These are my 5 non-negotiable requirements for a resurrected Pebble watch

Earlier this week, Google made a surprising move by sharing the source code for Pebble OS, the operating system that ran on one of the most beloved and cult-favorite smartwatches. Google had acquired this code when it bought Fitbit, which had bought Pebble earlier, and the code had been lingering in some dark server abyss before Eric Migicovsky asked Google to release it. They did, and Eric quickly followed up by saying he has plans to use this code to make a new Pebble smartwatch once again.

However, the smartwatch market is very different now from what it was in 2013 when Pebble launched its first watch, and for as many positive memories as I have with my own Pebble watch, I also remember how limited some of the experience on that tiny, buttons-only, e-paper display was. So, if a new Pebble is in our collective future, here is my personal wishlist and non-negotiable requirement for what I want (and what I don’t want) from this new smartwatch.

In his own article detailing his Success and failure at Pebble, Eric explained that one of his mistakes was trying to aim for a larger market when the Apple Watch launched. By widening the watch’s target, Pebble lost focus and couldn’t compete anymore. “We could have been the smartwatch for hackers, but we tried to grow our volumes and market share (and failed),” Eric wrote, and this is where I think he should start.

Forget appealing to the masses — they have the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, and Pixel Watch to please them. Instead, a new Pebble should target the geeks and nerds who first signed up for its Kickstarter and who have been passionate enough to keep it running through enthusiast projects like Rebble.

Personally, I’d love to see the entire Pebble revival remain open source so that we don’t have to wait for a company’s generosity to get the code again if it ever finds itself eaten by another behemoth. I trust enough in the community to know that someone somewhere will make it their weekend project to keep that code up-to-date, even if Eric abandons his new Pebble venture or it gets sold again.

I’d also love to see all the signs of a smartwatch made for tinkerers. Not just though an SDK for developers, but through hardware, too. Designs like the CMF Phone 1’s modular approach feel like they would be the exact kind of thing that’d appeal to a Pebble fan, although I don’t expect a fully modular watch, obviously. But if we could switch covers, buttons, or crowns, aside from just switching watch bands, that would be really cool.

I know a lot of people disliked the original Pebble’s plasticky design, but those who bought it loved it — and still love it — for that. It was a no-frills watch; it didn’t pretend to be a piece of jewelry. It was unique, nerdy, and indestructible, like the best mix of a Casio calculator and a Game Boy on your wrist. If the new Pebble can embrace that same ethos with higher-end matte plastic, then we’re golden. I don’t expect something like my flashy pink Pebble (pictured above), but I’d still love to see a design as eye-grabbing and unique as that.

Round, square, rectangle? I don’t mind either of these. Metal, plastic, or a mix of both? Just whatever works. Colored or black-and-white display? I don’t know if I have a preference; I think you can have a catchy design with either. But if there is one constant that should always be there in a new Pebble, it’s the ePaper display. That reflective LCD panel was outstanding outdoors and easy to read under the brightest sun and reflections; it was also good enough indoors, with the backlight brightening it up.

Even though I love the vibrant, colorful AMOLED display on my Pixel Watch 3, I’d be willing to give that up and “settle” for an ePaper display if that meant only charging it once a week. Because yes, that was the original Pebble’s promise and it should be the new one’s too. If the battery life ends up worse than six to seven days, I’m calling it: This product would be dead on arrival. Just no. What Pebble fans love is the extremely convenient battery life and the fact that they don’t have to plop their watch on a charger every day, and the new one should deliver on that promise, too.

Modern smartwatches have spoiled me with one interaction mechanism: the digital crown. After spinning the dial back and forth a million times to navigate through long lists, messages, and options, I just can’t go back to a button. I don’t want to press up and down to scroll through long menus, nor do I want to press multiple times or keep pressing to keep going. No, the Apple Watch and Pixel Watch have converted me: It’s crown or nothing.

The crown could also be a cheaper replacement for a touchscreen. When implemented properly and with the right amount of haptic feedback, it’s the smoothest way to navigate through menus and select them — no touchscreen needed. Couple that with Pebble’s signature buttons to go back or act as shortcuts for frequent apps and features, and you have a very efficient control scheme that works even with gloves or wet/sweaty fingers in freezing weather.

When Pebble was bought out by Fitbit in 2016, the smartwatch market was still in its infancy. GPS wasn’t a given, nor were many of the health tracking options we now find on anything from the cheapest $20 fitness tracker to the most expensive Watch Ultras and Garmins.

Ideally, I would love it if a Pebble watch could run Wear OS, but that would go against everything I mentioned earlier (long battery life, open source, etc.) and it would alienate every iPhone owner. I don’t think it’s in Pebble’s best interest either. Instead, let’s say that I’d like to see the bare minimum: proper notifications and support for Android’s quick notification actions, integration of its health platform with Google Health Connect and Apple Health, and music controls that work with any app out of the box.

And a solid maps integration, please! If there’s one feature I use my watch for a lot, it’s to get directions while walking, taking public transit, or driving. I can’t live without this feature anymore, even if it’s just mirroring the GPS instructions from my phone; the convenience of getting a buzz when I need to get off the metro or take a right/left turn is unparalleled. I’d never wear a smartwatch without this, so whatever Pebble can do to make that work from day one would be more than welcome.

I could go on and on about what I want from my ideal new Pebble smartwatch, but I do have to be realistic. Making hardware isn’t cheap, and making low-volume, enthusiast-centric hardware isn’t cheap at all.

I can sacrifice the built-in GPS for a connected GPS with my phone, the touchscreen for a digital crown, and the microphone and speaker for a good haptic motor. Asking for a good ECG and SpO2 sensor feels a bit too much, but reliable and accurate heart rate tracking is non-negotiable to me at this point in my life. It’s also the bare minimum any smartwatch could do in terms of health and fitness tracking.

With all of these sacrifices in mind, I think it’s fair to ask for a palatable price that doesn’t break the bank. Somewhere in the $100-$150 range would appeal to the same people who loved the original Pebble watch. Any higher and it would risk alienating the enthusiast crowd it’s aiming for. I’d go as far as $200 if the watch was exceptional and had a lot more sensors and features than my bare minimum, but not more. I know this may sound like a low price, but the market is full of smartwatches and fitness trackers with a million more features for the same cost; Pebble has to keep a realistic price compared to those.

What about you? Which features would make you get your credit card out to splurge on a new Pebble watch?