Pebble, the smartwatch pioneer, today announced big updates to its basic model and its more deluxe Time product. Both get design updates — the Pebble 2 is thinner and the Time 2 gets a bigger and higher-res color screen — but the big change is the addition of a heart rate monitor.
Even given Pebble’s roots as a notification device, the addition of the heart rate functionality is not a huge surprise. Those sensors, and the software that drives them accurately, have become cheap to the point of commoditization.
The Pebble 2 and the Time 2 are being sold initially through Kickstarter for $99 and $169 respectively, with availability in September for the Pebble 2 and November for the Time 2.
The company also announced a key-chain-fob sized device called the Core. Designed for runners, the Core can take a microSIM and stream Spotify, as well as track a run with GPS and send an SOS message via SMS. A open-source hacker’s version is also available. Both cost $69, with availability in January.