Android Wear notifications coming to the Pebble and the end of my experiment →

Pebble:

‘Tis the season for anticipation. We count down the days to gifts and good wishes, and we just can’t wait. We’ve been in the workshop ourselves, crafting something Android Pebblers will love unwrapping. Version 2.3 of our Android app gives Pebble the power to reply and act on notifications right from your watch. It’s Android Wear notification compatibility on Pebble, and it’s awesome.

Android users on our own team are super thrilled with what version 2.3 lets them do from their Pebbles. We’ve built actions that even Android Wear devices themselves don’t perform.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the Pebble will fare in a world with integrated devices like the Apple Watch or Android Wear devices.

With this announcement, Pebble is putting a stake in the ground with Android. In short, the e-ink Kickstarter star can interact with notifications now, not just receive them.

This addresses my biggest complaint with the Pebble when it is paired with an iPhone — that to reply to a message or deal with a notification, I still have to pull out my iPhone.

I think it’s foolish to expect Apple to expose similar functionality to Pebble or any other third-party once iOS 8.2 ships with Watch support.

In this future world, the Pebble may have to shift to being more Android-centric, where it can compete better against more integrated devices. I don’t think this means Pebble is doomed, but its marketshare may be forever capped.

As far as my Pebble, I’m returning it after wearing it for several weeks.

It’s not that wrist notifications aren’t useful; in fact, I’m more excited about the Apple Watch than I was before using the Pebble, but the device itself just isn’t for me.