Round smartwatches are “in” right now, with companies like Motorola, Samsung, and Huawei all recently launching watches with round faces. Now Pebble is getting in on the action, too.
The Pebble Time Round is the newest addition to Pebble’s family of smartwatches. As its name suggests, it’s a round version of the Pebble Time that launched earlier this year. The round case is 7.5mm thick, and the Pebble Time Round will be available with 20mm and 14mm band sizes, with bands that’ll be available in leather at launched and metal “later this year.”
The Pebble Time Round screen is an always-on color e-paper display, just like the Pebble Time, and it runs the same Timeline software, too. However, the software has been tailored to fit the round screen so that you won’t see words being cut off or anything like that. Also of note is that because the Pebble Time Round runs Timeline software, it’s compatible with both iOS and Android.
As for color options, both models will be available in black and silver, and there will also be a special rose gold model that’ll be 14mm-only. Other features of the Pebble Time Round include “days-long battery life,” charging that’ll get you a day’s worth of use in 15 minutes, and a splash-resistant body.
Pebble Time Round pre-orders start today at Pebble.com, Best Buy, Target, and Amazon, with orders expected to begin shipping in early November. Pricing starts at $249. For international round smartwatch fans, Pebble says that the Time Round will arrive in the UK later in 2015 and will expand to EU retailers in early 2016.
Also included in today’s announcement of the Pebble Time Round is the ability for Pebble Time Steel backers to switch to the new model. If you backed the Pebble Time Steel on Kickstarter, you can pre-order the Pebble Time Round with the same email address that you backed the Steel with to get $50 off the Round. Once the Round arrives, you can try both side-by-side for 30 days. If you decide one over the other, you can return the one you don’t like and get a refund for your Pebble Time Round order.
As I said before, round smartwatches are “in” right now, so it’s no surprise to see Pebble launch its own round wearable. The Pebble Time Round looks like a nicely-designed device that looks like a regular analog watch. However, I’m betting that the bezel around the e-paper display is going to bother some folks. If you’re a fan of round smartwatches, though, at least now you’ve got another option to consider.
What do you think of the Pebble Time Round?
