Smartwatch+ is an iOS companion app that enhances the experience with your Pebble smartwatch. Smartwatch+ allows you to display additional information on your watch, such as weather, your iPhone's battery status, unread SMS/email and missed call counts, current stock and Bitcoin prices, your current GPS location, and your latest calendar appointments. Additionally, you can control certain functions of your phone from the watch, such as replying to text messages and initiating calls, launching the camera and taking pictures, controlling the phone's volume and activating Siri.
Smartwatch+ for jailbroken iPhones (running iOS 6.0 and newer) is available through the Cydia Store. You don't need to add any repositories, as it is hosted inside the BigBoss repository, which is part of the standard Cydia installation. Click here on your iPhone or search for Smartwatch+ in Cydia.
There's also a version for regular non-jailbroken iPhones on the App Store now. It does offer less features, but you might still want to check it out if you don't have a jailbroken device.
Smartwatch+ uses different screens to display data on the Pebble watch and to interact with an iPhone. The screens can be accessed through a menu on the Pebble watch using a custom watch app. The iPhone app lets you configure the number and order of screens to adjust it to your individual needs. All screens that display data are automatically updated at user-defined intervals.
SmartStatus is technically a screen as well, but it acts a little bit different in the sense that it's not part of the regular menu. Instead it is its own watch app and provides the iPhone's battery and status counters, which dynamically change as soon as the correlating info on the iPhone changes. More info on SmartStatus can be found here.
Currently, there are 12 screens available in Smartwatch+:
This screen is called SmartStatus and displays configurable status counters (unread SMS, unread emails, missed calls, etc.), current weather conditions, temperature (in °C or °F) and iPhone battery status. Siri can be launched directly from this screen by pressing the top button.
SmartStatus is special in the sense that it's not part of Smartwatch+' menu structure, but instead runs inside its own watch app. This separation allows for it to be open-sourced and easily replaced by different user-created implementations. Click here for more information about SmartStatus.
Displays current weather conditions, as well as a 3-day forecast of your current location, or a city of your choice.
Displays a list of next calendar appointments with time/date and location.
Displays a list of your last couple of SMS and iMessages on your Pebble. Selecting a message allows you to read its entire content. Caller ID or phone number is displayed alongside the message. Smartwatch+ also allows you to respond to messages right from your Pebble.
Displays a list of your last couple of incoming calls with Caller ID, time and date of the call. Selecting a call from the list lets you either call back the number immediately, or send a canned text message.
This screen displays a list of up to 20 HTTP GET requests and lets you trigger them from your wrist. Click here for more info about setting up HTTP requests.
The Music Screen offers the same control as the built-in music app - except it adds iPhone-wide volume control. Toggle between Next/Previous and Volume controls by pushing the center button for a few seconds.
Launch the camera app on your iPhone and take a picture by using your Pebble as a remote shutter.
Displays a 24h chart of the bitcoin exchange rate from mtgox, as well as the current value (including high/low).
Displays a 24h chart, as well as current/high/low values of a selected stock.
Launch and dismiss Siri with a button press on your Pebble. Click here for more information.
Displays current location (either as lat/lon or street name), altitude or distance travelled (in km or mi), and current speed (in km/h or mph).
The iPhone app lets you adjust the number of active screens on the watch by dragging them between Enabled Screens and Disabled Screens. It also lets you change the display order of the screens.
Technically, the current iteration of the Pebble SDK does not provide two-way communication between a smartphone and your watch. To circumvent this limitation, Smartwatch+ uses the built-in music app of the Pebble to display information from the iPhone and send button presses back. Admittedly, this is kind of a hack, but it's the only option for now. The downside of this hack is that it will only work with jailbroken iPhones.
Smartwatch+ consists of two parts: An iPhone app that lets you adjust the settings and screen configuration, and the built-in music app on your Pebble. The iPhone app runs continuously in the background and sends data to Pebble, where the built-in music app displays that information.
On the Pebble watch you can access Smartwatch+ by selecting the Music app in the main menu. You will be presented with the first screen and you're able to cycle through all enabled screens using the "previous song" button. In screens that merely display information (Status, GPS, Bitcoin, Stocks, Calendar), the data is automatically updated at user-defined intervals. In addition, data can be manually updated using the middle (or select) button at any time. In screens that interact with the iPhone, a line of text describes the action that will be triggered by a corresponding button press.
I will consistently add features and additional screens to Smartwatch+.
Some things that I'm currently working on:
If you have a good idea what the next feature of Smartwatch+ should be, please go to http://smartwatchplusapp.uservoice.com and make a suggestion/vote on other users' ideas.
As soon as the extended Pebble SDK is released, I will integrate Smartwatch+ with it, such that it doesn't need to live inside the built-in music app anymore, but has its own app on the Pebble watch.
All future updates will be included in the purchase price.
You need to understand that Smartwatch+ is very much a work in progress. At this early stage of the Pebble smartwatch itself and the software development around it, things are not perfect, can break at any moment and will certainly change over time while the ecosystem around smartwatches is slowly catching up to their abilities.
Before you purchase Smartwatch+, you should be aware of the following limitations:
All that being said, Smartwatch+ is still a very nice addition to your Pebble smartwatch, as it is the first glimpse into advanced functionality in conjunction with an iPhone. I'm fascinated by the possibilities that the Pebble smartwatch provides and I'm committed to create software that makes the best use of this great piece of technology.
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions:
dezign999, one of the early beta testers (who also designed the awesome app logo) was nice enough to provide this important information about Smartwatch+ and Siri:
Notes on Siri Compatibility One of Smartwatch+' more robust features is evoking Siri from your wrist. To get started we'll need to address the common issue with Siri and the Pebble which you are probably already familiar with, Audio Source. Team Pebble has yet to resolve this long standing issue, but its only a minor hang up that resolves itself after about a minute if you simply follow a few steps. 1) If you see that Siri is unresponsive and the Audio Source button appears to be active (icon to right of Siri button/mic graphic) press the Home button (Circle button at the bottom the iPhone) to dismiss Siri. 2) Wait. The iPhone needs a little time to resolve the Audio Source dilemma, and after about a minute, you'll be able to activate Siri normally as the iPhone will no longer select the Pebble as an audio source. 3) Now you can use Smartwatch+ to activate Siri without issue. If you're not familiar with this issue, let me explain further. After restarts, resprings or extended time outs, the iPhone may "forget" what kind of connected device the Pebble is and erroneously consider it an audio source. When this happens launching Siri may result in the normal Siri button and mic image without any feedback. Ultimately, Siri will sit there silent, and you may notice the Audio Source button to the right is glowing bluish green indicating the iPhone is using anther Audio Source for output. Upon inspection, you'll see the Pebble is selected. To resolve this issue, simply follow the steps above. How to recognize when the iPhone has selected the Pebble as an Audio Source from Smartwatch+ The easiest way to recognize this issue is by how Smartwatch+ responds to your commands after attempting to "Launch Siri." 1) You will see a "Calling" or "Call Ended" screen come up, as if placing a phone call. 2) "Launch Siri" does not evoke Siri's recognizable "ding ding!" sound when ready. To resolve this issue, simply press the "Dismiss Siri" button and wait for the iPhone to once again resolve the Audio Source. Using Smartwatch+ with Siri To activate Siri, press the Pebble's middle button to "Launch Siri." If on an iPhone 5, the noise canceling hardware should be powerful enough to take commands from your coat pocket, pants pocket, or desk without fail. For best results, place the Mic upwards or towards your face. To dismiss Siri, simply press the Pebble's top button. It is recommended to become accustomed to dismissing Siri to avoid any idle time while your iPhone is waiting to automatically go to sleep. This is especially helpful if you intend on using Siri hands free from your pocket.
You can always email me with any questions/ideas/suggestions/bug reports.
Further discussions about Smartwatch+ can happen on the Pebble forum and on reddit.