Before Android Wear was launched and the rumours of an Apple Watch were merely a whisper, there was Pebble.
The cute and crowdfunded smartwatch which retails at an affordable £99 might have looked like it got a little bit lost in the shuffle when the big names in mobile tech started advancing on the wearables market throughout 2014. However, the Pebble has now shifted over one million units and the CEO behind it has revealed that the simplistic wrist gadget which won hearts and a ten million dollar backing in just two years on Kickstarter will return this year with some improvements, and will likely be joined by a new addition to the range.
Also See: Pebble Smartwatch Launches in UK Starting at £99
Pebble Technology Corporation Boss Eric Migicovsky confirmed the sales milestone in conversation with The Verge, stating that their one millionth smartwatch had sold just at the close of the year, on December 31st 2014 with half of that figure moved in the preceding nine months.
Notably this was during a time when the Pebble was selling at a lower than originally asked price (£99 down from £179) and there was also a Black Friday deal bringing the cost of ownership down even further. But this by no means discredits an impressive feat in a market where titans such as Samsung were closing in. Samsung itself launched its second generation Galaxy Gear last year as well.
The CEO is optimistic about Pebble’s future in his interview and also tells that the user interface, which received some improvements last year, will be given a complete revamp with a new framework and interaction model. This will be supported by an increase in software staff from 30 to over 100 to help design and implement it and Migicovsky says it won’t look like the Pebble interface we currently know, or like anything on a smartphone.
Not only will the software get an overhaul, but the CEO drops hint of a new model surfacing in the near future but not much more is said on the subject this early on.
We’re pulling for Pebble as the wearables war starts to kick off and are interested to see the software revisions and new hardware promised.
Source: The Verge