The end is near for Pebble. The latest update to Pebble watches should extend their life a bit longer by removing the dependency on cloud servers. This allows the devices to work without the Pebble services that have up until now been required for many user interactions.
When Fitbit purchased Pebble in late 2016, uncertainty hung over the purchase. Would Fitbit keep supporting the device? Not really, it seems. Fitbit eventually stated that it would keep the lights on through 2017, maintaining the bevy of cloud services, developer tools and APIs used by the devices and owners. There’s no guarantee in 2018.
This most recent update seems to be Pebble prepping for the end. With the latest app, users are now presented with an option to skip the login process if the authentication servers are unreachable. In that case, apps and firmware could still be sideloaded. The team even added the ability to sideload a service configuration that changes the Pebble’s server connection to allow apps to update from third-party services.
The complete release notes can been seen here.
The iOS version is available for download from the App Store and Android users can sideload the app (download here) until it’s available in the Play store. This is likely one of the last major updates for the storied wearable maker.