Michal Ždanský During CES 2014, Pebble, the company behind the smartwatch of the same name, announced that it will soon release its own widget store dedicated to the smartwatch. The store's official launch, paired with an update to the Pebble app for iOS and Android, took place on Monday.
Last month at CES 2014, we announced the Pebble appstore—the first open platform for sharing apps optimized for wearables. We know you all have been patiently waiting for the appstore to launch and now the day is here.
We are very proud that the Pebble appstore has now launched with over 1000 apps and watch faces. The Appstore is built into the Pebble app for iOS and Android devices.
Developers have previously opened up the SDK for smart watches, which will enable the creation of applications for them in addition to their own watch faces. Apps can work independently on the Pebble or in conjunction with an app on the phone, from which it can draw the necessary data. The Appstore will offer six categories of widgets – Daily (weather, daily reports, etc.), Tools and Utilities, Fitness, Drivers, Notifications and Games. Each category will also have subsections of the most popular applications and selected applications, similar to how applications in the App Store are selected by Apple.
The Appstore currently has over 6000 registered developers and over 1000 widgets will be available. In addition to efforts from independent developers, the store can also find some partner apps that Pebble previously announced. foursquare will allow checking in nearby places directly from the watch, while Yelp will offer recommended restaurants in the vicinity. Control using a few buttons is not ideal in some cases, but it will provide a satisfactory solution due to the absence of a touch screen of the watch.
Pebble users are limited to eight slots for apps and watch faces, due to limited storage, the watch cannot accommodate more widgets. At least the phone app has the feature Locker, where previously downloaded apps and watch faces are stored, making them quickly available for quick installation. Both the new Pebble Steel announced at CES 2014 and the original plastic watch that will receive a firmware update are compatible with the app store.
Pebble is currently the most popular smartwatch on the market for both iOS and Android, and until Apple at least introduces its watch solution, it won't be like that for a long time. Other smart watches, even from large companies such as Samsung and Sony, have not yet achieved such popularity.
