Pebble Smartwatch Now Understands 80 Languages; Android App Gets Full Notifications Support

Announcing the news, Pebble on Thursday in a blog post said, "Today, we've got love to share on three fronts: Firmware, Android, and iOS."

The new firmware version 2.8 update brings full character support for 80 languages. This should remove the "unknown character" boxes for most users, the company says.

"Over 98% of Pebblers in the world can now fully receive messages and alerts in their native language. Today's update paves the way for more languages to come in the future, as Pebble steadily lands in more countries around the world," Pebble said. Apart from support for new languages, the firmware update also brings bug fixes and stability improvements.

Additionally, the company has announced a revamped Android app, which it claims has been "re-written from the ground up." Pebble revealed that the update will be a phased rollout. "The Android app update will be a phased roll-out: available today to 10% of Pebblers who visit the Google Play Store, with access expanding over the next couple weeks," it said.

The new Pebble for Android app update (version 2.1.0) brings full notification support, which means users can now receive notifications from any app that's capable of sending one, fixing one of the biggest limitations of the watch. Users can of course selectively enable or disable notifications on the watch on a per-app basis. The app also brings the ability to end calls from the smartwatch.

Notably, the new Android app is compatible with devices running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or higher, while a future update is expected to bring support for earlier versions of Android.

The Pebble for iOS app update (version 2.5.2) brings minor changes such as adding the latest JavaScript Pebble apps for iOS users in the Pebble appstore, asides from miscellaneous bug fixes and stability improvements.