Pebble's Android app has an update that's just come out of beta and it's an impressive one. Version 2.3 means that any notification support built into Android Wear compatible apps now works with Pebble. As the company's blog post says, "If you can do it with Android Wear, you can do it with Pebble."
Read this: Pebble Time price, release date and specsThis means replying with preset messages and dismissing notifications, choosing to open apps on your Android phone and even responding to Hangouts with an emoji all from the watch. For Hangouts compatibility, at least, it seems that you'll need to also have the Android Wear app on your phone.
Of course, what with Pebble taking full advantage of Google's open approach to Android Wear, there is no equivalent update for iOS Pebblers.
With the Apple Watch on its way, Pebble makes an easy to decipher plea: "Openness is a value Pebble shares and appreciates. We hope more mobile operating systems follow suit so all Pebblers – no matter their smartphone choice – can take advantage of all the delightful features we introduce now, and in the future."
This extra functionality, together with the Pebble's week-long battery life, should sway a few potential Wearers away from Google's OS. The Pebble Steel might not be the flashiest smartwatch you can buy but the simple, affordable watch 'just works' and that can't be said for every Android Wear device.
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