Latest Review
Be warned, we are talking about smart watches, so if the topic is not your cup of tea best to move on. We are going back to the OG of smart watches, Pebble, which has finally come around to being round. The aptly named Pebble Time Round takes the brand’s flagship smartwatch, the Pebble Time, and puts it in a round case, catching up to other popular round smart watches like the Moto 360 (which just released new models) and the LG Watch Urbane among others. Does the round case make the Pebble any more appealing? Let’s take a look and see what it has to offer.
The Pebble Round Time takes cues from the Pebble Time housing the same smart watch features into a 38.5mm round, steel case. At first glance it is clear that the 38.5mm does not count for the display as a large chunk of the dial real estate is chewed up by a large bezel leaving a smaller area for the screen to show off the Pebble’s features. The bezel comes with some color choices, depending on whether you buy the women’s or men’s version. The two models for the genders are the same watch, the same 38.5mm size, the differentiator is the lug size. The women’s has 14mm lugs while the men’s has traditional 20mm lugs.
Each version of the watch comes in a few different styles. The women’s watch has three options of case color (silver, gold and black) and two bezel choices. The silver and gold have a white bezel with a ribbed look while the black has a black bezel with subtle markers at 3, 6, 9 and 12. The guys version has either a black case with a plain black bezel or a silver case with a white bezel that has markers every five minutes. Each version comes on a leather strap that matches the overall theme, with a metal bracelet due at a later date.
The case looks far better for a Pebble watch than any version previous. It does have a very traditional look to it with the round shape and normal looking lugs. The straps use quick change spring bars (which people reviewing these smart watches seem to think is a brand new thing) with the charging port also on the back. While it has no crown, it does have buttons on the right side of the case in the usual layout of 2, 3 & 4 as well on the left size at 9 to control the features of the watch. Nicely enough, the watch is pretty thin at 7.5mm, but at a cost though. The original Pebble and the Pebble Time both tout a 7 day battery life while the Pebble Time Round clocks in at 2.
At first glance the Pebble Round is all bezel. There is no getting around the large bezel around the center display. The dimensions make it one of the smaller smart watches on the market, which is an appealing factor for people slight of wrist. The price starts at $249 which puts it right in the range of other popular round smart watches. Given the cross platform ability and useful software the Pebble Time Round still feels like a last-ditch effort by the Pebble brand to remain relevant. With the Apple Watch for iOS and Android Wear watches now working on both Android and iOS (although with greatly reduced functionality on iOS) the Pebble Time Round may not be enough for Pebble to climb back near the top of the smart watch game. You can find full specs and functions on the Pebble Time Round website.
