Pebble recently began sending very happy emails: It was telling backers of its Kickstarter campaign for the new Pebble Time smartwatch that their watches are on the way. But then Pebble dropped a bomb: The iOS software necessary to set up and use the Pebble Time watch with an iPhone is “still in review” at Apple. And it’s been “in review” for 43 days, says Pebble.

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Dang it. (Email from Pebble)

This is not the first software hiccup that Pebble has faced. In 2013, when the first Pebble watch began shipping, the company had a similar message to backers: The iOS app that gave the Pebble watch full functionality wasn’t going to be available by the time backers got their watches. (Some functions did work, but full customization required the app.)

More recently, Pebble users got a scare when Apple removed some apps that worked with Pebble. That was a “mistake,” according to Apple, but it rattled Pebble owners and potential future customers.

As far as we know, Pebble’s compatibility with Android phones has never been threatened, and the new Pebble Time app that works with the Pebble smartwatches is currently available in the Google Play app store.

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Here is the complete email from Pebble:



Hi everyone,

We’ve got key details to share about the Pebble Time app for iPhone. Here’s the TL;DR:



Pebble Time iPhone App Still In Review



Timeline, Current Status, Next Steps



Hang in there. We’re close and you can help.



Pebble Time iPhone App Still In Review

The Pebble Time iPhone app, as we’ve all noticed, is not yet live on the iTunes AppStore. It remains “in review.” This unexpected circumstance pains us as much it does backers with watches ready to set up. We’re doing all we can to mitigate the delay and make Pebble Time Watch for iPhone available for download.

We appreciate you hanging in there with us while we navigate this obstacle.

Timeline, Current Status, and Next Steps

Making sure you get everything you need to enjoy your Pebble Time reward remains our top priority. In the lead-up to shipments on May 27, we completed the following iOS-related preparations:

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(Status history of Pebble Time watch for iPhone, pending approval. Status history of Pebble Time watch for iPhone, pending approval.)

May 18: Apple approved our new app, Pebble Time Watch.



May 22: We submitted an updated version of the same iPhone app—only adding minor bug fixes—for approval. We requested an expedited review of this submission.

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