Pebble is shutting down, with Fitbit acquiring its technology, software, and other intellectual property. This will affect anyone who currently owns a Pebble product, because it means your smartwatch is likely to stop working in the not-too-distant future.

After much speculation that an acquisition was imminent, Pebble has announced it's actually shutting down. Fitbit is acquiring much of the IP which makes Pebble products work, and offering jobs to 40 percent of its staff. But Pebble, the former darling of Kickstarter, is essentially no more.

This will affect anyone who has previously bought a Pebble smartwatch, was in the process of doing so, or was thinking about doing so in the future. The whys and wherefores are detailed in a blog post written by Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky.

How Pebble's Demise Could Affect You

Firstly, "Pebble is no longer promoting, manufacturing, or selling any devices. Orders from pebble.com are no longer being accepted or fulfilled, including Pebble 2 pre-orders, which have not yet been charged or shipped." So if you had a Pebble 2 on order, you can forget about it.

In addition to this, "warranty support is no longer available for Pebble watches". This means that if your Pebble smartwatch is still under warranty, that has now been rendered null and void. So if your Pebble smartwatch stops working, you're on your own.

Which brings us to the most egregious part of this whole sorry saga…

"Pebble devices will continue to work as normal. No immediate changes to the Pebble user experience will happen at this time. Pebble functionality or service quality may be reduced in the future."

You might as well ignore the first part of that statement, because it's rendered obsolete by the second part. For all intents and purposes, Pebble no longer exists, and, as revealed in a post on the latest Pebble Kickstarter, the company doesn't "expect to release regular software updates or new Pebble features".

The Smallest Soupcon of Hope Remains

A soupcon of hope remains thanks to the now-non-existent company suggesting it's "working to reduce Pebble's reliance on cloud services, letting all Pebble models stay active long into the future". But in all honesty we wouldn't recommend you holding your breath waiting for that to happen.

Do you own a Pebble product? How do you feel about the company shutting down and selling its assets? Are you concerned at the future prospects for your Pebble smartwatch? Or can you see some light at the end of the tunnel? Please let us know in the comments below!