Pebble Round 2 Brings Back Classic Smartwatch, Pre-Orders Now Open

[MacRumors]

Pebble today announced that it is bringing back the Pebble Time Round, one of its most iconic smartwatches from a decade ago. The new Pebble Round 2 builds on the Pebble Time Round, eliminating some of the compromises that had to be made with the original model.

The Pebble Round 2 features a bezel-free 1.3-inch color e-paper display, and it comes in matte black, brushed silver, and rose gold. Advances in Bluetooth technology mean that it lasts for up to two weeks before needing to be recharged, and it remains as thin as the original.

The device runs the open-source PebbleOS operating system, and it is designed to work with iOS and Android smartphones. It supports basic sleep tracking and activity tracking, but it is not a fitness watch, so there is no heart rate tracking.

Pebble creator Eric Migicovsky brought back the Pebble brand earlier this year after Google released the source code for PebbleOS. After going bankrupt in 2016, Pebble was sold to Fitbit, and then Fitbit was bought by Google.

Migicovsky has been vocal about how Apple's restrictions for third-party smartwatches limit how the Pebble works with an iPhone. He has complained that Apple makes it "nearly impossible" for third-party wearable developers to create an experience that mirrors the Apple Watch experience.

The Pebble Round 2 can be pre-ordered from the rePebble website for $199, and it is set to ship out to customers in May.

Article Link: Pebble Round 2 Brings Back Classic Smartwatch, Pre-Orders Now Open

 

[froot1988]

another great mac rumor

 

[budselectjr]

he should move his company over to the EU where you can force other companies to be compatible with your e-waste

 

[hieranonymous]

The other Pebble revival watches have looked like homemade 3D-printed dreck so far, but this one actually looks reasonably neat … although I’m not sure who besides smartwatch contrarians would be drawn to it.

 

[macvicta]

Iconic?

 

[pdaholic]

$200 for a watch that doesn’t do heart rate monitoring?!?

Amazfit Active 2 look similar, has gps/hr monitoring, and is half the cost. Cmf watch pro 3 would be a good option as well.

After trying out the various 3rd party watches, I came crawling back to Apple. Just can’t beat the integration.

 

[klasma]

That looks really pretty neat. I don't wear (and don't like to wear) wrist watches, but if I did, I'd probably buy one. Two weeks of battery life is something I'd like for my iPhone and iPad.

 

[captrlp]

E-reader screen….sign me up….and which storefront candy machine do I purchase this from?

 

[waterfta]

A lot of people in the comments that don't understand why people liked the Pebble watch so much.

1. $200 in this economy is pretty fair for a company that doesn't have the economies of scale to play with that big Chinese brands or Apple has, especially since it's color e-ink (check color Kindles for wild prices)

2. Speaking of e-ink, the two weeks of battery is the winner (even more on the square models). Many people might be in that habit of just packing their watch charger with them on every trip or having two chargers, but I am very glad to have the ability to charge once to twice a month and not have my watch die due to a long weekend away from home.

3. The customization and ability for user-created watch faces and people being very creative with the sensors inside (albeit this one is somewhat limited compared to the non-round models) is just fun.

4. Lastly, it was kind of the OG. The original model came out more than two years before the Apple Watch. It had rough edges but was a cool piece of tech. Apple did its usual thing and released something prettier and more polished that changed the game for the masses, but thinking of "Pebble" as random e-waste is historically a bit ignorant. It's nice to see Pebble back after their mismanagement and other things that killed it years ago.