Pebble is back, baby. On Monday, Google (which owns Pebble\u2019s IP<\/a> via its Fitbit purchase<\/a>) open-sourced<\/a> the OG modern smartwatch\u2019s software. Although that paves the road for anyone to make new Pebble-esque wearables (or custom firmware for the old models), one high-profile figure has already raised his hand: Pebble creator Eric Migicovsky.<\/p>\n Google says the open-source PebbleOS includes most of the software\u2019s source code. The only exceptions are proprietary code for chipset and Bluetooth software. Google\u2019s Matthieu Jeanson, Katharine Berry and Liam McLoughlin wrote that developers face \u201ca non-trivial amount of work\u201d in finding replacements for the stripped-out pieces of code. Migicovsky says he spurred the project by asking friends at Google if they would open-source the software.<\/p>\n The Pebble founder, who went on to run Beeper<\/a> (the iMessage for Android app that sparked a short-lived war with Apple<\/a>), wrote<\/a> on his blog that he wants his planned smartwatch to be a modern take on the original Pebble \u2014 a spiritual successor that doesn\u2019t try to reinvent the wheel. \u201cNo one makes a smartwatch with the core set of features I want,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI had really, really, really hoped that someone else would come along and build a Pebble replacement. But no one has.\u201d<\/p>\n His wishlist for the as-yet-unnamed product includes an always-on e-paper screen, long battery life, a \u201csimple and beautiful user experience,\u201d physical buttons and hackability (like custom watch faces). Those were indeed the hallmarks of the innovative and charming Pebble, which broke Kickstarter records<\/a> and preceded Apple<\/a>, Samsung<\/a> and Google\u2019s<\/a> models by several years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new watch we\u2019re building basically has the same specs and features as Pebble, though with some fun new stuff as well,\u201d the Pebble founder wrote, adding that his team still needs to nail down the product\u2019s exact specifications and timeline. \u201cIt runs open source PebbleOS, and it\u2019s compatible with all Pebble apps and watchfaces.\u201d<\/p>\n Developers can get Google\u2019s open-sourced Pebble OS on GitHub<\/a>. And if you\u2019re interested in Migicovsky\u2019s as-yet-unnamed spiritual successor to the 2013 smartwatch, you can sign up for updates on its webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n