I built a Home Assistant app for Pebble smartwatches

Skylar Sadlier -

For the last several years, I’ve wanted a truly usable Home Assistant app for Pebble. I love Pebble smartwatches — their battery life, simplicity, and hackability were years ahead of their time — but none of the existing HA integrations did everything I wanted. So I built my own.

Repository | Rebble App Store

What I wanted in a Home Assistant app

  • Clean entity navigation
    Easily browse by room, type, or other groupings for fast control.
  • Live updates with WebSockets
    Instant status changes without polling.
  • Voice control
    • Long conversation support with scrollable UI
    • Switch between multiple conversation agents (e.g. Assist, ChatGPT, Claude)
    • Adjustable font size for better readability
  • Favorites
    Pin frequently used entities for one-tap access.
  • Smart filtering
    Filter out domains like tts, stt, tag, todo, update, zone, etc. to keep the list clean.
  • Custom sorting & quick launch actions
    Choose how entities are ordered and what happens when the app is launched from the watch.

The trickiest part was dealing with WebSockets. The Pebble emulator doesn’t support them, so all testing had to happen on physical hardware — which made development slower but ultimately worth it.

⌚ Pebble is coming back — for real this time

Here’s the exciting part: Pebble smartwatches are officially being revived.

  • 🧠 Eric Migicovsky (original Pebble founder) and his new company Core Devices regained the Pebble trademark in mid-2025.
  • 🧰 PebbleOS has been fully open-sourced, enabling new hardware, firmware updates, and community contributions.
  • 🆕 Two new models are on the way:
    • Pebble 2 Duo – classic e-paper design, improved durability, 30-day battery life
    • Pebble Time 2* – upgraded 64-color display, stainless steel body, touchscreen, mics, heart rate sensor
  • 📅 Pebble 2 Duo entered mass production in August 2025; Pebble Time 2* is slated for late 2025 shipping.
  • 📱 A new cross-platform Pebble app (iOS/Android) will support both vintage and new models, bridging old devices into the modern ecosystem.

This revival isn’t just nostalgia — it’s a fully community-backed reboot, supported by Rebble and powered by open-source software. And for developers like me, that’s huge: it means apps built for classic Pebbles can continue to work, and even grow, with the new generation of devices.

(Yes, I’ve pre-ordered both models. 😄)

Why this matters

When Pebble was discontinued, many of us stuck around because the platform’s efficiency and hackability were unmatched. Modern smartwatches got more powerful, but also more bloated, short-lived, and closed.

By bringing Home Assistant to Pebble, I’m bridging old-school reliability with modern smart home tech. And with Pebble’s comeback, this isn’t just a retro hobby project anymore — it’s something that can evolve with the next generation of Pebble devices.

🚀 Get involved

  • 🧪 Test it on your Pebble — whether it’s vintage or one of the new models when they ship.
  • 💬 Share feedback on features, compatibility, and voice control agents.
  • 🌐 Check it out on the Rebble App Store or view the source code on GitHub.

If you’re as excited about Pebble’s return as I am, this is just the beginning.