In recent weeks, most smartwatch news has been dominated by Android Wear-powered devices from the likes of Motorola and LG, and of course, the Apple Watch. But today, Pebble, creators of the first widely adopted smartwatch, made some announcements that should keep current owners happy and possibly attract some new customers too.
Pebble’s first announcement relates to health and fitness. The company is releasing a new software update that will enable non-stop activity tracking and sleep monitoring. The update allows activity to be tracked in the background – so you can still display your favorite watchface, and Pebble is introducing new apps that take full advantage of this new functionality.
These new apps include an updated version of Misfit, which features continuous, round-the-clock activity tracking and sleep monitoring. Swim.com, which is first smartwatch app to allow wearers to measure distance, pace, times, strokes, and efficiency whilst swimming. In addition, Jawbone is launching a watchface called UP, which displays daily and weekly activity progress, and syncs with its new UP app for iOS.
Pebble is also making its products more affordable. The price of the original plastic Pebble has been reduced from $149 to $99, while the more recent Pebble Steel is now $199 – a price cut of $30.
Finally, Pebble is expanding its retail presence around the world. In the US the company’s watches will be sold in Fry’s, Sam’s Club, and Sprint stores. UK customers will be able to buy them from Dixons, O2, and Amazon, and the company will also be entering the following markets: Scandinavia, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
We’d love to know what you think of Pebble’s announcements. You can leave a comment below, via your preferred social network, or over on the forums.
After almost going with the Jawbone Up24, I was just about to drop $100 on the Misfit Shine (unless I could wait another 2 weeks to see if the $50 Flash was any good). However, Pebble’s announcement today has me rethinking that. The addition of the fitness tacking capabilities to their already popular smartwatch at the lower price might make much more sense than a similarly priced, single-function device. I’m concerned, though, about it’s size – looks very big on the wrist. Still, it would get me into the wearables game while I’m waiting for the Watch.