Finally, Pebble Makes a Sexy Smartwatch
Smartwatch pioneer Pebble's new Time Round is one skinny and sexy smartwatch. It's the thinnest and lightest in the world, according to Pebble, and will be available in retail stores early November for a starting price of $249. You can also reserve it now at Pebble's website.
Long lauded for its battery life and multitude of apps, Pebble was an early leader in the smartwatch race. But its wearables have always had squarish faces surrounded by plastic that deterred fans of traditional round watches. The new smartwatch is all about design, but it does sacrifice endurance for its slim profile. The Round is rated for 2 days of battery life, versus up to 10 for the Pebble Time Steel.
The slick timepiece will be available in two band sizes (14mm or 20mm) and three finishes (Black, Silver or Rose Gold). The rose gold finish, in particular, is a delectable piece of wrist candy. Several leather and stainless steel bands are available, as well. The Round is 7.5mm thin and weighs 0.99 ounces. It looks especially lovely in rose gold and paired with a white leather 14mm band.
Like the Pebble Time Steel, the Round will feature an always-on color e-paper display and be compatible with iOS and Android devices. It runs the same system as its predecessors, and Pebble has released an SDK for developers to adapt their apps to the new round screen. More than 8,000 apps area available in the Pebble app store, including Uber, Misfit, Swarm by Foursquare and ESPN. However, it's not yet clear whether these apps have been optimized for the round display.
It looks like Pebble may have a winner on its hands, but the company faces stiff competition from Apple, which just released an updated version of its watchOS for the Apple Watch. Samsung also has a strong contender in the Gear S2, which runs the Korean firm's own Tizen OS in a round face. We'll have to run a full review of the Pebble Time Round to see how it stacks up against these competitors and the latest Android Wear devices.
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