I came here not to praise the Pebble, but to bury it. Pebble, a pioneer in the field of smartwatches was never perfect, but first attempts at a new technology rarely are. There were glitches bugs and that flaky screen.
But Pebble had great developer tools and a friendly community. So I stayed and upgraded to the Pebble Time. The health tracking may not have been as sophisticated as the newcomers to the scene, but it wasn’t trying to be something it wasn’t. Pebble knew it was a watch first and foremost.
Over time I found or built the apps that became vital pieces of my everyday. Like a Google authenticator app that my Apple Watch wearing friends wish they could access with a push of a button like the Pebble could.
Yet it wasn’t to be. Soon Fitbit will be turning off the Pebble servers and the pioneer of the smartwatch will pass on like the Palm and Atari.
The latest smart watches and fitness trackers claim style, and smarts. Though none have an always on display like all of the Pebbles, and physical buttons were so great for easy no look operation. Not to mention the week of battery life.
So it is with a heavy heart that I say thank you, Pebble, for being my loyal companion over the last three years, and for launching the smartwatch ideal. An ideal that I hope others will try to improve upon.
JeremyCodes 