Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky announced some large updates are coming to the popular smartwatch today. The Kickstarter-famous gadget for wrists will be getting a brand new iOS app, and a brand new developer kit packed with new features (which means better apps).
When we reviewed the Pebble last June we had a lot say about the budding smartwatch. It was a pretty good device, but was held back by a limiting SDK. Based on what we’ve seen so far though, the next few weeks for Pebble appear to be really exciting.
Today’s live Google Hangout with Migicovsky offered a lot of new announcements, starting with a brand new iOS 7 app for Pebble. Past versions of the iOS app for Pebble could not send all your notifications from iOS to the smartwatch, but with iOS 7 this problem has finally been solved. This update will finally unlock all of the features of the Pebble to iPhone owners.
The SDK update added a bunch of features that will unlock all the potential we thought the Pebble has been missing. These features include added memory capabilities that allow you to save data and settings on your Pebble apps, the inclusion of new APIs for the accelerometer, GPS, camera, and other capabilities of your smartphone.
Finally, Pebble has announced some new partnerships. For one, Pebble has partnered with CloudPebble, offering the ability for developers to more easily create apps for their smartwatches all from their browsers, as opposed to being stuck on a single development application. Apps from Foursquare, GoPro, iControlHome, and Yelp will become available later this year.
The SDK update is in beta now and will be rolling out soon.