the canceled Time 2/Core stress “fool me once…” and want:
    • No VC‑driven growth at all costs.
    • A sustainable business with realistic pricing and modest ambitions.
  • Some distrust Google but also praise it for open‑sourcing PebbleOS instead of letting it rot.
  • A few complain the repo doesn’t compile; others explain missing pieces are third‑party proprietary components (BT stack, vendor libs).

Comparisons to other wearables

  • Garmin: closest in spirit (MIP displays, buttons, long battery, strong fitness), but widely criticized for clunky, inconsistent UX, confusing menus, proprietary charging, and cloud‑dependent app. SDK viewed as limited and sandboxed.
  • Apple Watch: praised for health and swim tracking, payments, and OS integration; criticized for short battery life, touch‑heavy UI, and “soulless,” locked‑down feel.
  • Other mentions: Amazfit, Fitbit, Withings/Fossil hybrids, Bangle.js, PineTime, SensorWatch, Casio/Timex, Oura. None are seen as hitting the same UX + openness + battery niche.

What people want from a new Pebble

  • Broad agreement:
    • Keep reflective/always‑on display, long battery, buttons, and simple UX.
    • Maintain or modernize the Timeline‑style calendar and great notification/media controls.
    • Robust, repairable hardware; nicer designs including a Round‑style option; ideally user‑replaceable battery.
  • Divided wishes:
    • Some want solid health/fitness sensors (HR, SpO2, GPS, sleep, swim tracking, fall detection).
    • Others explicitly want to avoid fitness bloat and preserve thin, light, “just a tool” design.
    • Contactless payments and LTE/eSIM are highly desired by some, seen as overkill or unrealistic by others.

Openness, ecosystem, and privacy

  • Strong calls for:
    • Keeping PebbleOS open, publishing companion apps, and ideally making cloud services self‑hostable (no forced subscriptions).
    • Good Linux/Android integration and compatibility with Gadgetbridge/Home Assistant.
  • Rebble is widely praised for keeping old devices alive; people want the new effort to embrace that ethos.

Site / messaging

  • The opening animation and the playful “No” redirect (Apple/Pixel watch) are widely enjoyed.
  • Some feel sending people to an Apple Watch is a bit salty toward Google; others find it perfectly on‑brand humor.