Pebble updated to support Android Wear apps

It has been two months since the Pebble 2.3 beta arrived, bringing with it a massive change that allowed it to play nice with Android Wear apps. While the update still ran the same Pebble OS, it had been modified so that notifications from Android Wear apps would also work on the Pebble, making it easy to interact with these notifications and even reply from the Pebble using special defined responses. And now the new AW support features have arrived for the stable version of Pebble 2.3 as well.

Keep in mind that in order for the Pebble to work with Android Wear apps, you’ll not only need to grab the Pebble 2.3 app from Google Play — you’ll also need to install the latest firmware update. Wondering what else is new? Mostly bug fixes and a few other minor tweaks. For those on iOS, the Pebble update is pretty uninspiring, considering the AW compatibility obviously only applies to us in the Android camp.

For those looking for a full changelog, here you go:

• Android Wear Notifications. Reply and act on Android Wear notifications (requires Firmware v2.9+). See http://pbl.io/f for full details.
• Pebbler-defined replies. Set your own replies to notifications (up to five, so get creative, buddy!).
• Reply from Pebble using most Android-compatible SMS messaging apps.
• Automatic app and watchface updates when Pebble is idle.
• Support for Android 4.0+ devices.
• Fixed Issues with Whatsapp notifications.
• UTF-8 support in PebbleKit JS.
• Bug fixes and stability improvements.

The arrival of Android Wear app compatibility to the Pebble is a major boon for the platform, and instantly increases the number of apps that can be used with the watch on Android. Of course, some of these apps won’t be as useful as they would on an actual Android Wear watch due to the Pebble’s lack of a microphone for voice response, but this is still a great step in the right direction. With the Pebble priced at just $100 and with a battery life that substantially one ups actual Android Wear watches, the Pebble just got a little bit more interesting.