It looks like a Pebble, it works like a Pebble, but don’t call it a Pebble. Eric Migicovsky, the original creator of the Pebble smartwatch, just unveiled two new smartwatches — called the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2.
These spiritual successors to the Pebble smartwatches are available for preorder, costing $149 and $225, respectively.
If you aren’t familiar with Pebble, the Palo Alto-based startup was one of the first breakthrough successes of the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform — all the way back in 2012. The company created smartwatches before the Apple Watch and Android-based smartwatches existed.
While Pebble managed to sell over 2 million devices, the company abruptly closed in 2016. After an insolvency process, what was left was acquired by rival Fitbit (now a division of Google, of course).
Fast-forward to 2024, Migicovsky had a bold idea: What if we could go back to those simpler times and simpler tech devices? What if we could bring back the spirit of the Pebble?
Google has been surprisingly helpful in this process, as the tech giant is open sourcing PebbleOS, the operating system that powered the original Pebble smartwatches.
While Google acquired Fitbit a few years after Fitbit acquired Pebble’s assets, it turns out that Pebble’s IP wasn’t worth much to Google, so the company decided to give it back to the community of Pebble enthusiasts.
Now, Core Devices, Migicovsky’s new company, has unveiled two new smartwatches that will run PebbleOS.
The Core 2 Duo is essentially a new Pebble 2 running the original Pebble software.
It has an always-on e-paper display with a few buttons on the side of the device. Compared to other 2025 smartwatches, it’s pretty basic. That e-paper screen is a non-touch, black-and-white display. But the smartwatch supports alarms and timers — groundbreaking, I know.
The wearable pairs with your phone using Bluetooth so that it can display notifications and connect to the internet. You can also control the music on your phone thanks to the Bluetooth connection.
But the two things that made the Pebble stand out from its successors are still true today. First, the battery life is excellent. The company promises up to 30 days of battery life. Second, it’s a fun, hackable device. There are thousands of watch faces, and it’s easy to create small apps for the device.
“This project is a labour of love rather than a startup trying to sell millions of watches,” Migicovsky wrote in a blog post announcing the devices. “There may be some rough edges (literally). Things will get delayed. Some features will not be ready at launch. Things could break. Things could not last as long as you’d like.”
“The only thing we can guarantee is that it will be awesome and a lot of fun! Every time you look down at your watch, you will smile 🙂,” he added.
The other smartwatch Migicovsky’s company announced today, the Core Time 2, essentially shares the same specifications as the Core 2 Duo, but it has a bigger, 64-color display in a metal casing. It’s also a touch display, but Pebble apps don’t support touch interactions for now.
Migicovsky says shipments for the Core 2 Duo should start in July.
The Core Time 2 will take a bit longer to produce and ship; it’s slated to be available in December.
