The iconic Pebble smartwatch continues to head towards a revival as developers are called upon to contribute to the open-source PebbleOS.
Google acquired Pebble’s intellectual property through its acquisition of Fitbit in 2021, which acquired the rights from Pebble in 2016. Last week, Google released the source code for PebbleOS—sparking the revival of the once-loved platform.
Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky said “This is a big deal!” and stated that work has subsequently resumed, both on PebbleOS and entirely new hardware.
New hardware, familiar spirit
This week, Migicovsky shared a glimpse of the ongoing development with a photo showcasing PebbleOS running on real hardware powered by a modernised chipset, the nRF52840. The project is fully embracing its open-source ethos.
“We’re open sourcing all updates at github.com/coredevices/pebble,” he stated.
Fans and developers can also register their interest for the new Pebble device through rePebble.com. However, Migicovsky tempered expectations regarding major feature additions.
“Please don’t get your hopes up that the new watch will have X/Y/Z new feature. It’s going to be a Pebble and almost exactly as you remember it, except now with open source software that you can modify and improve yourself,” Migicovsky said.
As part of the hardware development process, Migicovsky is heading to Shenzhen to meet with factories and suppliers.
Supporting the Pebble smartwatch revival
Migicovsky isn’t alone in this revival endeavour; a team of dedicated individuals is helping to carry forward the Pebble vision.
“So far, it’s me and a small group of folks,” explained Migicovsky.
The current team includes Joshua Marinacci (a Rebble board member), Gerard Koot (firmware), and Pebble developer crc32 (Cobble). Steve Penna, who helped build the original Pebble Android app, is set to join the effort soon.
Additionally, several former Pebble luminaries are providing guidance. Heiko, the designer behind much of Pebble’s original breakthrough aesthetic, is acting as a technical advisor alongside Andrew Witte, Migicovsky’s first Pebble colleague, and Mark Solomon, a core member of the initial Pebble design team. The thriving Rebble community on Discord is also supporting the project’s development.
For those outside this inner circle of developers, Migicovsky extended an invitation: “Are you a firmware, mobile. or Pebble app developer and interested in helping out? There are plenty of small, medium, and big projects you could help work on.”
The Pebble revival project is highly collaborative, with all of the software being open source. Contributions are welcome through two GitHub organisations: github.com/pebble-dev and github.com/coredevices.
Enthusiasts from the Rebble community are also organising on Discord, with dedicated channels for mobile app development, PebbleOS, and creating new apps and watchfaces.
To encourage new developers, Rebble plans to host a hackathon in the coming weeks. Migicovsky teased it as an opportunity to collaborate and learn: “If you want to get started contributing to PebbleOS, there will be lots of people all in one space who can try to answer questions.”
Getting involved: From small to large projects
Pebble fans who want to contribute have a wide range of options based on their skill level and interest.
Migicovsky categorised tasks into small, medium, and big projects:
Small projects:
- Revive an old Pebble from a drawer, sideload the Cobble app, configure Rebble services, and experiment with apps and watchfaces.
- Create a basic watchface or app using the Pebble SDK in C or JavaScript, even as a fun first coding experiment (with guides available online).
- Design updated app icons for notifications or apps that didn’t exist during Pebble’s peak years.
Medium-sized projects:
- Improve the Cobble mobile app’s performance and interface.
- Help port old Flutter features to Kotlin Multiplatform for better software compatibility.
- Tidy the PebbleOS build system by replacing its outdated Waf system with cmake.
- Enhance core functionality like Bluetooth connectivity and PebbleKitJS integration via the new libpebblecommon library.
Big projects:
- Integrate an open-source Bluetooth driver, such as BTstack or nimBLE, into PebbleOS and adapt it for existing Pebble hardware.
- Get QEMU emulation to work beyond virtual machines or even directly in a web browser using modern tools like WebAssembly.
- Build a VS Code plugin for PebbleOS developers.
Migicovsky expressed particular enthusiasm about improving developer tools: “The goal is for libpebblecommon to contain all Pebble business logic, making it really easy to build a new Pebble-compatible app for iOS, Android, desktop, and web.”
Reinventing the pioneering Pebble smartwatch
The original Pebble smartwatch garnered a passionate fanbase, thanks to its e-paper display, week-long battery life, and hardware/software integrations ahead of their time.
As legacy Pebbles gradually aged and support ceased following Pebble’s acquisition by Fitbit in 2016, the community found itself at a crossroads. The grassroots effort Rebble was subsequently launched by fans and developers to prevent the pioneering smartwatch being condemned to the history books.
With Migicovsky’s latest announcement, the Pebble ecosystem looks closer than ever to undergoing a full-fledged rebirth—blending its nostalgic charm with modern open-source capabilities. Whether you once owned a Pebble or have only newly discovered its legacy, this is an exciting moment to be part of its renaissance.
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