- Team of developers who kept Pebble watches afloat after the company’s shutdown now accuse the founder of “stealing” their work.
- While Rebble and Core Devices had initially agreed to work together, the former now claims to disagree over the terms.
- Rebble alleges that Pebble’s founder, Eric Migicovsky, could build a “walled garden,” restricting further open-source app development.
After almost nine years of hiatus, the no-frills Pebble smartwatch is being revived. Pebble’s founder, Eric Migicovsky, shared an update earlier this month, revealing that 70% of the Pebble 2 Duo units have already been delivered, while the remaining orders are either in transit or scheduled to be shipped in the following days. In addition to this, Migicovsky has also relaunched the Pebble app store for early backers to enjoy new watch faces, apps, or games on their latest watches. While this is a positive development for Pebble fans eagerly waiting to relive nostalgia and cherish the same minimal smartwatch experience as the last decade, a newly emerged roadblock may stall Pebble’s recent progress.
The new hindrance comes from Rebble, a community of developers who gave the classic Pebble watches another chance at life after the company’s official closure in 2016. Rebble played an enormous role in Pebble’s upkeep and revival. After the company shut down, Rebble took the necessary steps to create an unofficial PebbleOS spin-off, called RebbleOS, and maintain an unofficial app store for Pebble watches. The same store now forms the basis of the reinvented Pebble brand, under its new name, Core Devices.