I'll be hanging out here - happy to answer any questions you have!
> This is the latest version of the internal repository from Pebble Technology providing the software to run on Pebble watches. Proprietary source code has been removed from this repository and it will not compile as-is. This is for information only.
edit: not sure they use the proprietary stack... at the very least, it looks like they're in the process of switching to a free BT stack
How are you supposed to do that?
The nRF52840 is not the most performant, I would've really liked if they had chosen a SoC, like the nRF5340, with more RAM or cores for this reason amongst others.
Side note - I got the first pebble through the kickstarter pre-orders in my first year out of high school. Seeing something so novel was definitely a contributor to me switch from CS to Mech E and working in the consumer electronics space now. Thanks for making cool and interesting things :)
It is fast - but we've done this before (many times) and know what we're doing. I've been blogging about the experience too https://ericmigi.com/blog/february-shenzhen-trip-update
Edit: preordered!
More reliable buttons (up to 30% longer lifetime in testing)
Any chance the particular extra color for the metal one could be an actual metal color? My pebble steel with the metal link band was a great combination of stylish and functional. I never really liked the look of any of the later models so even when I bought them I always went back to my pebble steel. I went ahead and pre-ordered the new metal one and I suppose I’ll go for black if I have to but I really hope you come out with a stainless steel or silver color.
Also what’s the watchband compatibility? Will this work with the original pebble bands or with standard watch bands or something new and proprietary?
It says it works with standard 22mm watchbands, so it seems like you can just put on any 3rd party band you like.
I can't spend $225 right now, and by next month I'm guessing the pre-orders will already have blown way past your production quantity ^^
The comparison chart, under "sensors", doesn't mention the compass under the Core Time 2; does the Core Time 2 drop the compass? A 3D magnetometer seems like a useful sensor for orientation purposes.
Is there a light sensor, to allow automatically disabling the backlight when there's enough ambient light and enabling it when there isn't?
You mention "Standard Pebble charger" for both; I'm guessing that that isn't USB-C?
https://www.tomsguide.com/wellness/smartwatches/apple-watch-...
> This week, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the previous verdict of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that concluded all three of AliveCor’s patents were unpatentable. This is generally the outcome when courts conclude that patents are either obvious or too generic to enforce.
The case over the oximeter functionality is still ongoing, but with luck it'll go the same way.
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/apple-wins-masimo-lawsuit-its-...
Any chance to open up support and reparability for old pebbles? For example, run the newly open OS on old hardware or source parts for old pebbles, like batteries for pebble time ;)
Any plans for a more sporty model (i.e., HR, GPS?)?
Core Time 2 has a heart rate monitor!
Core Devices will publish an open source fully featured library, that anyone can use to build an open source companion app as well.
* The originals used Sharp MiP but advertised them as "e-paper" do your new models use MiP LCD (or similar) or actual "e-paper" ie "e-ink" (electrostatic capsules).
* Pebble time round 2?!?!
* The touchscreen - this is an issue I had on my Galaxy watch including the bezel rotating as well. Are there efforts to pevent the touchscreen from inadvertently doing things when I'm resting one arm against the other? For Galaxy watch I had to switch off bezel rotation/touch screen waking the watch & only allow buttons, because it would constantly wake up when I had my arms crossed/resting position.
* The backlight, is it backlit or front-lit? I suppose this more relates to if it's genuine capsule e-paper, then it would be nice to be front-lit.
* No compass or barometer on CT2?
Thank you! <3
In short, I really want to stop giving my money to Garmin. But I don't want to compromise on quality of the data being recorded. What are your thoughts on that market?
Seems like you did as the screens look blessedly flat!
Congrats!
One very frustrating concern - the warranty. This is $255+ for a device that is only good for 3 million seconds. Would it be possible to arrange replacement at cost after 2 years?
You can't tell consumers the raw manufacturing cost because people act weird when they are told it: they usually assume the "markup" is profits. They assume that they're getting ripped off because most people don't understand development costs or overheads and they always argue that any profit is too much. This problem can't be fixed.
Apart from the risk of scammers buying a watch to sell, saying it is broken, getting a replacement at cost and the scammer steals the markup/profit.
You can maybe think of ways to make it work, but they are likely to have excessive support costs or other hidden costs for the manufacturer or consumer.
1. what percentage of this object price is net profit? 2. is that percentage a "fair" proportion?
but atm, I don't have a "scientific" way to respond to those questions so I usually go with my gut, or do whatever other people in my circle do (which is not ideal and I'd like to change)
You only know the actual profit margins much later, after you have sold the devices and seen them last through their warranty period.
If you'd like to minimize excess profit, take note of which products seem overpriced compared to their peers. Traditionally, anything Apple makes is a prime example. For a non-tech example, look at disposable alkaline batteries. Rayovac has been owned by Energizer since 2018 and their batteries have become increasingly comparable over time, yet Rayovac batteries are much less expensive than comparable Energizer batteries. The difference? Mostly marketing and profit margin, at this point.
It is so weird we talk about caring about an invisible variable that is actually irrelevant.
In theory we should only look at the price and judge whether our expected benefits are likely to exceed that price. And we get distracted by measuring things in $, when what really matters is our benefits which can't be measured in $.
We are also distracted by ideals of fairness (a foolish goal in a business transaction) and zero-sum thinking (am I getting ripped off?)
I don't mind spending money on quality. What I hate is the information gap, and the costs of having to learn how to judge quality myself (because price is no proxy measure). I am distrustful of so many biased signals, plus so many other people's opinions are either unhelpful or influenced.
Mostly we each just fall back on an A versus B heuristic. I find it absolutely mad that the world works at all.
And an answer: look at the bad buying decisions made by others, and learn from their mistakes. I watch my father with money to spare, he wastes 2 hours to save $1, or he avoids spending money on something that would benefit his life or the life of someone he cares for, or he won't buy a Toyota because he hated their adverts once, or he keeps buying a Nissan even after being burnt by a severe costly design flaw.
The position thing is just something you get used to. There's not that many reader models in active use and most of them are pretty good about marking where the nfc reader is these days.
I've been moving towards using NFC payments for activating gas pumps as those readers still have you fully insert your card exposing the full mag strip.
Its also often faster for me to just tap my phone than to take my wallet out, pull out the specific card I'm wanting to use to pay, tapping/inserting that card, putting that card back, and then putting my wallet back. Instead my phone which still has a touch unlock is already unlocked before I take it out of my pocket and ready to be tapped and then put back in my pocket.
For card, you need to get the wallet, get the card from the wallet, and then put it back.
Some people don't use wallet or put it close, because I only need wallet to pay or use loyalty card, and I can do that with my phone.
Less to carry, less to idly distract myself with.
I know I’m not the only one and whatever gaps in applications you have aren’t as large as you think and can be filled in by the large passionate community you have fostered.
(and I wouldn’t worry about other attempts that have come before you. Before Breaking Bad, studios told Vince Gilligan that Weeds already existed.)
Is there an emulator available somewhere where one can start prototyping an app with tap support?
I can still leave my phone at home, and since I don't have a mobile connection on the watch (intentionally), it means I'm truly and fully offline - but I get to keep many features. I can listen to music (direct connection to BT headphones), tick items off the shopping list, pay for stuff, look up my schedule, etc. Some things could work offline where they currently don't (e.g. weather, maps/public transport), but the caching/syncing is overall surprisingly decent.
Unfortunately, it's all using private APIs, no third party watch has the same access, and you can't e.g. pair the AW with an iPad. But otherwise I think it should be the golden standard (perhaps DMA could get Apple to open up the APIs).
Question: does either of the model have NFC capabilities, or is there any plans to add this feature in the future? I am looking specifically for a way to pay contactless with Graphene OS (which does not support NFC payments because Google does not want to).
My only hope is that you can bring the Time Round back in some form: Mine is unfortunately dead, and they're very difficult to purchase even second hand these days! It was the single best smartwatch I've ever owned and used
Will the watch ship with a JTAG clip? Or is that coming later. Not sure if I missed the option in the store
What affect are tariffs having?
(I know e-ink displays can have fast refresh rates, like the 60Hz / fps Daylight computer - but that may not be cost effective / battery efficient here?)
One of the nice things about Amazfit watches was that I could dial down the HR polling and get better battery life that way.
I would pay an irrational amount of money for a watch that can make calls that has a very long battery life.
The closest thing to what you probably want is the Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE:
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/698632
Discontinued, but young for Garmin devices and still available if you're willing to pay irrational amounts of money. It doesn't make audio calls out, but can receive audio messages (to Bluetooth headphones) and send/receive "emergency" text messages either to the Garmin emergency response center (sends a helicopter to your location, if required) or by SMS with a few canned messages or tediously entered custom messages to to a predefined, pre-approved set of emergency contacts, as described here:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/garmin-forerunner-945-de...
I really would like calling too. There's a lot of daylight between I lost my phone and need to call a cab, and send a helicopter.
Right now I have an LTE smart watch, but the battery is optimistically about 24 hours( on a good day ).