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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[jlc1978]

Lastly, it was kind of the OG. The original model came out more than two years before the Apple Watch.

Palm had a smart watch a lot earlier as well.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Alas, I can't forgive Pebble for screwing over Kickstarter backers way back in the OG days. I was a Kickstarter backer for the original watch and yet, as with many other backers (maybe even most), Pebble started selling their watches in Walmart before they'd fulfilled all their backer orders. It really took the shine off and made me feel used as a backer so much so that wearing the watch just made me feel uncomfortable. By the time I finally got mine, other companies were already springing up with competition and a year later, the Apple Watch was announced so the writing was on the wall.

 

[Enlightened Doggo]

They really did it. They made a watch that doesn't belong in a little tikes catalog.

 

[SteveJobsOfficial]

Yes, we warrant against manufacturing defects for 30 days after you receive your order. Ship us the defective watch, and after we receive it back, we will ship (no charge) you a replacement. See our full warranty.​

​

Otherwise, you generally should already know what you're getting into. You're getting an awesome smartwatch running PebbleOS. There are many videos and reviews of PebbleOS you can check out before pre-ordering.​

This alone is enough to consider going elsewhere.

 

[QCassidy352]

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.

lol it ain't Apple that's preventing this from mirroring an Apple Watch experience.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

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.

Migicovsky, instead of designing and producing a world class mobile device to go along with his company’s watch in order to challenge the system he claims is unfair, does what everyone else does and depends on someone else’s technology for theirs to be successful.

Maybe one day a hardware company confident enough in their product to deliver their solution with a custom OS and a desire to actually compete instead of riding someone else’s coattails. But, it’s not this company.

 

[frenchcamp49er]

Already was burned once by the is dude.

 

[frenchcamp49er]

Alas, I can't forgive Pebble for screwing over Kickstarter backers way back in the OG days. I was a Kickstarter backer for the original watch and yet, as with many other backers (maybe even most), Pebble started selling their watches in Walmart before they'd fulfilled all their backer orders. It really took the shine off and made me feel used as a backer so much so that wearing the watch just made me feel uncomfortable. By the time I finally got mine, other companies were already springing up with competition and a year later, the Apple Watch was announced so the writing was on the wall.

I also was a backer, still have the watch, but he killed the company for cash once and screwed us all. Never will I buy anything from this dude again.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

lol it ain't Apple that's preventing this from mirroring an Apple Watch experience.

It literally is though.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I like it. Not much else to say about it. A premium version with sapphire would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[ndouglas]

can the e-ink screen be read in the dark? or is there a button to press, at least, for checking the time in low-light? sorry if that’s a dumb question, i watched half the video but didn’t see that covered.


I like the round face, flat/thin body, battery life. i’m not in the market for one, but it is pretty cool to know it’s out there.

 

[bluecoast]

I like that pebble is doing this.

It’s fun to have fairly affordable well designed hardware that people can hack around with.

Sure it does less than a lot of fitness trackers under $99 but you pay for the whimsy and openness.

I’m not in the market for one but I think if I was, twinning this with a smart ring to track my health wouldn’t be the worst option in the world.

 

[Ted_Appleseed]

We are slowly reconnecting to the correct timeline that was abruptly interrupted in 2016. Pebble was shut down in 2016, and Vine in January 2017. Both are now back. We lost many good things in the past ten years, and now we are getting those back.

Happy New Year 2026 2016!

 

[svish]

Interesting. Though I won't be buying one, think the new watch could be a successful product. Wonder if Apple will ever launch a circular watch.

 

[@Brett]

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.

I had a Sony Ericsson Bluetooth sort of smart watch in 2007. It had a traditional watch face and an OLED display. I would consider that the OG. It gave you notifications but you could control music on your phone also.

 

[2128506]

So, a smartwatch without smartwatch features (HR tracking is kinda ubiquitous at this point).

Also, how tf would it track sleep without HR tracking? Just using accelerometer?

That would sell well...

 

[IJBrekke]

This article mostly overlooks what is happening here: Pebble is back because the enthusiast community kept the software going for 10 years after the company went bankrupt. This new hardware is being manufactured by a super small team to serve that enthusiast community, and Eric is being very upfront that they aren’t trying to grow it or market outside of that small bubble. This is a hobby/passion project, almost like an Etsy shop for smartwatches. It’s not comparable to what Pebble was trying to be ten years ago.

The other reason this is happening is because no one else has made an equivalent device in the interim. E-ink display watch with long battery life and open-source software that allows anyone to make watch faces. If that’s not your thing, cool, plenty of other mass market watches for you to choose from. But for the small Pebble community that thinks that is the type of smart watch they want, there has been a market hole left unfilled.

All to say, I’m glad this project is happening and that Eric is being upfront about what is and isn’t possible. I’d like to see more market competition and variety against Apple than there currently is.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I used to be a Pebble user way back in the day, starting from the original kickstarter. I loved it! Loved that new animation heavy interface with the Pebble Time. Eventually used the original Pebble Time Round for a while before eventually moving on to the Apple Watch.

Absolutely love the look of this new one. Sadly, I’m at a point in my life where I'd rather have reliability/dependability over smaller startup projects. If I ever moved away from my Apple Watch, I think I’d rather use my dumb, traditional watch anyway instead of another smart one.