Roger Fingas
Pebble on Wednesday opened up preorders for the Pebble Time Round, a new smartwatch model that not only changes to a circular face but shrinks the size of the Time to make it extremely thin and light.
The Round is just 7.5 millimeters thick, and weighs 28 grams. Its case measures 38 millimeters in diameter, and bands come in 14- and 20-millimeter sizes.
Buyers must initially choose from five different preset combinations, mixing black, silver, or rose gold case colors with one of five different leather bands — rose gold watches are limited to a 14-millimeter band. Metal band options should become available later this year.
The device makes some sacrifices. Unlike the standard Time, it's not fully water-resistant, meaning that it should not be worn swimming or in the shower. The Round must also be charged every two days instead of seven, though it can be quick-charged to a full day of power in 15 minutes.
Preorders cost $250, with an expected U.S. ship date of early November. Sales should expand to the U.K. later this year and mainland Europe in early 2016. Some people who bought a Pebble Time Steel are eligible to get a Round with a $50 discount, or choose to return one of the two products for a refund by the end of a 30-day trial.
Pebble's watches lack some of the features of products like the Apple Watch, like fitness tracking, but are both iPhone- and Android-compatible, and use always-on e-ink displays that make them easier to read outdoors while extending battery life.
Malcolm Owen
Andrew O'Hara
William Gallagher
44 Comments
Round displays for smartwatches are dumb.
I don't agree there (I think that the Samsung Gear S2 Classic is the best looking smartwatch out there), but this Pebble Time Round is comically bad. That bezel... I can't stop laughing.
Look at that huge, damn ridiculous looking round Bezel!
And $250? An Apple watch is the far more logical choice.
I think it's smart for Pebble to go with a round face in order to attract buyers who dislike the Apple Watch's rectangular face. Trying to compete head-on with Apple is a mistake.
There's no accounting for taste. Pebble needs to hire someone who has some.
did you see the S2 in real life?
No, but I've seen enough pictures and hands-on (err, wrists-on) images (and videos) of the device closeup on many different people with many different wrist sizes to come to my conclusions. It's no more relevant or irrelevant than everyone that was proclaiming the Apple Watch to be the Messiah on the day it was announced.
And this is coming from an Apple Watch Sport owner.