Pebble has been preparing their own apps store for a while now, revealing the news with the Pebble Steel unveil at CES. The apps store looks to integrate third party applications, using the Android and iOS platform.
Previously, Pebble users would have to onto third party websites, download the application and then move it onto the Pebble. The app store makes the whole system a lot more seamless and simple.
The first batch of apps include popular location apps, like Foursquare and Yelp. GoPro is also on the list, alongside a few apps that are designed for smartwatches, alongside various different watch-faces.
Pebble will obviously have different user controls depending on the user’s operating system, while iOS may offer less customisation and control, Android will offer lots of functionality, beyond just receiving a notification.
The Pebble Steel has reaffirmed the company’s motive to develop smartwatches, without the need to make improvements on the software side. The Pebble Steel shares the same screen as the original Pebble and the same OS.
We still find the Pebble Steel to be the best smartwatch around, Samsung’s Galaxy Gear failed to offer anything useful and was only supported by a handful of Samsung’s Android 4.3 devices.
There will be big plays in the wearables market this year, Apple and Google both look to add new devices to the market, namely the iWatch and Google Glass.
Google Glass may be in a different market, but it has the same sort of functionality, offering notifications and location services, albeit with a bit more first party development and interaction.
The iWatch will be an apparent advancement on what we currently see on smartwatches, including multiple interfaces, better fitness sensors and an interface similar to iOS, with a built in apps store.
Apple could be looking to add all these changes on iOS8, including integration with developers to make their apps available on smartwatches.
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