The Pebble’s creator demos his new smartwatch

After announcing a new company called Core Devices and a pair of new smartwatches running the now open-source PebbleOS, the Pebble’s creator, Eric Migicovsky, has launched a podcast. In the first episode of Tick Talk w/ Eric Migicovsky, he gives a brief demo of the Core 2 Duo that’s still in development, talks about potential […]

May 5, 2025 - 16:17

The Pebble’s creator demos his new smartwatch

Eric Migicovsky operating the Core Devices Core 2 Duo smartwatch worn on his wrist. — Eric Migicovsky demonstrates one of the first Core 2 Duo smartwatches from the factory where they’re being manufactured. | Screenshot: YouTube

After announcing a new company called Core Devices and a pair of new smartwatches running the now open-source PebbleOS, the Pebble’s creator, Eric Migicovsky, has launched a podcast. In the first episode of Tick Talk w/ Eric Migicovsky, he gives a brief demo of the Core 2 Duo that’s still in development, talks about potential new features, and addresses concerns over how US tariffs will affect the price and delivery of the new smartwatches.

Migicovsky is still confident the Core 2 Duo — the cheaper model with a black-and-white screen lacking touch capabilities — is going to ship some time in July 2025, but his demo of one of the first units from the factory shows a device with software that’s still under development. The familiar PebbleOS UI is there, but basic features like telling time haven’t been enabled yet, and the Core Devices team is still working on drivers for vibrating notifications and the smartwatch’s accelerometer.

The Core 2 Duo will come with a silicone strap reminiscent of the Apple Watch’s with a slot for tucking excess length away while it’s worn, and Migicovsky demonstrated the tiny USB-C magnetic charging dongle they revealed last month.

Although Migicovsky believes the original Pebble team did a lot of things right a decade ago with the original Pebble watches, there are a few new features he wants to eventually introduce for the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2, a follow-up that’s set to ship in December 2025 with a color touchscreen. Watch face widgets would make it easier to see information like the weather or upcoming appointments at a quick glance, while deeper integration with Beeper — the universal chat app Migicovsky developed after selling Pebble to Google — would improve both smartwatches’ communication capabilities.

Better access to AI voice agents is something on Core Devices’ wish list, given that the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2 both have speakers and microphones. And thanks to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) forcing Apple to open up its devices, Migicovsky says he will support expanded operability with iOS should Apple allow it, potentially allowing users to respond by voice to incoming messages when paired to an iPhone, at least in Europe.

The Core Devices team is also doing a lot of work on PebbleOS’ underlying architecture and porting it to two new Bluetooth chipsets with the goal of expanding the types of devices the operating system can be used with – not just wearables. But what those other devices might be hasn’t been revealed yet.

During the podcast, Migicovsky also addresses the effect President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese-made goods will have on the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2, as both smartwatches are manufactured in Shenzhen. With steeper tariffs for these types of devices on pause, Chinese-made smartwatches are currently subjected to 27.5 percent tariffs, he says, which will potentially increase the price of incoming shipments by $10 or $25. But specifics on how that will affect the cost of the $149 Core 2 Duo and $225 Core Time 2 aren’t yet known.