Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time?

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.

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potatolicious 18 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I'm a bit lost here, and to be fair my memory from that long ago is a bit hazy... but I was a initial Pebble kickstarter and also got whatever the metal one was called.

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?

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bronlund 17 hours ago | parent [-]

I too was part of the initial Kickstarter and I had both the first and the second version.

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?

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platelminto 17 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> some may argue that this was a good thing

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.

	▲	bronlund 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Some say that if FitBit hadn't bought them, the Kickstarter supporters that still hadn't received their devices, wouldn't gotten their money refunded from Pebble. If this is true or not, I have no idea.

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potatolicious 16 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I remember that part too, I just don't feel like any of it was particularly egregious. Disappointing sure, but I suppose I disagree that anything about it was untoward.

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?

	▲	zevon 16 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Same attitude here (personal animosity against companies who fuck you over and do malicious sellouts but no such memories of the process Pebble went through in their last company iteration). 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.

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apparent 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Hard disagree. For one thing, no one is "supporting" this. It's not a Kickstarter, it's pre-orders. You can get your money back (including the credit card fee, if you ordered early) before it ships.

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.

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Anonbrit 16 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

One big difference this time is that the source code is all open. That's the main reason I was happy to give them my money again.

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_ink_ 18 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Maybe. I still enjoyed my Pebble till it died. I think I will enjoy the new one just as much.

	▲	bronlund 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The first Pebble was kind of cutting edge when it came in 2013 and it looked awesome. This new one looks like an electronic tag and is just a medium priced smartwatch with limited capabilities.

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summermusic 18 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I thought Fitbit bought them out and then after the sale announced that they were shutting it down instead of doing anything with it. I’m happy to be proven wrong if this isn’t the case.

	▲	bronlund 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		They did. Google bought FitBit in 2019 and released the source code to PebbleOS in 2025.

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dmonitor 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

aren't they going with open source firmware / OS this time around? even if it gets sold, user support will be possible

	▲	BlueTemplar 12 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I sure hope so : Android was still a reasonable option for the old Pebbles, but not any more...

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diego_moita 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Why would anyone support this knowing how it went the last time?

"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".

	▲	deanylev 8 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Not sure about Series 0 to 2 but my mom uses a Series 3 with an iPhone 16 and it works just fine. The rest of your point is sound though.