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After relaunching the Pebble smartwatch and launching an affordable AI smart ring, Stone is reading another new product: Pebble Round 2. As the name suggests, this latest device is another version of Pebble’s smart watch, but with a round screen, giving it a premium look. But like other Pebble devices, the new watch is still priced at $199.
Pebble lowers the price of its watches by limiting their features. In the case of the new Pebble Round 2, the device offers basic health and activity tracking, such as steps and sleep, but it doesn’t include a heart rate monitor or other features that would make it tough or a sports tracker.
The trade-off is long battery life – the Pebble Round 2 should last 10 to 14 days before needing it.
Like recently launched the Pebble Time 2Pebble Round 2 is a relaunch of the old smartwatch company. Back in 2015, Pebble introduced its first round watch with the Pebble Time Round, which the company called the smallest watch in the industry at the time.
The latest model remains slimmer, with a thickness of 8.1 mm, compared to the original 7.5 mm.
“(The Pebble Time Round) was one of my favorite stones, but it wasn’t perfect,” said Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky in an interview with TechCrunch. “It had a few things we could change, most notably being a larger bezel around the edges.”
To create a round face, the team used a glass with rounded edges that were hidden by a large bezel. But the result was a device that did not have a very large screen. Technology has been improving, of course, so the large screen of the new device allows you to see more text. The updated design looks good, too.
The display is now a 1.3″ e-paper-style display (260 x 260 pixels at 283 DPI – or twice as many pixels as the original Pebble Time Round). The screen has a backlight, too, so you can see it at night. Under the hood, the Round 2 runs the open source Pebble OS.
The watch’s dual microphones allow voice input and text messaging. (This is for Android only, due to Apple restrictions. But iOS will be supported in the EU in the coming days.)
Side buttons let you do things like block incoming calls, play and pause music, navigate, back, and wipe.
Migicovsky says one of the advantages of buttons is that they allow you to operate the watch without looking down. “For example, let’s say someone is calling, and you’re in a meeting, and you don’t want to answer,” he said. “You don’t even want to look at your watch. You always know that the down button stops the call.” Or if you’re listening to music and you have AirPods in and you don’t want to talk to your AirPods or look at your phone, you know that the middle button stops the music. “
The watch also has a stainless steel frame, a mounting bracket, and a magnetometer, and includes a silicone watch band and a Pebble dongle. Leather bands will be available separately.
There are three types of watch models to choose from, but each supports different groups. The matte black has a 20 mm quick release panel; silver supports a 14 mm or 20 mm band; and the polished gold supports the 14 mm band only.
Pebble Round 2 can run thousands of apps and watch faces available on Pebble Appstorealthough manufacturers will need to modify their software to support the rotating screen using the software SDK provided. Some of the programs that can be found are AI assistants, such as those that help Claude and other famous sponsors.
Pebble is also working on AI features for its devices. The company recently launched AI smart ring which can record audio and record conversations. When asked, Migicovsky said the same functionality as in the Ring will also come to Pebble watches.
The new Pebble Round 2 will be available for purchase starting January 2 Pebble website. It should be shipped in May. Customers who pre-ordered the Pebble Time 2 will also have way to change at Pebble Round 2 if he chooses.
