Pebble CEO and founder Eric Migicovsky took to the company's blog yesterday to personally confirm its imminent closure, following media reports earlier on Wednesday that Fitbit has acquired its technology, software assets, and other intellectual property.
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Dear Pebblers,
Thank you all for being such loyal supporters and champions of the Pebble community and brand. You helped start something fantastic when you backed our first Kickstarter project (and shout-out to the first inPulse users). Since then, we’ve shipped over 2 million Pebbles around the world!
However — due to various factors — Pebble is no longer able to operate as an independent entity. We have made the tough decision to shut down the company and no longer manufacture Pebble devices.
Migicovsky went on to cover the buyout, earlier confirmed by Fitbit in a press release, and said that many members of his team would be joining the company to continue their work on wearable software platforms. Migicovsky also said that Pebble devices will continue to work as normal, thanks to "close collaboration with the Fitbit team", but warned that functionality or service quality may be reduced in the future.
The blog post also lists a number of bulleted "need-to-knows" for customers, including further details on refunds for Kickstarter backers awaiting pre-orders of devices including the Pebble 2 and Core wearables. Customers can read the list here.
Top Rated Comments
2016: "We've been tased by the Apple Watch"
Next Fitbit, always on colour screen, 7 day battery life and all the fitness features of a Fitbit with the functionality of the Pebble! Can't wait :)
that "always on colour screen" allowed for 7 days of battery life but it was so bad that it represented a major factor in the demise of the company.[doublepost=1481204462][/doublepost]
$40m buyout and new jobs at Fitbit. Not bad for a few years work. I'd hardly call that tased
There is no money for no one.VC lost most of its money, shares to employees are toilet paper, and there's a huge debt to be repaid.
This, just one year after declining a $740M offer from Citizen.
I think it was more the OS and very low powered CPU that allowed for 7 days battery life.
Agreed. Pebble Watch's were not very powerful at all. Although, they were not really intended to be powerful. The low screen reduction and likely the low powered processor were the main reasons for strong battery life. Although, seven days was impressive.The Fitbit blaze would be brilliant if the screen was always on and you could do more on the watch rather than having to use the app to do everything. Set an alarm, use the app! argh!
$40m buyout and new jobs at Fitbit. Not bad for a few years work. I'd hardly call that tased. I've never been a fan of their watches since I sold my Kickstarter edition literally an hour after I received it. But they clearly had some IP that Fitbit wanted. It's hard for a tiny startup like Pebble to compete marketing-wise with a behemoth like Apple. If they can be criticized it's not taking an even bigger buyout sum earlier this year. That was pure hubris.
40m after having a 750m offer a few months ago...that is pretty bad. The buyout is supposedly just barely covering their debts. Given their financial situation probably looked dire at that point I have no idea why they didn't take the initial huge buyout offer. I think their CEO being an engineer at heart and too invested in the product itself was likely their downfall.Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.