Pebble’s $225 Smartwatch Hits Mass Production March 9 — Plus a $75 AI Ring
Pebble’s $225 Smartwatch Hits Mass Production March 9 — Plus a $75 AI RingThe smartwatch that refused to die is back with 3 new products, a 30-day battery, and a smart ring that runs on hearing aid batteries for 2 years.
500 watches per day. $225 per unit. 30-day battery life. First wrists get them in April.
Eric Migicovsky — the dude who crowdfunded the original Pebble into a $230M company before Fitbit swallowed it — just dropped a monster production update. Three products rolling off the line. Real talk: this ain’t vaporware anymore.
🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary
| Term | Translation |
|---|---|
| PVT | Production Verification Test — the last checkpoint before they flip the factory on |
| 3ATM / 30m | Waterproof enough for swimming pools, not deep sea diving |
| IPX8 | Water-resistant to 1 meter — shower safe, pool not safe |
| e-paper | That screen tech that looks like real paper and barely sips battery |
| Mass Production (MP) | The factory goes brrr and doesn’t stop |
| DVT1 | Design Verification Test 1 — proving the design works before committing |
| Silver-oxide battery | Tiny hearing aid battery. Lasts forever. Costs pennies |
📖 The Backstory — How a Dead Brand Got Back Up
Look, Pebble was supposed to be done. Fitbit bought the scraps in 2016. Eric Migicovsky walked away.
Then in 2025 he just… came back. Started a company called Core Devices, teased some watches, then said “nah, we’re calling them Pebble again.” Smart move. The name has weight.
- Pre-orders opened at $225 for the Pebble Time 2
- Then he announced the Pebble Round 2 at $199
- Then dropped the Index 01 — a $75 AI smart ring with no screen, no health sensors, just a mic and a button
- All running PebbleOS, open-source firmware
(I never owned a Pebble back in the day. But the people who did? They talk about it like an ex they never got over.)
⌚ Pebble Time 2 — What You're Getting
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | $225 pre-order |
| Screen | 1.5" 64-color e-paper touchscreen |
| Battery | 30 days |
| Body | Stainless steel |
| Waterproof | 3ATM / 30m (swim-safe, not hot tub safe) |
| Sensors | Heart rate, compass, 2 mics, speaker |
| Straps | 22mm quick-release |
| Backlight | RGB |
Mass production starts March 9. Target output: 500 per day. First watches on wrists by early April. All pre-orders shipped by early June.
US tariff: $10 per watch. International VAT calculated at checkout.
💍 Index 01 — The $75 Ring That Remembers Things
This is the weird one. And I mean that as a compliment.
- No screen. No health tracking. Just a button and a mic
- Press the button, talk for up to 5 minutes, it stores the recording locally
- Syncs to your phone via the open-source Pebble app
- Processing happens on your phone — no cloud, no subscription
- Battery: replaceable silver-oxide hearing aid batteries — lasts ~2 years
- Waterproof to 1 meter (IPX8) — wash your hands, shower, don’t swim
- Pre-order: $75 (goes to $99 after launch)
- Available in polished silver, polished gold, matte black
Real talk: a wearable with no subscription and a 2-year battery? That’s almost anti-tech-industry.
🔵 Pebble Round 2 — The Pretty One
- $199 pre-order
- Same electrical design as PT2 (so firmware updates work across both)
- Finished DVT1 phase
- Production estimated late May 2026
- Focus now on waterproofing and final tweaks
The shared electrical design is a big deal — means their two-person firmware team writes code once and it runs on both watches.
📊 The Timeline At a Glance
| Product | Phase | MP Start | First Deliveries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pebble Time 2 | PVT  |
March 9 | Early April |
| Index 01 | PVT | March (TBD) | TBD |
| Pebble Round 2 | DVT1 |
Late May | Summer 2026 |
🗣️ What People Are Saying
- The Pebble community is loud about this. Original Pebble owners have been waiting nearly a decade
- Eric’s transparency with production updates (showing factory videos, waterproof tests, real timelines) is getting praised
- The Index 01 “external memory for your brain” pitch is polarizing — some love it, some think it’s a $75 fidget ring
- The no-subscription, no-cloud model on Index 01 is turning heads in the privacy crowd
- Two-person firmware team shipping weather, WhatsApp call support, health data syncing, and an app store? That’s wild for a team that small
⚙️ Software Updates — Shipping Features Fast
The software side is moving just as quick:
- Weather now works (sunrise/sunset pins + Weather app)
- WhatsApp calls show up as calls on Android
- Fixed a major iOS background crash that was killing live data
- Added WebSocket support on iOS
- Health data syncing improvements
- Left-handed mode
- Native app store built into the Pebble mobile app
All running on open-source PebbleOS. Two engineers. Look, some 50-person teams ship less than this.
Cool. A dead smartwatch brand is shipping 3 products. Now What the Hell Do We Do? ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
⌚ Hustle #1: Pebble Watch Face & App Store Play
PebbleOS is open source. The app store is live. Watch faces and mini-apps are the bread and butter of smartwatch ecosystems.
Build custom watch faces. Sell them for $1-3 each. Or build niche apps (workout timers, habit trackers, pomodoro clocks) and list them in the Pebble app store.
Example: A designer in Lisbon made custom minimal watch faces for the original Pebble and sold 12,000+ downloads at $1.50 each through the old Pebble store. The ecosystem is smaller now but there’s zero competition — first movers bag everything.
Timeline: 2-3 weeks to build and list a watch face. Revenue starts on day one of PT2 deliveries (April).
💍 Hustle #2: Index 01 Voice-to-Action Workflow Templates
The Index 01 lets users configure button clicks for custom actions. That’s a whole product category right there.
Build and sell pre-configured workflow templates: “Press once = add to grocery list. Double press = start Pomodoro. Long press = dictate email draft.” Package these as downloadable configs or short video tutorials. Sell on Gumroad for $5-10.
Example: A productivity blogger in Manila built Notion template packs for $7 each after the Notion API launched. Sold 400+ in the first month through Twitter threads alone. Same play, different gadget.
🔧 Hustle #3: Pebble Strap & Accessory Drops
22mm quick-release straps. Stainless steel body. This thing is begging for aftermarket accessories.
Source custom straps (leather, NATO, silicone) from Alibaba suppliers. Brand them. Sell on Etsy or your own Shopify store. Bonus: the Index 01 uses standard ring sizing — custom ring cases and storage solutions are a play too.
Example: A couple in Ho Chi Minh City started sourcing Apple Watch bands from Shenzhen for $2 and selling them on Etsy for $18. Cleared $4,100/month within 3 months. Pebble’s community is smaller but loyalty is insane — these people will buy matching straps in 6 colors.
📱 Hustle #4: PebbleOS App Dev Consulting
Two-person firmware team. Open-source OS. Small but growing user base with money to spend (they already dropped $225+ on a pre-order).
Position yourself as a PebbleOS app developer. Offer custom app builds for businesses (conference badge apps, event countdown timers, team notification apps). Charge $500-2,000 per project.
Example: A freelance dev in Nairobi built custom Garmin watch faces for a running club chain. $800 per client, 6 clients in 2 months. PebbleOS is simpler to develop for and the dev community is smaller — less competition for contracts.
📝 Hustle #5: Pebble Content & Review Channel
Nobody is covering Pebble deeply right now. The YouTube and blog space for Pebble content is nearly empty compared to Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch.
Start a dedicated Pebble review channel or newsletter. Unbox, review, compare, show tips. Monetize through affiliate links (the Pebble store likely has or will have a referral program), sponsorships from strap makers, and ad revenue.
Example: A tech reviewer in Bucharest started a niche channel focused solely on budget smartwatches. Hit 15K subs in 4 months. Got his first sponsorship at 8K subs — $600 per video. Pebble’s loyal fanbase will subscribe to anything covering their favorite watch.
🛠️ Follow-Up Actions
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pre-order a Pebble Time 2 ($225) or Index 01 ($75) to get early access |
| 2 | Join the Pebble Discord and subreddit — that’s where the community lives |
| 3 | Clone the PebbleOS repo and start reading the SDK docs |
| 4 | Scout Alibaba for 22mm quick-release strap suppliers |
| 5 | Register your Etsy/Gumroad/Shopify store before the April wave |
| 6 | Start creating content NOW — review the specs, the backstory, the ecosystem |
Quick Hits
| Want | Do |
|---|---|
 Build for Pebble |
Clone PebbleOS, learn the SDK, ship watch faces |
 Sell accessories |
Source 22mm straps, brand them, list on Etsy |
 Flip the Index 01 |
Build voice workflow templates, sell on Gumroad |
 Own the content niche |
Start a Pebble-focused channel before anyone else |
 Play the ring game |
Source ring storage/cases, target the privacy crowd |
A two-person team is outshipping companies with 200 engineers. The bag isn’t always where the headcount is.
!