Fitbit is Ending Support for Pebble Smartwatches in June of 2018

[ProjectBox153]

Remember Pebble smartwatches? I do, and Linus make videos about them (in the spoiler at the bottom of the post). Fitbit, the company who has owned Pebble since December of 2016, made a statement in the form of a blog post that spells the end of support for Pebble smartwatches on June 30^th of 2018, just a little over 5 months from now. Pebble says the main iOS and Android app should continue to function, but if an iOS or Android software update breaks it, then that’s it. These apps won’t see any more updates. The following are features that will no longer function once the devices are no longer supported by Fitbit:

• Pebble App Store
• Pebble Forum
• Voice Recognition functionality
• Email and SMS reply functionality
• Timeline pins from third-party apps
• CloudPebble development tool

Pebble devices will still work after June 30^th, but they will have limited functionality and won’t be receiving any more support from Fitbit. The company is offering a discount though, so if you’re going to get a Fitbit device to replace your Pebble, you can save $50 on the Fitbit Ionic, and if you’re a developer, you can get to work learning about the Ionic, which is the only device that runs Fitbit OS. What do you think? Does Fitbit just want people to buy their hardware (and make some money from that) or is it just time for the Pebble to be gone?

 

Videos from LinusTechTips about Pebble devices:

Spoiler

 

 

 

Sources: 

Spoiler

The Verge:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/24/16928792/fitbit-smartwatch-pebble-end-support-date-june

Ars Technica:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/fitbit-will-support-pebble-smartwatch-ecosystem-until-june-30-2018/

LinusTechTips videos on YouTube

Image on left: Amazon product page

Image on right/center: Kickstarter page

 

[Guest]

It was great when it came out, but monochrome e-ink powered anything has an expiration date you could see from a mile away. Perhaps they'll release some tools to let the homebrew community do some awesome things with it.

[MrDrWho13]

Aw I really like my Pebble 2. It's the only decent smartwatch you could get for under £100

[79wjd]

I had a Pebble Time Round and it satisfied my needs pretty well. It didn't look the best in terms of the physical design or the screen, but the fact that it was so thin, lasted two days, and was round is what drew me to it. Now I'm trying to replace it because the battery has degraded to the point where it will only last a few hours on and even die when at full charge if it tries to draw too much power. Unfortunately because it only had a 50mah battery it degraded to about a day around one year (twice, I RMA'd it), and then within a few months after that first year it degraded rapidly to a few hours/random shut downs. It's sad to see Pebble completely disappear, although everyone did see it coming. 

 

Now I just have to decide whether I'm going to continue with a Gear S3, Gear Sport, or Apple Watch Series 3.

[stvclark]

I still use my original Pebble everyday, I know it is a little dated compared to a lot of wearables that are currently out but there are few smartwatches out that can compete with it's battery life. Even after 4 years the battery still lasts for multiple days, the up to 5 days battery life of the Iconix is pretty decent, as long as you don't use GPS. The only thing that will stop me using my Pebble will be software compatibility issues. Having gotten used to wearing a watch daily I think I would go back to a "dumb" watch, spend £300 (Fitbit Iconix price) on a traditional watch and you have something that will last for a decade or so with little issue, I know that I would miss the smart features for a little while.

[79wjd]

7 minutes ago, stvclark said:

I still use my original Pebble everyday, I know it is a little dated compared to a lot of wearables that are currently out but there are few smartwatches out that can compete with it's battery life. Even after 4 years the battery still lasts for multiple days, the up to 5 days battery life of the Iconix is pretty decent, as long as you don't use GPS. The only thing that will stop me using my Pebble will be software compatibility issues. Having gotten used to wearing a watch daily I think I would go back to a "dumb" watch, spend £300 (Fitbit Iconix price) on a traditional watch and you have something that will last for a decade or so with little issue, I know that I would miss the smart features for a little while.

I had the same mindset and I tried to go to a traditional watch about three weeks ago myself when my PTR reached the end of its life. I spent a few days deciding what watch to buy, but before I could get it sized I decided I disliked not having the smart features too much. So here I am, testing out a few smartwatches to decide what I end up keeping.

[mrchow19910319]

shouldn't be surprised at all.

[Cheezdoodlez]

Not surprising at all. As I see it fitbit bought pebble to be able to create the ionic and now that it's launched there's no reason for them to keep pebble around.

[abazigal]

The pebble will always have a special place in my heart as my first smartwatch. It was what sold me on the value of wrist notifications and the primary reason why I would subsequently get an Apple Watch. 

[Ginger_]

I'm still wearing my time round. Works just as well as the first day I got it. It's sad to see them go, no watch on the market currently can replace this beauty  

[MeDownYou]

Still rocking the OG Pebble black as pictured. I can't live with a watch that has less than 7 days battery life for me. What I'd like is for a color version with 14 or 30 day battery, but other than that the OG is great. (yes i know the 2 is color and 5-7 days)

[ARikozuM]

Fitbit better be making a damn good product to replace the Pebble series. I kickstarted the Pebble original and have owned the original, Time, and Steel series. 

 

Fitbit is offering the Ionic (and Ionic 2, hopefully) for $299.99 USD with a $50 discount if you own a Pebble from before the acquisition.

Quote

https://dev.fitbit.com/blog/2018-01-24-pebble-support/

 

How to Redeem the Pebbler Fitbit Discount
To redeem the Fitbit discount, any owner of a Pebble smartwatch who purchased their Pebble device prior to December 7, 2016 and opted in to receive Fitbit's marketing communications, will receive an email with additional details.

I think the biggest thing for me is watch strap support, exercise tracking, and battery life. I'd like to see Fitbit allow third-party straps with all of the features they tout, two days of battery life for heavy users, and voice and text inputs for messaging, e-mail, and note-taking as doable on Apple Watch. Being able to get a cellular line added for the watch would be a great boon as the phone can be left at home while the watch serves all of the functions that one would need. 

[MeDownYou]

4 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Fitbit better be making a damn good product to replace the Pebble series. I kickstarted the Pebble original and have owned the original, Time, and Steel series. 

 

Fitbit is offering the Ionic (and Ionic 2, hopefully) for $299.99 USD with a $50 discount if you own a Pebble from before the acquisition.

I think the biggest thing for me is watch strap support, exercise tracking, and battery life. I'd like to see Fitbit allow third-party straps with all of the features they tout, two days of battery life for heavy users, and voice and text inputs for messaging, e-mail, and note-taking as doable on Apple Watch. Being able to get a cellular line added for the watch would be a great boon as the phone can be left at home while the watch serves all of the functions that one would need. 

wait what that redemption policy is freaking trash! You get told your device is going to be phased out AFTER the opt in date wow. 

[ARikozuM]

2 minutes ago, MeDownYou said:

wait what that redemption policy is freaking trash! You get told your device is going to be phased out AFTER the opt in date wow. 

You opt in for the Fitbit newsletter. It contains a link to the discount page where you'll enter your Pebble's serial number. As long as the Pebble was purchased before 12/7/16, you will receive the discount.

[MeDownYou]

Just now, ARikozuM said:

You opt in for the Fitbit newsletter. It contains a link to the discount page where you'll enter your Pebble's serial number. As long as the Pebble was purchased before 12/7/16, you will receive the discount.

Okay, much better, still 300 dollars is pretty steep for a watch that on paper doesn't look much better than the pebble 2 in capabilities

[Guest]

These smart watch companies seem to forget a Watch is a very long item to keep. I’ve no intention of upgrading my Apple Watch for at least 5 - 7 more years. 

[stvclark]

13 hours ago, djdwosk97 said:

I had the same mindset and I tried to go to a traditional watch about three weeks ago myself when my PTR reached the end of its life. I spent a few days deciding what watch to buy, but before I could get it sized I decided I disliked not having the smart features too much. So here I am, testing out a few smartwatches to decide what I end up keeping.

I don't use the Pebble for much anymore, so I don't think that the transition would be too challenging. I only really checked notifications and look at the time. The music controls aren't that great as I am using Amazon music (as it's included in Prime) and I never did get my Pebble 2 that I preordered so I never got used to the fitness tracker functionality.

 

I think that if there is a wearable with the desired functions, with suitable battery life and the right price point from a company that is likely to support the device for a suitably long period then I could probably be tempted again.

[The Benjamins]

I loved my Pebble Steel, I only stopped wearing it when I had issue with charging it.

 

I am not sure If I want to try a Hybrid smart watch like the Fossil Q, or a android ware watch like the Fossil Q EXPLORIST

[79wjd]

11 hours ago, Ginger137 said:

I'm still wearing my time round. Works just as well as the first day I got it. It's sad to see them go, no watch on the market currently can replace this beauty  

Just out of curiosity, how old is it and how long does the battery last?

2 hours ago, RorzNZ said:

These smart watch companies seem to forget a Watch is a very long item to keep. I’ve no intention of upgrading my Apple Watch for at least 5 - 7 more years. 

I'd agree to not wanting to upgrade for a long time, but these watches all have small batteries, so battery degradation will likely be the thing that forces you to upgrade (and possibly sooner than 5-7 years -- my PTR lasted about a 1.3 years before the battery was completely shot).

16 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

I loved my Pebble Steel, I only stopped wearing it when I had issue with charging it.

 

I am not sure If I want to try a Hybrid smart watch like the Fossil Q, or a android ware watch like the Fossil Q EXPLORIST

I tried a hybrid watch for about five minutes before I decided it was ridiculous. I kind of expected it to be stupid, but I really wanted to give it a shot since 6 months battery is better than a few days and they look a bit nicer/are a bit sleeker. 

[The Benjamins]

4 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

 

I tried a hybrid watch for about five minutes before I decided it was ridiculous. I kind of expected it to be stupid, but I really wanted to give it a shot since 6 months battery is better than a few days and they look a bit nicer/are a bit sleeker. 

why did you think it was ridiculous?

 

I loved the music controls on the pebble, and the other feature I used and liked a lot was seeing a preview of a text or email, and know who is calling with out looking at my phone.

 

I think using a e-ink screen like the pebble is the best thing for a smartwatch, it helps battery life so much.

[79wjd]

Just now, The Benjamins said:

why did you think it was ridiculous?

 

I loved the music controls on the pebble, and the other feature I used and liked a lot was seeing a preview of a text or email, and know who is calling with out looking at my phone.

Music control was fine, one button did play/pause/next/previous (and I could map another button to do volume), but the notification part was my problem. It would just move the hands to a certain place depending on the type of notification and/or who it was from. It just felt annoying and I found myself pulling out my phone more frequently than I did with a smartwatch anyway.

[The Benjamins]

3 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

Music control was fine, one button did play/pause/next/previous (and I could map another button to do volume), but the notification part was my problem. It would just move the hands to a certain place depending on the type of notification and/or who it was from. It just felt annoying and I found myself pulling out my phone more frequently than I did with a smartwatch anyway.

ya that is the part that is not what I am really looking for. (notifications)

 

I hate how their are not many full metal smart watches, a lot look like $20 sport watches.

 

But the fossil Q Explorist looks good at $275. I should also get a link added to my Seiko Ti watch, and start wearing that daily.

[79wjd]

2 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

I hate how their are not many full metal smart watches, a lot look like $20 sport watches.

 

But the fossil Q Explorist looks good at $275. I should also get a link added to my Seiko Ti watch, and start wearing that daily.

Most smartwatches support standard bands -- so you can always just add a metal band. I'm personally considering the Gear S3, Gear Sport, and the Apple Watch 3 as I want at least two days of battery life (immediately knocking the Q Explorist out).

[DrDerp]

14 hours ago, abazigal said:

The pebble will always have a special place in my heart as my first smartwatch. It was what sold me on the value of wrist notifications and the primary reason why I would subsequently get an Apple Watch. 

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I would try to get my watch all updated but it consistently resets itself, so I don’t wanna go through the effort of it.

[Ginger_]

3 hours ago, djdwosk97 said:

Just out of curiosity, how old is it and how long does the battery last?

Not especially old, about 6 months. I get about 2.5 days per charge, but I typically charge it every day when I shower to try to keep the battery from draining below 60% for best life