Pebble (watch)

Pebble was an independent technology company that designed and manufactured smartwatches. Founded in 2011 by Eric Migicovsky, the company distinguished itself through its early crowdfunding successes on Kickstarter and its focus on simplicity, long battery life, and an open platform for developers.

Pebble smartwatches primarily used an e-paper display, which allowed for significantly longer battery life compared to the LCD or OLED screens found on many competing smartwatches. This display technology also provided excellent readability in direct sunlight. The watches connected to smartphones via Bluetooth, enabling users to receive notifications, control music, track fitness activity, and run apps developed specifically for the Pebble platform.

The Pebble smartwatch ecosystem was built around a dedicated app store where developers could create and distribute applications for the device. This open platform fostered a vibrant community of developers who created a wide variety of apps, watch faces, and utilities that extended the functionality of the Pebble smartwatch beyond its basic capabilities.

Despite its initial success and loyal user base, Pebble faced increasing competition from larger companies like Apple and Samsung in the smartwatch market. In late 2016, Pebble announced that it was shutting down and selling its assets to Fitbit. Fitbit subsequently ended support for Pebble's hardware and software services, effectively discontinuing the Pebble product line. While the official infrastructure has been shut down, a community of users and developers continues to maintain and support the devices through alternative firmware and server replacements.