# Pebble Watch software

6 Hacker News commenters recommended Pebble Watch software and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Open-sourced so the software can keep working even if the company fails, and praised as a good open source example. Critics say some parts remain closed source.

## Why people recommend it

- Keeps software alive after company failure (2 comments): "they are being maximally open, making it so all of everything would be able to continue" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46039224)) "it's great resilience to large company failures when they do" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46038369))
- Welcomed as open-source release (2 comments): "Great example of how open source should be done." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46038626)) "It's great to see the app open-sourced!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46038733))

## What people warn about

- Closed parts undermine open-source claim (2 comments): "if it doesn't interoperate with optional non-free software then it is not Open Source" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46038487)) "So 100% FOSS, except for the parts that are closed source now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46037824))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [webOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/webos.md): 20 recommend
- [AsteroidOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/asteroidos-2-0.md): 19 recommend
- [Minix](https://hackerapproved.com/p/minix.md): 15 recommend
- [Inferno operating system](https://hackerapproved.com/p/inferno.md): 12 recommend
- [Visopsys](https://hackerapproved.com/p/visopsys.md): 9 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Pebble Watch software", https://hackerapproved.com/p/pebble-watch-software/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).