The Pebble smartwatch has gone through several quick versions as the market for smartwatches grows and competition increases. Many high profile smartwatches are being reimagined and redesigned with a much more traditional circular body so that they don’t stand out so much as a smartwatch. This makes them arguably more fashionable and less noticeable which is apparently what the market wants. Pebble has just announced their new Pebble Time Round which will feature this same circular design with a traditional bezel around the edge.
Also in keeping with other smartwatch updates, the Pebble Time Round will come in two sizes for various wrists and will come in several colors and metal versions. The Pebble Time Round is also remarkably thin and lightweight at only 28 grams and 7.5 millimeters in thickness. Because it uses a very traditional watch body shape, many types of bands will be able to be fitted to it.
As for the OS and functionality of the watch, it will remain nearly identical to the recently released Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel models. Pebble watches run Pebble OS which is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and are known for exceptional battery life compared to other smartwatches.
Unfortunately the one major drawback of the Pebble Time Round is that the battery life has taken a substantial hit from 7 days to about 2 full days of use. The battery size was clearly reduced to make the watch much thinner and lighter and save space. Luckily, Pebble has introduced a new quick charging feature that can charge the watch for 24 hours of use in only 15 minutes.
It remains to be seen if this shift towards more traditional watch shapes will lure consumers to smartwatches who have so far been rather reluctant to adopt them. The Pebble Time Round might just be the device to get people wearing smartwatches. The Pebble Time Round will begin shipping around November at a price of $249.