Pebble has long had to deal with Apple’s tough security limitations for third-party devices. While the company has found great workarounds for some features, replying to texts using a Pebble watch that’s paired with an iPhone was impossible for a long time. Now, Verizon iPhone users can finally reply to incoming messages using voice notes (only the Time series watches), emojis, or even text presets from their Pebble watch.
When the ability to reply from the wrist with an iPhone and Pebble watch first launched in November, it was unfortunately only available for AT&T users, but thanks to the new update to Version 3.11, Verizon users can now take advantage of the feature.
While it may seem like a small update, the fact that Pebble devices can now integrate with iMessage to send replies is a pretty big deal. Apple designed iOS to be notoriously closed off when it comes to third-party integration, making it hard for Pebble to make all its Android features accessible on iOS. As such, interactions between Pebble watches and the iPhone have been limited to notifications and a few controls.
The update brings a number of other cool new features to Pebble Time users, too. Pebble promises that sleep tracking is more accurate with the update, and support has been added for daytime naps that are longer than one hour. A new snooze feature is also in the update, bringing alerts closer to the start time of any particular event. Last but not least is the addition of new vibration patterns.
The Pebble app is also getting a name change. Previously called “Pebble Time,” the app will now be known as simply “Pebble.” The old app will be called “Pebble Old Version.” This is because all of Pebble’s watches will be able to run firmware 3.0 and above, not just the Time models. To download the new app for yourself, head to the Google Play Store or the App Store.
