Frequently Asked Questions

Will Snowy continue to work now that Pebble has been acquired by FitBit?

Yes! Pebble has guaranteed that all services, including Timeline and Dictation, will function through the end of 2017 at the very least. Beyond that, I’m working with the Rebble team to make sure Snowy can function on new third-party firmware.

This page is updated regularly based on user feedback and version updates. For more information, you can view the original Reddit announcement or the Pebble Forums thread.

Obtaining a License

How do I pay for Snowy?

Snowy uses KiezelPay, a new payment system for Pebble that allows you to purchase a license for any watchface or app simply by visiting KiezelPay and entering the number displayed on the watch.

Wait, payment? I thought the Pebble Appstore doesn’t allow payments…

There is nothing explicitly against payments in the Pebble Appstore’s terms and conditions. The reason most Pebble apps have been free so far is that the Appstore doesn’t have a built-in way to handle payments. That’s where third-party services like KiezelPay come in.

Why are you charging for Snowy but not your other apps?

I put effort into all of my apps, but none come close to how much work I’ve dedicated to Snowy. To support my work so far and all future development, I ask for a simple, one-time payment of $2.99. In my opinion, it’s totally worth it.

Settings Page

What does Quick Exit mean?

The default behavior of Snowy allows you to come back to the Home Screen after backing out of each interaction, to give you the option of engaging with one of your Custom Commands or starting a new Voice Command (which you can do from the Response Screen anyways). By enabling Quick Exit, you streamline Snowy’s behavior, so that you can launch the app, make a quick Voice Command or Custom Command, then back out and automatically exit the app.

What does Always Confirm Dictation mean?

By default, Snowy will accept your voice input as is and attempt to understand your request. However, you can enable Always Confirm Dictation to see what Pebble has transcribed into text, before it is sent to Snowy. If you find Snowy is regularly misunderstanding your requests, you may want to enable this to see if the issue lies with Pebble’s transcription service.

What does Flick to Dismiss mean?

Flick to Dismiss allows you to clear a response from Snowy by flicking your wrist. This allows you to press a single button to launch Snowy or begin listening for dictation, receive your answer after a few seconds, and dismiss the result without having to press another button.

What does Hands Free Mode mean?

The Voice API by Pebble allows for a great new input mechanism for apps like Snowy to take advantage of. Hands Free Mode allows you to use Snowy without pressing a single button. When enabled, simply flick your wrist to launch Snowy*, then flick again before the five second timeout expires to launch dictation. Once you receive your result, Snowy will give you ten seconds to either flick your wrist again and make another request, or the app will close on its own and you can continue on with your day.

*Note: If you have another app running in the Background, such as Misfit, then enabling Hands Free Mode will result in a notification every time you exit Snowy, asking if you want to set Snowy to be the new Background App. This is Pebble system behavior. If you choose to continue using your current Background App, please disable Hands Free Mode.

Dictation & Language

Pebble’s dictation isn’t getting my words right. What do I do?

You’ll need to make sure that in your Pebble app, under Settings -> Voice Language, you have it set to a variant of English. If you are still having issues, please contact Pebble Support through the phone app.

English isn’t my first language, when will you add support for ___?

As Snowy becomes more popular, I hope to add new languages soon!

What languages can Snowy translate English speech into?

Snowy can translate into French, Spanish, German, Italian, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Albanian, Bosnian, Catalan, Croatian, Danish, Estonian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish, and Turkish.

What commands does Snowy recognize?

You can find a list of commands here . If you want to suggest new commands, email me here .

About Snowy

Where did the name ‘Snowy’ come from?

Snowy, the personal assistant app, is named for Snowy, the codename for the Pebble Time hardware.

Why did you choose the UI that you did?

I wanted Snowy to feel like a built-in part of the Pebble operating system. So, I worked diligently to make it a near pixel-perfect match to the notification pop-up UI. I think it brings a sense of familiarity to a new app.

Which models does Snowy support?

Snowy works on any Pebble with a microphone: Pebble Time, Pebble Time Steel, Pebble Time Round, and Pebble 2.

When is Snowy’s birthday?

Snowy was born on October 9th, 2015, at the 3rd Annual Pebble Developer Retreat. Snowy made quite a splash, winning the Most Creative Project award, as voted on by fellow attendees!