Pebble smartwatches are now compatible with Android Wear apps

It’s a feature that’s been available in beta since December, but now all owners of the ever popular Pebble smartwatch will be able to use Android Wear apps with their timepiece. That’s in addition to the apps already available on Pebble’s own app store.

That means the one useful app you could be using if you bought a pricier watch running Android Wear is now available on your Pebble. So now Pebble owners are able to get a great combination of battery life and app support. All you need to do is make sure you have the most recent update of the Pebble Android App, and that the watch has been updated to the latest firmware version.

It’s also a major advantage for people sticking with older Android handsets, because Pebble is compatible with all Android devices above Android 4.0. Android Wear, on the other hand, requires a device running Android 4.3 or higher.

Android Wear is currently dominating the smartwatch market, having sold 720,000 devices last year. That, along with the impending launch of the Apple Watch, means that Pebble is going to have to work hard if it doesn’t want to get completely overwhelmed. Adding Android Wear support, along with the upcoming revamped software platform, will help to make sure it stays competitive.