How to update your Pebble watch with Android Wear features

Pebble owners of the world rejoice, because your smartwatch now supports Android Wear, allowing you to make use of some of the best features of Google’s wearable OS. Here’s how to update 

The new features began rolling out to Pebble’s beta testers back in December, but now anyone can make use of Android Wear’s biggest selling points on their Pebble smartwatch. All you need to do is download the relevant firmware and app updates.

How do I update my Pebble watch to give it Android Wear support?

The updated app can be snagged from the Google Play store right now. Just open Google Play on your phone, search for the ‘Pebble’ app and tap ‘update’, then wait for the latest version to install.

In addition to the app update, Pebble users will also have to install a firmware update on their watch, which includes all the software wizardry needed to implement the Android Wear support (plus a number of bug-fixes and other enhancements too).

To do this, open the updated Pebble app on your phone and then browse to Support > Check for Updates. The new firmware should then be downloaded and installed and your watch will reset. When it comes back online, you should have full Android Wear support.

What features does the Android Wear update for Pebble include?

This latest version of the Pebble app brings with it support for Android Wear Notifications, including the ability to reply to messages right there on your watch using “most Android-compatible SMS messaging apps”. You can also set up to five user-defined replies, allowing you to create your own pithy (or simply abusive) off-the-peg responses to common messages.

This beefed-up performance is likely to serve the Pebble well in the coming weeks and months, as it takes on the hoard of second-gen Android Wear smartwatches and, of course, the impending Apple Watch, which is due to launch sometime in April.

Despite being a very early member of the smartwatch movement, the Pebble is still one of the better devices on the market, playing nice with iOS and Android, and the watch importantly offers up seven days of usage on a single charge; something none of its competitors can do presently, or will likely do in the near future.