Pebble brings its round-faced smartwatch back from the dead

"You've probably heard people say it's impossible to go back and correct some error from the past. To those people, you should raise a middle finger in defiance (they are miserable, after all, and then point them to the tale of Pebble's unlikely revival. The smartwatch pioneer's return was a surprise of 2025, and now the company has resurrected one of its last great triumphs. It's announcing the Pebble Round 2, and company founder Eric Migicovsky is looking to put right what once went wrong."

"The Pebble Round 2 is the successor to the Pebble Time Round, which debuted in 2015 to what can only be described as frustrated reviews. It was a truly thin smartwatch, with a glorious round display, but that came at the cost of battery life and durability. The fancier components also added to the cost which pushed it to an unreasonable-for-the-time $249."

"For instance, the massive bezel around the display is now a thing of the past, with the Round 2's 1.3-inch color e-paper touchscreen now stretching to the edge of its case. The viewing angles have also been dramatically improved, enabling you to check the time without having to move your wrist. The display has also been bonded to the glass crystal, reducing reflectivity and glare which was another downside for the original model."

"Better still, the battery life is now more than two weeks on a single charge, giving it the sort of Pebble-esque longevity its users demand. And it's retained that thinness - measuring in at just 8.1mm - which is far more elegant than the chunkier smartwatches from other manufacturers. Plus, there's dual microphones for interacting with AI agents and dictating messages, as well as step and sleep tracking."

Pebble returned in 2025 and released the Pebble Round 2 as a successor to the 2015 Pebble Time Round. The original model suffered from a large bezel, poor battery life, durability problems, and a high $249 launch price. Round 2 replaces the massive bezel with a 1.3-inch color e-paper touchscreen that stretches to the edge of the case and bonds to the glass crystal to reduce reflectivity and glare. Viewing angles are dramatically improved to make time checks easier without wrist movement. Battery life exceeds two weeks on a single charge while the case remains thin at 8.1mm. Additional features include dual microphones for AI interaction and dictation, plus step and sleep tracking.

Read at Engadget