Eric Migicovsky, the creator of the original Pebble smartwatch, says it’s always been difficult to design a device that works with Apple’s iPhone, but said “things have actually gotten worse” recently.
“They’ve gotten more restrictive! If you could believe it,” Migicovsky told Fortune. “They’ve removed the ability to do the hack that we used to send SMS from Pebble on iOS.”
Migicovsky announced two new Pebble watches this week, the first new watches using the Pebble branding in eight years. Pebble, in case you’ve forgotten, raised more than $10 million from over 68,000 different Kickstarter backers in 2012 for its first-ever smartwatch, which was the most-funded project in Kickstarter’s history at the time. Fitbit acquired Pebble’s assets in late 2016 after the company went insolvent, but it all moved over to Google when the search giant bought Fitbit for $2.1 billion in 2021. Google agreed to open-source the code that powered the original Pebble software earlier this year, paving the way for new watches.
But while Migicovsky says mass production for the new Pebble watches will ramp up “later this year,” he made it clear you should not buy this watch if you’re going to compare it to an Apple Watch.
“I want to set expectations accordingly,” Migicovsky wrote in a blog post this week. “We will build a good app for iOS, but be prepared—there is no way for us to support all the functionality that Apple Watch has access to.”
Migicovsky provided a laundry list of things that are either “harder or impossible” for third-party smartwatches—that is, any smartwatch that’s not made by Apple—to do when attempting to work with an iPhone. Notably, you can’t text, reply to notifications, or mark actions as “complete.” Also, if you close the Pebble app on iOS, either on purpose or accidentally, your Pebble watch can’t talk to the app—or even the internet. This extends to the watch’s ability to work with other iOS apps: It just won’t work.
“Apple claims their restrictions on competitors are only about security, privacy, crafting a better experience etc etc. At least that’s what they tell you as they tuck you into bed,” Migicovsky wrote.
“I personally don’t agree—they’re clearly using their market power to lock consumers into their walled ecosystem. This causes there to be less competition, which increases prices and reduces innovation.”
Migicovsky isn’t alone in his criticism of Apple and its so-called “walled garden,” which is simultaneously one of Apple’s strongest selling points with consumers but also its most divisive features among third-party developers. From big companies like Spotify, Adobe, and Epic Games, to independent developers like Marco Arment and Steve Troughton-Smith, have criticized Apple’s inconsistency when it comes to approving apps for the App Store, and the disparity that exists between third-party applications and Apple’s own offerings.
Migicovsky lamented the inability to side-load apps onto the iPhone—that is, being able to install apps or updates outside of the official App Store—because that means “every update comes with the risk that a random app reviewer could make up some BS excuse and block the update.” This is something many developers have complained about over the years.
But because so many Pebble users own an iPhone, Migicovsky said “we’re going to make a damn iOS app.”
“Apple systematically makes it nearly impossible for 3rd party wearable developers to build a smartwatch experience comparable to the Apple Watch experience,” he wrote in a blog post.
“I guess we’re gluttons for punishment,” he added.
Apple did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s requests for comment.
The two newly announced Pebble smartwatches—the Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2—are coming this year. The Core 2 Duo will cost $149 and start shipping in July, while the Core Time 2 will cost $225 and start shipping in December. You can learn more about both devices, and pre-order them, on Pebble’s website.
