Pebble smartwatch hardware upgraded to Bluetooth 4.0, will be enabled via software update

There’s only 10 days left to back the Pebble smartwatch, currently the hottest Kickstarter project to date by a wide margin. Pebble’s not resting though — the watch will now include Bluetooth 4.0 onboard, though Pebble’s quick to note that it “probably” won’t be enabled right off the bat. Instead, Bluetooth 4.0 will get turned on via a software update that’ll come later. Pebble’s also noting that even though Bluetooth 4.0 has “low energy” features, it likely won’t affect the performance of the watch — it’s being added mostly as a way to future-proof the watch and support wireless sensors like heart-rate and cadence, mostly for bikers. While this won’t mean a different experience out-of-the-box for backers, the upgrade isn’t going to affect shipping times at all, and Pebble had planned this all along. We won’t complain about a Pebble with that supports more connectivity down the line.

With the Kickstarter project nearly ready to close, it’s worth looking back at some of the numbers behind the campaign. Overall, the project has racked up over $9 million — pretty crazy when you realize that this project could triple the previous record of about $3.4 million when all is said and done. On a per-watch basis, this breaks down to $119.20 per device, with Pebble on the hook to produce at least 76,105 watches to meet the demand. We’ll see how different these numbers look 10 days from now when the campaigns wraps up.