Eric isn't in this because he want you to have a better watch, he is in this so he can sell you out at the first opportunity. It may not be FitBit or Automattic this time, but that's just what he does.
They were totally fine products, I enjoyed using them. I am no longer using them, but such is the nature of consumer gadgetry.
I don't recall getting rogered at any point in that process?
When FitBit bought Pebble in 2016, some may argue that this was a good thing, the development of the watch and the OS just stopped - it was dead. FitBit had no intention of keeping the Pebble and just wanted to implement the software into it's own ecosystem.
Google bought FitBit in 2019 and released the source code for PebbleOS this year - but that is kind of late now, isn't it?
I don't think anyone was arguing this - Pebble simply went bankrupt. FitBit just bought some of their IP/assets I think. There was no expectation of them buying it and continuing support or development.
If this is true or not, I have no idea.
I'm generally pretty hostile to companies being acquired and breaking their past customers' products. Shutting down various required cloud services, making software undownloadable, etc.
But I don't think that happened? The roadmap simply ended, but every watch that was out there kept working as-advertised for a good long while?
In fact, I still wear a Pebble daily. Both my Time and Time Steel still work great and I still strongly prefer the whole concept and the UI/UX to any other watch. As soon as they release the iOS app, my Pebble Time will become my "work watch", paired to my job-issued iPhone.
Secondly, he has said that he's trying to build an enduring company. And thirdly, he has said that he's building these in part because he wants to have a watch for himself. That aligns incentives and means that there will be ongoing manufacturing.
Lastly, he has gotten all the software open sourced, which means that if he closes up shop in a year, then anyone else can come in and build a competitor.
"How it went"? Seriously?
What about this: the Apple Watch Series 0 up to 3 no longer work with modern iPhones (or Android, anyways). Series 2 and 3 were released after Pebble went out of business.
And I still can use my old Pebbles with Android's latest phones.
TL;DR: Pebble's "sell you out" worked better than Apple's "sticking with you".