Pebble announce 2 new smartwatches and a GPS-enabled device for runners and "hackers"

Pebble has returned to the helm of things by announcing the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2  smartwatches, along with a separate device, the Pebble Core, for runners and hackers. The company returned to Kickstarter to announce these new devices and start its third kickstarter campaign. The company may not actually need funding to make these devices, but those who pre-order the devices via Kickstarter will get them at a discount.Pebble announced that it was phasing out the original Pebble, Pebble Time, Pebble Steel, and Pebble Time Steel watches, while leaving Time Round's return in the dark. The major change in the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 is the inclusion of a heart-rate sensor that continuously measures your heart rate both at active as well as resting states. The company has shifted it's focus to health and fitness tracking because it was the second most used feature on smart devices, apart from communication, according to CEO Eric Migicovsky, as reported by Engadget. Along with the inclusion of a heart-rate sensor there have been minor changes, like a slightly thinner profile for the devices along with a reduced bezel size. The display quality is said to be considerably improved on the Pebble Time 2 as they've shifted to a better quality panel. The design looks very similar to the first generation device though. Battery life figures are impressive as well, thanks to the e-ink display. You should get 7 days for the Pebble 2 and 10 days for the Pebble Time 2. Another thing to note about both the devices is that they are water resistant down to 30m, making them ideal for swimming. Both devices come with in-built sleep and activity trackers and include a microphone for quick audio commands.Pebble has improved the software side of things in addition to the introduction of new hardware, where they have continued to achieve their goal of getting things faster. The company has introduced a new feature called "Actions" which is more like quick shortcuts to do things like checking weather or calling an Uber to your location.Pebble has introduced an open API to help developers integrate their apps with these actions or create apps. To simplify the process for developers, the company has built the entire platform on Javascript. Pebble have started accepting pre-orders and the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 will ship in September and November this year respectively.Pebble recently launched the Pebble Time Steel in India and opened orders for its first generation devices through Amazon.