The First New Pebble Smartwatches Are Coming Later This Year

Eric Migicovsky, founder of Pebble, will release two new smartwatches running the newly open-sourced Pebble operating system through his company Core Devices. The Core 2 Duo, priced at $149 and shipping in July, utilizes unused Pebble 2 frames with the same black-and-white E Ink display.

The device features a 30-day battery life -- quadruple its predecessor's -- and incorporates a speaker for AI assistant interaction. Approximately 10,000 units will be available. The Core Time 2, arriving in December at $225, adds touchscreen functionality to the classic Pebble design while maintaining physical buttons and month-long battery life.

Both devices face iPhone integration challenges. Migicovsky cautioned potential tariff increases would be passed to consumers, stating, "We're going to charge more if it costs more." "I'm not building a company to sell millions of these," Migicovsky said. "The goal is to make something I really want."

Core 2 Duo?

[ajegwu]

They couldn’t even use a Core i3?

Re:

[cloud.pt]

I had a similar blast-from-the-past reaction. Didn't hear "Core2Duo" since about 2012.

Re:

[fahrbot-bot]

I had a similar blast-from-the-past reaction. Didn't hear "Core2Duo" since about 2012.

From TFA:

... the Core 2 Duo (not to be confused with the old Intel processor), ...
“It’s like a Pebble 2, but it’s made by Core devices. And then ‘Duo’ is for do-over.”

Ignoring that "Duo" means pair or two, not do-over...
Maybe a better name for this remake would "Cover" -- the strap could be the Cover Band.

Re:

[karmawarrior]

I'm sure it's intentional, but stunts like this also make it a PITA to get information about older hardware. Presumably they'll be expanding the range with the Pebble ZX Spectrum and Pebble Amiga 500, just to piss everyone off?

Re: Core 2 Duo?

[Kazymyr]

Pebble ZX Spectrum? Shut up and take my money. :)

Re:

[karmawarrior]

Only if it's actually related to the ZX Spectrum!

Oh, a speaker.

[Cley Faye]

I really wish that speaker will also be available for useful purpose, in addition to its current target.

Re:

[CallMeTim]

What else could you want it for? Gonna make phone calls on your watch?

Pebble had one thing Apple Watch STILL doesn't

[flippy]

Pebble had the ability to set it up so that when it got out of range from the phone, there was a haptic alert. Something that Apple Watch STILL doesn't have. How useful is it? In my personal experience, it saved me at least once. While out of the US, I had accidentally left my phone in a restroom at a pretty famous landmark, and when I got about 30 feet away (BT range) it buzzed and I went right back to get the phone, which was still exactly where I had left it. Any longer amount of time (this all happened in less than a minute) and who knows?

btw it's not difficult

[flippy]

Apple Watch displays an out of range icon on-screen when it detects that it's out of range from the phone. It should be dead easy to add the ability to make that a haptic alert. The detection is already being done, but it's important that it doesn't rely on me looking at my watch to notice. That may very well be too late. A haptic alert would be fast and noticeable even if I wasn't actively looking at the watch. I myself have submitted this suggestion to Apple, and I have seen more than a few others do so a

They need to fire their marketing person ASAP.

[JustNiz]

"The first watch that Migicovsky and Core plan to ship is called the Core 2 Duo"

What a stupid idea. Besides the fact that it communicates nothing infomative about the product itself,
You have to wonder at the blind stupidity of thinking that naming a new product the exact same as another product from a much larger manufacturer is ever a good idea.

AI... Why!!!

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

Gosh darn it, the one thing that they had to do to keep it simple was to avoid the temptation to add AI. No longer interested in them.