Nobody could have anticipated that one of 2025’s biggest smartwatch stories would be the return of a simple e-paper device that hasn’t been officially supported for nearly a decade.
However, after Google released most of the PebbleOS source code earlier this week, founder Eric Migicovsky announced he’s bringing Pebble back. This time, he says, the smartwatch will be built by a small team – and there will be no investors.
Yet, amid all the commotion, some might question whether we really need a Pebble re-do. After all, the market is currently awash with far more capable smartwatches.
Never mind the Apple Watch and Pixel Watch – even budget offerings are smarter than any Pebble ever was. The lack of options in the hybrid smartwatch world could also suggest a dwindling demand for a simpler smartwatch experience.
But there’s a reason Pebble never truly went to the wearables graveyard like so many of its rivals from the early 2010s.
Capturing the community

Instead of aping luxury watches or trying to out-feature household names, Pebble took a geek-chic approach to aesthetics and delivered an uncluttered and intuitive UI.
It’s something even more advanced smartwatches available today can learn from. While Pebble brought new features, it didn’t want them to come at the expense of simplicity and usability.
It’s why hackable smartwatch projects like The Watchy and Spectra have emerged in recent years. It’s something for smartwatch fans who don’t feel served by big brands. It’s also why Rebble, the community of enthusiasts and former employees, kept 16,000 Pebble smartwatches running with its operating system.
What was created (beyond an extremely likable if imperfect e-paper smartwatch) can be gleaned from Migicovsky and Rebble‘s posts since Google’s announcement. Pebble was built on a platform where the community was at the very heart of it.
The sense of being a part of something – perhaps even shaping its success – is what every other wearables company since (including, ironically, the Pebble brand’s now-owner Google) has desperately sought to recreate.
Yes, the Apple Watch has a thriving app ecosystem, as does Google with its Wear OS smartwatches. Even Garmin’s Connect IQ platform offers some of the same developer-focused feel. But while apps like Clockology have captured some of what Pebble had, the latter always punched above its weight in this regard. It had a tight-knit community building custom watch faces and collaborating to iron out interface niggles in real-time.
Fitbit tried to maintain the community spirit when it bought Pebble in 2017, and hoped app challenges could stir some excitement in the developer scene to get behind future smartwatches. Then Google stepped in, and, alongside increased competition, the opportunity to do so slipped away. We’re looking forward to this returning to the smartwatch space.
Going back to basics

This time around, Migicovsky’s checklist for building the watch seems pretty straightforward: he wants a new Pebble-style device that echoes the original design.
It will have an e-paper screen, long battery life, a simple interface, and physical buttons. It sounds like it’ll keep its hackable feel. And, we imagine, collaborating with its users will still be at the center of the company’s ethos.
At a time when Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and others are shouting about the latest health-tracking breakthroughs, Pebble’s reincarnation will likely attempt to cut through the noise and remind us of the value of doing the basics right.
Its enduring popularity is a timely reminder that racing towards developments in hardware and software might not always be the thing consumers actually want. At the very least, it shows us what has been lost a little along the way.
Instead, prioritizing a pared-back, intuitive device that brings people together could be exactly what a competitive and bloated market needs.
It could be the comeback story we didn’t know we needed.