Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky is bringing back the iconic smartwatch… kind of. Earlier this year he introduced a new company called Core Devices that’s working on two new watches running an open source version of PebbleOS. And now he says the first units are almost ready to ship to beta testers.

As part of that announcements, Migicovsky is seeking beta testers for the Core 2 Duo smartwatch running the latest version of PebbleOS. But he also notes that the new Android and iPhone apps that let users pair their watches with a smartphone aren’t just for the new watches. They’ll also work with some classic Pebble devices if you’ve got one lying around.

Core 2 Duo smartwatch running open source PebbleOS

At this point that might be the most exciting thing about the project for folks that’ve still got an older Pebble device, because it means that you don’t need to sideload an older app that’s no longer officially supported.

Migicovsky says the new mobile apps should work with the Pebble Time Steel, Pebble Time, Round, and Pebble 2 watches. If you have one of those and agree to the beta program terms, you can sign up to express your interest in testing the new software. If you don’t already have a supported device, Core Devices plans to begin shipping some of the first Core 2 Duo watches to some customers who have already pre-ordered and opted into the beta program.

Some things to keep in mind are that the new mobile app is said to be “rough around edges, design won’t look great” and “not all features built yet,” and that so far the only big difference between the new open source version of PebbleOS and the original that was under development a decade ago is that… the new version is currently under development again.

There aren’t really any new features yet. Initially the goal is just to make sure new watches running PebbleOS can do everything that old Pebble watches could. New features, if any, will be coming later.

Core Devices also plans to make a new firmware development kit available for purchase soon. It’s a circuit board + Core 2 Duo watch (with the back cover removed by default), and it’s aimed at PebbleOS app and watch face developers. Developers will be able to add this option to pre-orders later this month.

Core 2 Devices / PebbleOS dev kit

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