I was very reluctant to get a Pebble but I have to admit that finally purchasing one a couple months or so ago is probably the best decision I’ve made in a while. If you listen to Let’s Talk iOS or Let’s Talk Jailbreak, then you probably already know that I am now a complete Pebble convert. Well, that is at least until Apple comes up with its own wearable, because as it is, the Pebble is extremely limited with what you can do.
Getting directions on your Pebble for example is something that I was anticipating before buying the smartwatch, but as it turned out, the alternatives that are available in the App Store are so bad, that I couldn’t believe someone hadn’t figured out how to get turn by turn directions on the Pebble the right way. Then I had a breakthrough…
Before we get into it, here are a few applications available in the App Store that send GPS directions to your Pebble. I tried them and I believe they are a waste of time and money.
- pebbleNav
- PBDirection
- PebbGPS
By default, any notification you receive on your iPhone will be pushed to your Pebble, which means that if you use a map app that sends push notifications to your iPhone for every turn you’re supposed to make, then you can get these notification pushed to your smartwatch.
Because the stock Maps application is so integrated into the operating system of the iPhone, it doesn’t actually send push notification. However, Google Maps app does.
The solution for getting directions to your Pebble is to use Google Maps. Simply download the app if you haven’t yet, search for a destination, and start getting directions. You’ll get these directions pushed to your Pebble, as you can see on the photo above.
While this isn’t the most useful use you can get out of your Pebble for driving directions, it is really handy for walking directions. If you’re walking around town and you’re not sure where to go, instead of having your iPhone in your hand, just get the directions sent to your Pebble.
Some of you may think it is an obvious solution, but it’s not so obvious until you think of it, believe me. I want to thank iDB reader maezd for asking the question “which GPS apps would you recommend for the Pebble?”, which I had intended to address for a while now.