Huge Pebble update brings activity and sleep tracking, price dropped to just $99

The good folks at Pebble today are kicking things up a notch with a new software update that allows for full activity tracking and sleep monitoring for all Pebble watches. No longer will you need your Pebble on one wrist and a fitness band on the other — Pebble now does it all. Today, Pebble is announcing new health and fitness apps from Misfit, Jawbone, and Swim.com that allow you to take advantage of the new integrated features.
With these new apps, you'll no longer need to use a fitness band in conjunction with your Pebble. Your Pebble does all of the activity tacking and can even work on its own without your phone. You can simply view your stats, or sync the data to the cloud when your Pebble is paired with your smartphone.
The updated Misfit app will now monitor your activity and sleep around the clock, the new Up watch face from Jawbone will show off your stats in style, and the new app from Swim.com allows you to measure paces, distance, times, strokes, and more.
In addition, Pebble and Pebble Steel prices are dropping $50. Pebble is now just $99 / €129 / £99 and Pebble Steel is $199 / €229 / £179. If you haven't been able to justify picking up a Pebble or Pebble Steel before, now you can. You'll also be able to do so in even more retail stores including Sam's Club and Fry's Electronics, and soon Sprint stores across the US. In the UK, Pebble devices will soon be heading to Dixons, O2, and Amazon.co.uk.
The latest software update is rolling out now, so be sure to check often and get to updating! The Pebble app is available free for iOS (opens in new tab).
When we launched Pebble two and a half years ago, our mission was simple: build the most enjoyable, customizable, and versatile smartwatch on the market at an accessible price. The market has exploded since then, but our mission remains the same.
Last January at CES 2014, we unveiled Pebble Steel to critical acclaim. It was a resounding success and the catalyst for tremendous growth. Since then, we've opened the Pebble appstore, which boasts over 4,000 apps that have been downloaded five million times. Our open platform counts over 18,000 developers, from passionate hackers to partners like Mercedes-Benz, Pandora, the Weather Channel, and ESPN.
Today, we're announcing a new area of growth for our ecosystem — health and fitness — and releasing a software update that enables non-stop activity tracking and sleep monitoring (thanks to Pebble's class-leading multi-day battery life). This update lets Pebble users display their favorite watchface while tracking their activity in the background (full release notes below). At Pebble, we believe that providing consumers with a world-class experience means working with market-leading app partners. As such, we're introducing new health and fitness apps from Misfit, Jawbone, and Swim.com that take full advantage of this new functionality.
The Misfit app for Pebble has been updated to enable continuous, round-the-clock activity tracking and sleep monitoring. Jawbone is launching its own activity tracking watchface for Pebble called UP which shows daily and weekly activity progress and automatically syncs with its new UP app for iOS (and coming to Android soon). Swim.com is the first watch app that allows users to measure distance, pace, times, strokes, and efficiency while swimming with their Pebble and automatically sync this data with their phone and the cloud when returning to the locker room (this is where Pebble's 5 ATM water-resistance comes in handy).
Growth also means that we're expanding Pebble's retail presence in a significant way and making our watches even more accessible. Pebble is now available at Sam's Club, Fry's Electronics, and coming soon to Sprint stores across the US—joining Best Buy, Target, AT&T stores, and Amazon.com. Our watches will be rolling out in the UK at Dixons retail, O2, and Amazon.co.uk starting in October. We're also entering new markets tomorrow in Benelux (MediaMarkt, Coolblue.nl, Wehkamp.nl, Bol.com), and Scandinavia (MediaMarkt, Teknikmagasinet, coolstuff.se/no/dk, Verkkokauppa.com, and more).
Right from the start, Pebble's mission has been to make technology more accessible. Our growth lets us to take another step in that direction. To celebrate our success and spread the love, we're making Pebble irresistible. Pebble is now $99 / €129 / £99 and Pebble Steel is now $199 / €229 / £179 everywhere. You're very welcome.
Pebble Firmware 2.6 Release Notes
- NEW: Activity. Activity tracking apps (e.g. Jawbone, Misfit, Swim.com) for Pebble now work seamlessly in the background. View installed Activity apps and toggle preferences in the Pebble Settings menu. An Activity icon is visible within Pebble menus when a compatible app is installed and running.
- NEW: Quick Launch. Set shortcuts from a watchface to your favorite Pebble apps with a long press of the Up or Down buttons. Enable Quick Launch and set app shortcuts in the Pebble Settings menu.
- Battery icon is now persistent within Pebble menus.
- Select button once again dismisses notifications when paired with an Android device or iOS device on iOS 7 or lower. iOS 8 users get notificaion dismissal for both Pebble and the paired device when pressing Select.
- Bug fixes and improvements.
To update to the latest firmware:
- Open the Pebble smartphone app for iOS or Android.
- Select Support » Update Your Pebble in the Menu if the update does not begin automatically.
iMore Newsletter
Get the best of iMore in your inbox, every day!
Getting his start writing about BlackBerry in 2008, Adam is the Editorial Director of High-Yield content at Future. Leading an outstanding team, he oversees many of the articles the publisher produces about subscriptions and services – VPN, TV streaming, and antivirus software. From buying guides and how to watch content, to deal news and in-depth reviews. Adam's work can be seen on numerous Future brands including TechRadar, Tom's Guide, T3, TTR, Android Central, iMore, and Real Homes.
-
I'm holding out for Apple watch. Sent from the iMore App
-
In other words, Pebble is about to release a new version of their watches so they're clearing out the old ones.
-
So? Even if that's true they are giving existing users new functionality. What's wrong with that?
-
I was on the edge about the Pebble, maybe now I'll pick one up. The Apple Watch does way more than I want. I just want to see text message and the time. The rest is just fluff to me. Sent from the iMore App
-
One word: "gold."
-
Welcome to the Race To The Bottom (tm), Pebble.
Good luck down there. -
I was actually talking to my wife about the new Basis Peak. So far, it is the most convenient of all the watches I've seen. The Apple Watch looks good but with one day battery life and not being water resistant just made me say no before I even saw the thing. Of course my goal is for fitness rather than look and the apple watch based on what I have read I wont be able to track my sleep or swimming. I had the Fitbit Force but was falling a part and sent it back. I now have the Pebble but the functionality hasn't been quite what I expected. Up until now I been relying on apps that don't exactly work well such LetsMuv which at times does not record my sleep and Movable which sometimes deleted all the data when syncing. Even with this new update the Misfit app does not sync, like whats the point. The Basis Peak is more expensive but it does everything automatically without having to press a button which is what I need.
-
App sync is in the works for Misfit's Pebble app. It does work already with Jawbone's new UP app, though.
-
I love how $99 (79€) becomes 129€ ($162).
We're used to the $1 = 1€ but here... -
We get a raw deal in Europe.. I was interested for $99/£62. But not for $160/£99!! Fruff that! Sent from the iMore App
-
Can a pebble watch sync with two devices at the same time? For example I have a personal iPhone 5S and a Blackberry Bold for work. Thanks for any insight!
-
Anyone else having misfit and activity syncing issues? Just updated to new firmware and just downloaded the misfit app. Brand New (replacement) pebble and simply says "Application sync is coming soon"
-
Syncing is not available at the moment for Misfit. They said it will come in a future update. Sent from the iMore App