Skip to main content TechRadar the technology experts Search TechRadar View Profile België (Nederlands) Deutschland North America US (English) Australasia New Zealand Tech Radar Pro Tech Radar Gaming MacBook Air M4 13in review iPhone 16e review Nintendo Switch 2 NYT Wordle today Best laptop Health & Fitness Smartwatches Pebble is taking the fight to the Apple Watch – as its founder calls for action Matt Evans 20 March 2025 Can you use a Pebble watch with an iPhone? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Apple / Core Devices) Pebble smartwatch founder Eric Migicovsky takes a swipe at Apple In a blog post, Migicovsky highlighted the challenges of getting Pebble OS working on iPhones He encourages Pebble-curious iOS users to take action The big news getting fans of the best smartwatches talking this week has been the return of one of the OG smartwatch brands – Pebble. As original founder Eric Migicovsky unveiled two new watches – the black-and-white Core 2 Duo and the color touchscreen Core Time 2, both running the open-source Pebble OS – he highlighted frustrations with getting the watches working properly with iOS. In a blog post titled ‘Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones’, Migicovsky said: “We will build a good app for iOS, but be prepared – there is no way for us to support all the functionality that Apple Watch has access to. You may like Pebble is back! The iconic smartwatch is returning with its OG founder and 'hackable' software 'It's going to be a Pebble and almost exactly as you remember it' – beloved smartwatch founder reveals major progress on new venture “It’s impossible for a 3rd party smartwatch to send text messages, or perform actions on notifications (like dismissing, muting, replying) and many, many other things.” Migicovsky talks about the workarounds he used in Pebble’s heyday, such as publishing a software development kit that third-party apps like Strava used to act as a go-between. However, he acknowledged its limitations, calling it a “clunky quasi-solution” and stated that things are harder than ever now due to Apple’s practice of ensuring its phones only really work with the best Apple Watches, in a closed-loop ecosystem. “Apple systematically makes it nearly impossible for 3rd party wearable developers to build a smartwatch experience comparable to Apple Watch experience”, writes Migicovsky. “Apple claims their restrictions on competitors are only about security, privacy, crafting a better experience etc etc. At least that’s what they tell you as they tuck you into bed. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. “I personally don’t agree – they’re clearly using their market power to lock consumers into their walled ecosystem. This causes there to be less competition, which increases prices and reduces innovation.” Migicovsky recommends iPhone users interested in Pebble OS watches complain to their elected officials, supporting legislation like the ACCESS Act in the US and the Digital Markets Act in Europe. Analysis: *Surprised Pikachu face* (Image credit: Core Devices) The closed loop in which Apple devices work best with each other has been Apple’s MO for a very long time, and thanks to the company’s sizeable market share, that’s not going to go away anytime soon. This information is frustrating to Pebble users and Migicovsky’s new Core Devices company alike, but anyone expecting an experience on Pebble comparable to the one you get on Apple Watch was always going to be disappointed. It would be nice if things were based more on the principles on which much of ‘old internet’ was founded: open-source, hackable, customizable, and community-orientated; but unfortunately that’s not the world we live in today. Our Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff penned a piece detailing why he believes opening up iOS is a bad idea, and Apple will certainly resist any pushback. Nevertheless, it would be cool to see these Pebble OS issues get at least partially resolved, so that the Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2 have an opportunity to make it onto our best smartwatches for iPhone list. You might also like: I’m a Garmin expert: here are 5 things I change on every Garmin watch straight away Someone made a Stardew Valley theme for Wear OS and it's perfect Apple Watch blood pressure monitoring tech revealed in patent See more News about Smartwatches Apple Watch Social Links Navigation Fitness, Wellness, and Wearables Editor Matt is TechRadar's expert on all things fitness, wellness and wearable tech. A former staffer at Men's Health, he holds a Master's Degree in journalism from Cardiff and has written for brands like Runner's World, Women's Health, Men's Fitness, LiveScience and Fit&Well on everything fitness tech, exercise, nutrition and mental wellbeing. Matt's a keen runner, ex-kickboxer, not averse to the odd yoga flow, and insists everyone should stretch every morning. When he’s not training or writing about health and fitness, he can be found reading doorstop-thick fantasy books with lots of fictional maps in them. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Pebble is back! 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