Pebble has released version 4.0 of its smartwatch firmware, which upgrades its entire range of timepieces with some handy new features and interface tweaks.
For starters, the Pebble Health app has been revamped: It has new activity cards that display your step and sleep performance, and you can access them quickly by pressing Up from the watchface itself. You can also press Right from each activity to see detailed info and performance comparisons.
The watch interface is now easier to navigate as well. It has new Quick Views (on Pebble Time and newer devices) that show you what’s next on your agenda from your watchface in a small strip at the bottom of the screen (press Down to access it).
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You’ll also find a new feature called App Glances, which surfaces info from apps without having to launch them first. To get to your frequently-used apps quickly, you can now assign them to the Up, Down, Back, and Select buttons.
In addition, iOS users can now act on their emails: functions like Delete, Archive, Mark as Read, Reply All, and Star emails received from Gmail accounts are now available. As with other messages, you can reply using canned responses or send a voice reply.
Lastly, the mobile apps for iOS and Android have been redesigned with easier to understand graphs in the Health section and an overhauled interface that promises faster performance.
Having used a Pebble Time Steel extensively, I’m a huge fan of the company’s approach to delivering notifications and functionality to my wrist. It’s nice to see that the latest update is squarely focused on improving the Pebble experience rather than adding bells, whistles and bloat.
You can upgrade your Pebble app to 4.0 from Google Play or the iTunes App Store. If you’re rocking a Pebble Time, Time Steel or Time Round, find the update option in the Pebble app: Menu > Support > Update Your Pebble.
Naturally, these features will all be available on the forthcoming Pebble 2 and its variants when they launch in November.
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