It is done. Fitbit has finalized its acquisition of Pebble which would see the fitness band company walk away with Pebble’s intellectual property and a part of its employees. With this, Pebble as a brand will slowly be faded off, beginning with the company ceasing the manufacturing, promotion and selling of all its devices.
Pebble has since published a blogpost that outlines what its customers can expect from the company. For now, existing Pebble devices owners will see no immediate changes as Fitbit will continue to “maintain service”. That being said, the company has mentioned that functionality could be impacted in the future, essentially saying that support for all existing Pebble devices will come to an end at some point in time.
As reported yesterday, Pebble will be refunding everyone who had pledged to their May Kickstarter for the Pebble Time 2, Pebble Core, and Pebble Time Round devices. Those who’ve already received their Pebble 2 watches will not be entitled to a refund for obvious reasons. For those who’re entitled for the refund, Pebble has warned that the company aims to refund all pledges by March 2017, so if you’re one of the pledgers, you may have to wait.
On the Fitbit side of things, Fitbit has mentioned that the acquisition of Pebble will enable it to bring new products to the market quicker and improve those it already sells. The acquisition of Pebble will also allow Fitbit to develop customized products and third-party apps for corporate customers and research.
This acquisition marks the end of the Pebble, a company that is widely considered to be the darling of the crowdfunding movement. Here’s to hoping that Fitbit would be able to put their newly acquired assets to good use.