Fitbit is buying Pebble, with the company's smartwatch brand phasing out. Of course, this hasn't been announced without outraging diehard Pebble fans who are now wondering what will become of their wearables.
According to Pebble, fans and wearables users should be okay through the end of 2017:
Fitbit is going out of its way to keep Pebble software and services running through 2017. To be clear, no one on this freshly-formed team seeks to brick Pebble watches in active service. The Pebble SDK, CloudPebble, Timeline APIs, firmware availability, mobile apps, developer portal and Pebble appstore are all elements of the Pebble ecosystem that will remain in service at this time,
said Fitbit developer advocate Jon Barlow.
In other words, Fitbit doesn't seek to stop current Pebble smartwatches from working at this time. However, the key phrase in Barlow's statement above is "through 2017." For the next year, at least, Pebble users can enjoy their devices, but 2018 may bring a different reality. 2018 may see the current Pebble smartwatches shut down with basic functionality coming to a halt.
Pebble has had a hard time in the market, with the company having to release 25% of its workforce because of declining funds. This week also saw Kickstarter supports upset with Pebble after the company started returning partial refunds instead of full refunds.
For now, your Pebble watch is fine, but I'd encourage you to enjoy it while its functionality lasts. Fitbit isn't making any promises for 2018, so prepare to say goodbye over the next year.
