You can add heart rate and wireless charging to your Pebble soon, thanks to Tylt
Tylt aims to add a few missing Pebble features with one snap-on accessory.
- Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
The Pebble Time is a resilient little smartwatch. It's got good battery life, water resistance, and can track steps and sleep automatically with Pebble Health. But it's not so good at deeper fitness tracking.
Tylt, the manufacturer of wireless charging stands and other mobile accessories, has just launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign to change that. Called Tylt Vü Pulse, it's a watch case that adds wireless Qi charging and has an optical heart-rate monitor, all in one package.
You can see below that the Vu Pulse won't add all that much thickness, and the tech resides entirely in the case. Tylt also sells regular Pebble watch bands, which you can buy separately, but it's interesting that this isn't a smart strap concept.
The Tylt Vu Pulse on a Pebble Time.
Early bird backers can get the Tylt Vu Pulse for a reasonable $39, but of course we've never tried this thing and don't know how well it works. Vu Pulse connects via Pebble's new Health API, meaning it should funnel its data out to Pebble Health-supported features on the watch.
Features:
- Tracks heart rate every 30 seconds, passively
- Tracks heart rate every 10 seconds in active workouts
- A companion app that syncs workout and heart rate data over to Apple Health or Google Fit
- Vibration mode when your maximum heart rate is reached during workouts
- Wireless Qi charging works with any Qi accessory, charges in 2 hours
- Works with Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel (sorry, Pebble Round users)
I'll admit, I'm curious.