> One other great thing that Rebble did was in 2017 - they archived and started hosting a copy of the Pebble Appstore, before the servers were shut down. New apps uploaded by developers since 2017 have also been popping up!
Aah, is this how all previous apps were saved and are now available again? That's pretty neat if so!
I was in the same camp. I ordered one anyway as I figured my pebble's battery couldn't last much longer... Could it?
I'm not the person you asked, but on my OG Pebble, I get about 2 full days of battery on a full charge. However, that's down from about 4 or 5 that I recall from early adoption of the device.
The battery is clearly unhealthy, but hanging on. When I charge my old Pebble, after about 15 minutes or so, it claims to be fully charged. It isn't. If I take it off the charge after only 15 minutes, it will show a full charge, but deplete rapidly, usually within about 20 hours. If I leave it on the charge for a few hours, then use it, I get 2 solid days or sometimes a bit more than that.
My OG model is also one of the originals that does _not_ have the fours screws in the back, making it impossible to change the battery should it finally fail. A few years back, I picked up some original Pebbles on eBay for cheapr since the batteries would no longer hold a charge on those, all models that did not have the four screws on the back, just to see if I could find a way to open them clean. Every attempt I made failed, damaging the display and housing.
If you want to try an old Pebble, find one of the ones with the screws on the back panel and you can buy fresh batteries that will fit. Or get an old Pebble Time/Steel model, which are easier to maintain. I see them go on eBay for between $30 - $50 USD and maybe like $10 USD for a new battery. That's nothing for a basics smartwatch with a cool history.
Yes (and they've been available more or less all along from Rebble - they rebuilt and hosted big parts of the backend I believe).
Old Pebble watches are still very useful due to the Rebble community. I am still rocking my OG Pebble to this day because of them, so they get all the kudos, here.
In fact, because my old one still works for my needs, it's making it difficult for me to invest in a new Pebble, despite wanting to support the project. Part of that is the idea of upgrading for the sake of upgrading directly opposes my ethos of keeping as many electronic devices out of landfills as possible, but part of that is also straight up nostalgia that I get to experience every day when I use what essentially amounted to the perfect watch for me.