A watch model older than the Apple Watch is about to be 'revived'

Core Time 2 (left) and Core 2 Duo. Photo: Core Devices .

After many years of absence, the Pebble smartwatch is officially back with a new name. Founder Eric Migicovsky created the company Core Devices, launching 2 Core devices based on Pebble hardware, called Core Time 2 and Core 2 Duo.

Not only the design, Core uses the open source PebbleOS operating system, owning all the old features. The cheap version (Core 2 Duo) even reuses Pebble components.

“I’m not trying to sell this to everyone. It’s for people who are dissatisfied with their Apple Watch, Pixel Watch, or Garmin,” Migicovsky stressed.

Founded in 2008, Pebble was one of the pioneers in the smartwatch market with minimalist, classic-style models. In 2016, Pebble was "killed" and acquired by Fitbit. In 2021, Google acquired Fitbit.

The first device in the new series, called the Core 2 Duo, is expected to hit shelves in July for $150 . As the name suggests, Migicovsky says the product is identical to the Pebble 2 but better, with Duo being short for “do-over.”

The Core 2 Duo features a 1.26-inch black and white e-paper display and reuses the plastic frame of the Pebble 2. According to the founder, a supplier still has frames from the Pebble Time 2 and unproduced Pebble 2 in stock.

Core Time 2 and Core 2 Duo reuse PebbleOS, Pebble-like design. Photo: Core Devices .

Launched nine years after the Pebble 2, the Core 2 Duo has a few upgrades, including longer battery life (30 days instead of seven), thanks largely to an increasingly energy-efficient Bluetooth chip. According to The Verge , the device also has a speaker and microphone to interact with the AI ​​assistant, and an additional chip to track steps and sleep.

Migicovsky estimates that the Core 2 Duo will ship in the 10,000-unit run, with most of it going to developers and die-hard Pebble fans.

The next model, called Core Time 2, is expected to hit shelves in December for $225 . The big change on the product is a 1.5-inch touchscreen (supporting 64 colors), allowing interaction with the components on the watch face by touch.

“It would be great to just tap on your watch, instead of digging through layers of menus and buttons,” Migicovsky shares.

According to Bloomberg , Core Time 2 still maintains the familiar design of Pebble smartwatch with 2 side buttons. The product's battery life is increased to 30 days, adding an external speaker, a chip to track steps, sleep and has a heart rate sensor. The watch case is made of metal instead of plastic.

The Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2 both support IPX8 water resistance, receive smartphone notifications, calendar appointments and control music. The duo uses the PebbleOS operating system, integrating more than 10,000 apps and watch faces.

PebbleOS assembly and testing process on Core. Photo: Core Devices .

The two products were launched after Google released the PebbleOS source code on GitHub in January. According to Migicovsky, this is an important factor because otherwise, developing a new operating system would be very difficult.

According to Migicovsky, the process of integrating the new hardware into the PebbleOS software is going quite smoothly, but there are still many limitations when connecting to an iPhone.

Some features are limited when using Core smartwatch on iOS such as replying to iMessages, responding to notifications, not being able to access the Internet if closing the connected application on iPhone... The release policy on the App Store also makes it difficult to regularly update applications.

The founder noted that the Core smartwatch’s launch schedule may be behind schedule, and that tariffs could put the product’s price at risk. Still, Migicovsky insists that he started the company as a hobby, not to sell millions of watches.