Pebble today became the latest smartwatch manufacturer to offer a round-faced smartwatch. Following the launch of the Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel, the company today unveiled the Pebble Time Round.
Pebble Time Round is faithful to timeless watch design while being a true Pebble at heart. The beautiful, always-on, e-paper display discreetly camouflages the smarts within. Summon timeline to keep tabs on your day. Leave the phone in your bag and bring notifications, messages, incoming calls, and music controls to your wrist. Pebble Time Round is the perfect companion for those who like their wearable tech a bit more incognito.
Pebble has clearly recognized that its smartwatches lacked a certain fashion appeal and it is trying to remedy that to some degree with the Pebble Time Round. Featuring an all-metal case, it will be available in a range of colours (Black, Silver or Rose Gold) as well as two band sizes (20mm or 14mm). Already smaller than most other round smartwatches with a 38.5mm watch face, it sports an even smaller display due to the large bezel. It does retain the colour e-paper technology of the other Pebble Time models.
The smaller design also means a smaller battery. As a result, the Pebble Time Round will only last two days on a single charge. But it will be the first Pebble Watch to support quick charging, allowing you to get about 24 hours of battery life with a 15 minute charge.
The Timeline UI has been updated to accomodate the new round display. An updated SDK will also allow developers to update their apps to support the new display.
The Pebble Time Round will start at US$249 (about CA$330) with a leather band. It can now be preordered at Pebble.com as well as a number of U.S. retailers. Shipments to the U.S. and Canada are expected to begin in early November. Europe will need until 2016 to get theirs unfortunately.
Source : Pebble