Pebble goes circular with ultra-thin Time Round smartwatch

The company's newest timepiece favors svelte design over long battery life.

Read the whole story

 

[authorandrew]

Well this is pretty big. I don't see why two-day battery life is a knock, though, when most companies are still at one. Though I guess compared to Pebble's existing models it's a lot lower.
I've always found pebble the most interesting smart watch manufacturer because they seem to have the clearest idea of what a smartwatch is and what it should do. Great to have this addition to the market.

 

[melgross]

Since the "woman's" model is the same size, I don't see much point in a narrower band. Normally, the narrower band is because the watch is narrower, and can't connect to a wider band. This just looks odd.

 

[PanicSwitch]

For the backers of the Pebble Time Steel, they have a pretty nifty promo going. You can pre-order the Round and pay $50 less. You can use it for 30 days and choose to keep both the Time and the Round (with discount), or return EITHER watch for a refund of the price you paid for the Round (less shipping).

Granted, I'm really loving my Time Steel so it's not going anywhere.

Edit: This only applies if you backed the Pebble Time Steel

 

[mscha]

There will be no Kickstarter campaign for the Pebble Time Round, which is yet another deviation from the company's previous business model.

The original Pebble Steel also went directly to pre-order and was never in Kickstarter.

 

[.robles]

Oh my bezel!

 

[vudaful]

authorandrew[/url]":8hkfwf49]Well this is pretty big. I don't see why two-day battery life is a knock, though, when most companies are still at one. Though I guess compared to Pebble's existing models it's a lot lower.
I've always found pebble the most interesting smart watch manufacturer because they seem to have the clearest idea of what a smartwatch is and what it should do. Great to have this addition to the market.

I've got the new Pebble Time and it averages about 3 full days before I get the 20% warning. The advertised 10 days depends on what applications you have installed on your watch. So for the Round to advertise 2 days, I'd be worried how it actually performs with apps installed.

DigiAngel[/url]":8hkfwf49]$250 for a device that has all the information already on my phone which I have with me almost all the time...pass.

You're obviously not the intended customer then... I for one leave my phone on silent about 90% of the time and won't notice the vibration in my pocket, so it's a nice reminder.

Compared to the Apple Watch @ $350+ and the Moto 360 @ $300 where they both only last about a day, I'd say the Pebble hits points that customers may care about more.

 

[AdamM]

How many people sleep with a watch on their wrist?

Putting it on the charger while you sleep doesn't seem like such a big hassle.

 

[trimeta]

.robles[/url]":21t96lo1]Oh my bezel!

Normally I'd agree, but the bezel on the black version actually looks pretty reasonable, with a black watchface. Additional photos would help, though...it could just be how they lit and staged that picture.

 

[weblionx]

AdamM[/url]":1sql0kpo]How many people sleep with a watch on their wrist?

Putting it on the charger while you sleep doesn't seem like such a big hassle.

Lasting more than 2 days makes it easier if you go somewhere during the weekend, so you don't have to bring your charger with you. Past that, though, not such a big problem.

 

[ApplePaladin]

I backed the Pebble Time Kickstarter and ended up getting a PT for me and a Pebble Time Steel for my wife. After a couple months with the PT I'm happy with it. I just had to laugh a little at the way the Steel just arrived Monday, and already they're announcing a new model.

The 2-day battery life on the Round is kind of a turn-off for me, though, so this isn't really rage inducing. It's just funny in a way that makes you want to tell the Pebble crew "Hey, take a break. Rest on your laurels for a little while at least."

 

[greatn]

Is it just me or should battery life be the number one priority on any of these? That's why I use a fitbit, it has limited functionality but I only need to charge it once a week and it has all the basic functionality I require.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

vudaful[/url]":3u83sxyk]I'd say the Pebble hits points that customers may care about more.

Depends a lot on who exactly those customers are.

 

[lewax00]

The e-whatever display isn't as good as the competition, and most Android Wear watches are more powerful, so the long battery life was its saving grace.
Personally, I want to be able to go away for the weekend and not have to bring yet-another-cable.
Also, this is kind of a kick in the pants for Pebble Time backers who would have preferred this. PT Steel backers have an option to exchange the Steel for the Round, but the rest of us are basically screwed.

I disagree, the e-ink screen is way better for this application. There are 2 huge benefits:
1) It can always be on without significant battery drain
2) It's easy to read in bright light (like sunlight)
The LCD screens the others have don't really have any advantages besides having more colors, but since I'm not using my watch to view images or video, it doesn't make any real difference IMO.

EDIT: Also, what does that extra "power" even get you on a watch? Your notifications get rendered a few microseconds sooner?

 

[Anticrawl]

authorandrew[/url]":796ns51l]Well this is pretty big. I don't see why two-day battery life is a knock, though, when most companies are still at one. Though I guess compared to Pebble's existing models it's a lot lower.
I've always found pebble the most interesting smart watch manufacturer because they seem to have the clearest idea of what a smartwatch is and what it should do. Great to have this addition to the market.

Pebble's definition of 2 day is totally different than Apple's definition of 1-day. The former is constant usage and the later is "four hours of screen-time with radios disabled*."

* hyperbole but not far from the truth.

 

[JiveTurkeyJerky]

argh.. getting closer, but that bezel is too large..

Can Moto, buy Pebble and then release a slightly thinner 360, with a color e-paper display sans that flat tire..

I wish Timex had just released their Weekender with a color e-paper display running AndroidWear, rather than that ugly (imho) thing they decided to go with..

 

[WDReinhart]

...the infamous rose gold...

Can we just get over marketing names and go back to calling it "copper"?

 

[Anticrawl]

JiveTurkeyJerky[/url]":1g7pes48]argh.. getting closer, but that bezel is too large..

Can Moto, buy Pebble and then release a slightly thinner 360, with a color e-paper display sans that flat tire..

I wish Timex had just released their Weekender with a color e-paper display running AndroidWear, rather than that ugly (imho) thing they decided to go with..

That sounds like the ideal smart watch. Color ePaper, AndroidWear, beefy and with Moto 360's form factor (thinner though).

 

[Shaun Murray]

WDReinhart[/url]":1y7wnwqt]

...the infamous rose gold...

Can we just get over marketing names and go back to calling it "copper"?

I've a 1960 Rose Gold Omega Seamaster - 9 years older than I am. How far do we have to go back ?

 

[m-p{3}]

authorandrew[/url]":f1mp20o9]Well this is pretty big. I don't see why two-day battery life is a knock, though, when most companies are still at one. Though I guess compared to Pebble's existing models it's a lot lower.
I've always found pebble the most interesting smart watch manufacturer because they seem to have the clearest idea of what a smartwatch is and what it should do. Great to have this addition to the market.

The two days of battery life would be a downgrade to me (currently Pebble Time Steel). So no thanks.

 

[fyrefiend]

I own and love a Pebble Time but the only reason I went for it instead of an Apple Watch is the nearly week long battery life. With that gone I don't see why an iOS (or Android) user would prefer a Pebble.

(Edited to clarify. I wasn't knocking Android Wear)

 

[snowman<ca>]

WDReinhart[/url]":zft1jz3l]

...the infamous rose gold...

Can we just get over marketing names and go back to calling it "copper"?

Copper does not tend to be pink

 

[glarfsquared]

DerHabbo[/url]":lgrwn0d0]I still don't see these products as something worth owning or serving any real purpose, but this one doesn't look bad, and that's a significant improvement over other offerings. I never thought I'd see a smart watch that doesn't look bad.

It certainly isn't life changing, but I absolutely love having one. I got an original Pebble and I now have a Pebble Time Steel. My phone doesn't interface directly with the car so I can't control it from the car stereo, but I can set my watch to music mode and control music without fumbling around with my phone. It lets me keep better pace when I'm running. It lets me see notifications easily when we go to lunch instead of having to pull my phone out when my co-workers are talking. And I know there is other functionality that I haven't dug into as far as the microphone. It isn't an absolute necessity, but it certainly has its use cases if you can afford one.

 

[MechR]

AdamM[/url]":w1vajzl2]How many people sleep with a watch on their wrist?

Me; checking time when I wake in the morning without groping around is a pretty important watch function, IMO.

 

[glarfsquared]

I'm quite happy with my Time Steel, but I can see the market for this. My wife thinks that smartwatches in general are pretty hideous and doesn't really keep close track of charging her devices (the iPad is consistently around 10-15% when I pick it up) so with a reduced physical profile and actually being a circular watch while still keeping better battery life than anything but a Pebble, this might have a pretty solid market.

Part of me thinks they should have announced this with the previous Time watches, but I can see why you would want to avoid market confusion of 1 standard, 1 steel (with better battery life), and 1 smaller and round (with greatly reduced, but still better than anything from anything remotely comparable that isn't a Pebble, battery life). I can see where user expectation could have been greatly muddied by the combination of products.

 

[OrangeCream]

lewax00[/url]":fl0uupnq]

The e-whatever display isn't as good as the competition, and most Android Wear watches are more powerful, so the long battery life was its saving grace.
Personally, I want to be able to go away for the weekend and not have to bring yet-another-cable.
Also, this is kind of a kick in the pants for Pebble Time backers who would have preferred this. PT Steel backers have an option to exchange the Steel for the Round, but the rest of us are basically screwed.

I disagree, the e-ink screen is way better for this application. There are 2 huge benefits:
1) It can always be on without significant battery drain
2) It's easy to read in bright light (like sunlight)
The LCD screens the others have don't really have any advantages besides having more colors, but since I'm not using my watch to view images or video, it doesn't make any real difference IMO.

EDIT: Also, what does that extra "power" even get you on a watch? Your notifications get rendered a few microseconds sooner?

It allows you to utilize a touchscreen to navigate since the watch is powerful enough to animate at 30fps.

In other words, swipe, scroll, zoom, and draw, none of which is possible on the Pebble Time because it isn't equipped with either the screen nor the controls to do so.

It's like the difference between a 2600 and a NES, I think. Or a Nomad vs iPod.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

I've been sorta regretting backing out of the Pebble Time Kickstarter and I have to say I like the looks of this watch. Hmmm...maybe I'll wait to see if it goes on sale around Christmas.

 

[Dyn Blin]

I don't see why two-day battery life is a knock,

Indeed, some of us remember what it was like to have to *wind* a watch.

AdamM[/url]":7knh0y7j]How many people sleep with a watch on their wrist?

One the best apps I have for my hand-me-down Steel is the "Sleep" apps, but yeah, an objection to 15 min is pretty small gripe for some cool tech that seems pretty innovative compared to other offerings.

 

[lewax00]

lewax00[/url]":17jn8ioo]

The e-whatever display isn't as good as the competition, and most Android Wear watches are more powerful, so the long battery life was its saving grace.
Personally, I want to be able to go away for the weekend and not have to bring yet-another-cable.
Also, this is kind of a kick in the pants for Pebble Time backers who would have preferred this. PT Steel backers have an option to exchange the Steel for the Round, but the rest of us are basically screwed.

I disagree, the e-ink screen is way better for this application. There are 2 huge benefits:
1) It can always be on without significant battery drain
2) It's easy to read in bright light (like sunlight)
The LCD screens the others have don't really have any advantages besides having more colors, but since I'm not using my watch to view images or video, it doesn't make any real difference IMO.

EDIT: Also, what does that extra "power" even get you on a watch? Your notifications get rendered a few microseconds sooner?

It allows you to utilize a touchscreen to navigate since the watch is powerful enough to animate at 30fps.

In other words, swipe, scroll, zoom, and draw, none of which is possible on the Pebble Time because it isn't equipped with either the screen nor the controls to do so.

It's like the difference between a 2600 and a NES, I think. Or a Nomad vs iPod.

And a touch screen is another battery drain that doesn't really add to the usefulness on this scale, IMO. I think people just want them because they've gotten used to them, not because they are actually the best tool for the job. I've had plenty of friends ask me to see my Pebble, and I've never had to explain how to use it, so anecdotally the buttons seems to be quite intuitive for most people.

So, not really a loss IMO, with the benefit of more battery. Net gain.

 

[azazel1024]

authorandrew[/url]":ho58b5nl]Well this is pretty big. I don't see why two-day battery life is a knock, though, when most companies are still at one. Though I guess compared to Pebble's existing models it's a lot lower.
I've always found pebble the most interesting smart watch manufacturer because they seem to have the clearest idea of what a smartwatch is and what it should do. Great to have this addition to the market.

Yeah, but my interest in the pebble was still the ability to go 7+ days without charging. I don't always go backpacking, but when I do I don't want to have to worry about my watching going dead after a couple of days of just telling me the time.

I'd rather it was slightly thicker and/or a 40mm diameter case. Heck, my titanium analog watch is 38mm with a 10mm thick case and I'd consider it pretty svelte. If it had to be 2mm wider, or 1-3mm thicker to up battery life to around a week, it would be a pretty minor sacrifice in my eyes.

Still look nice and I might give them a shot, but that short battery life...sucks.

 

[Genome]

This reminds me that I need to charge my Time Steel, it's been nine days.

The Round looks interesting, but I couldn't go back to less than seven days of battery now. :-(

 

[azazel1024]

weblionx[/url]":y08nnhvm]

AdamM[/url]":y08nnhvm]How many people sleep with a watch on their wrist?

Putting it on the charger while you sleep doesn't seem like such a big hassle.

Lasting more than 2 days makes it easier if you go somewhere during the weekend, so you don't have to bring your charger with you. Past that, though, not such a big problem.

Camping and backpacking and for that matter the occasional business trip. One of those three increases the hassle a LOT. The other two are annoyances on needing a charger and/or bring the adapter to charge it. Even just eking it out to 3 full days would make a huge difference.

Of course I would be interested to know what "2 days" is. Is it 2 days of just telling time, or is it 2 days with "light interaction". As in spending 15-20 minutes a day scrolling around, dictating messages, getting alerts, etc. If you could actually get ~3 days or somewhat more if you basically only used it to tell time, that would possibly be a lot more useful.

I don't mind having to charge a watch every couple of days in the "real world", but it would be nice if "off the grid" I could squeak 3 days or a little more out of it. Pretty rare I go backpacking longer than that.

Oh. Just noticed the price. No thanks. Not saying that the price isn't worth it, but other options for things that I would want it to do, even if not as stylish, with longer battery lives. Fitbit and original Pebble being good examples. I still kind of want one, but call me once it has many multiday battery life (>3). Until then it can't really replace my analog watch full time, just maybe most of the time.

 

[heartburnkid]

azazel1024[/url]":15qt5izl]

authorandrew[/url]":15qt5izl]Well this is pretty big. I don't see why two-day battery life is a knock, though, when most companies are still at one. Though I guess compared to Pebble's existing models it's a lot lower.
I've always found pebble the most interesting smart watch manufacturer because they seem to have the clearest idea of what a smartwatch is and what it should do. Great to have this addition to the market.

Yeah, but my interest in the pebble was still the ability to go 7+ days without charging. I don't always go backpacking, but when I do I don't want to have to worry about my watching going dead after a couple of days of just telling me the time.

I'd rather it was slightly thicker and/or a 40mm diameter case. Heck, my titanium analog watch is 38mm with a 10mm thick case and I'd consider it pretty svelte. If it had to be 2mm wider, or 1-3mm thicker to up battery life to around a week, it would be a pretty minor sacrifice in my eyes.

Still look nice and I might give them a shot, but that short battery life...sucks.

The regular Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel still have that long battery life, and pack in all the tech improvements that come with this as well.. If you care more about battery life than fashion, you might look into those.

 

[Slab Bulkhead]

azazel1024[/url]":4b3vonla]
I'd rather it was slightly thicker and/or a 40mm diameter case. Heck, my titanium analog watch is 38mm with a 10mm thick case and I'd consider it pretty svelte. If it had to be 2mm wider, or 1-3mm thicker to up battery life to around a week, it would be a pretty minor sacrifice in my eyes.

Especially with the gigantic bezel, the actual watch face will look very small at only 38mm overall diameter.

 

[DoomHamster]

AdamM[/url]":8z1z0yao]How many people sleep with a watch on their wrist?

Putting it on the charger while you sleep doesn't seem like such a big hassle.

Silent alarms. I love waking up to a vibrating watch (in my case a fitbit) and not having to worry about waking my wife up with an audible alarm at 4 with me.

Other than that, yeah, I take it off on the weekends (despite the loss of sleep data).

Edit: better construction.

 

[Fatesrider]

It seems that those who (quite factually and accurately) point out that smartwatches in genera do nothing more than what the phone does are getting voted down. Enthusiasm for a pet for a smartphone is laudable for those who are influenced by convenience more than value, of course, but like religion, what someone chooses, or not, isn't really subject to the approval of others provided they don't try to spread it around.

In short, if you like them, fine, but why the hate for those who don't like them? After all, whether or not they buy one won't impact your decisions and being mean to them isn't going to win you any allies.

My impression of this is particular smartwatch really doesn't exist. The smartwatch doesn't really look any better than some others. As for the feature set, that's strictly a guess since the only details in this article are what would be described for a piece of jewelry - what it looks like.

I don't see that as a feature.

Being a value and practical-minded individual, I'd really like to see an article that lauds features instead of appearances. Otherwise, given the usual (generally pointless) feature set of most smartwatches, one might get the impression that they're merely putting lipstick on a pig.

I like the idea of a smartwatch. I'm hating the implementation right now. Maybe that will change one of these days, but the trend seems to be making them look nicer (with virtually no impact whatsoever on how many they sell) while addressing none of its feature shortcomings, leaving them leashed to a smartphone if someone wants to make a call.

Whether or not that applies to this device is anyone's guess (at least based on the article), so I'll reserve judgement on it until more information is available.

But I'm thinking if there was the paradigm shift which I think is needed in the smartwatch market, the article would have likely mentioned it right off the bat.