Pebble just announced a new round version of its Pebble Time smartwatch, called (wait for it) the Pebble Time Round. Here are the best and worst features of the new Pebble Time Round, in a nutshell.
Good – Design
The Pebble Time Round’s stand-out feature is of course that new rounded watch face, which should help to win over anyone put off by your typical bulky, square smartwatches. What’s more, the watch face is now seriously slim (7.5mm versus the Time’s 9.5mm) and comes in three finishes: silver, black and rose gold. All three versions are made of Marine Grade Stainless Steel, although presumably come with the usual plastic coating.
Bad – Design, again
Sadly those thick bezels are still present on the Pebble Time Round, with the screen squashed towards the centre of the watch face. It’s even more noticeable on this rounded model, marring an otherwise gorgeous design.
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Good – Fast charging
Pebble reckons you can fast-charge the new Time Round in just fifteen minutes for a full day of use. That’s great news if you’re running low on power and don’t realise until you’re about to step out of your front door.
Bad – Massively reduced battery life
Unfortunately, the Pebble Time Round also has a much shorter life-span than the original Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel. Just two days of use between charges is a serious drop from five to six on the Time, and roughly eight on the Time Steel. Looks like that fast charge feature will be getting plenty of use.
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Good – Always-on colourful screen
Still, at least the screen hasn’t been compromised, with the same always-on colourful e-ink panel in place. Pebble’s firmware updates have ensured the screen is bright enough to see even in harsh glare, silencing critics who were unimpressed at first glance.
Bad – Same old notifications system
Of course, Pebble could do with updating the clunky notifications system, which is still a bit ropey. Text messages come through in bits if they’re too long while you can’t properly deal with spam and other crap that you want to insta-delete.
Good – Excellent voice control
On the other hand, Pebble’s built-in mic allows for excellent voice control. You can quickly reply to a text on the move by speaking at your Time smartwatch, with impressive accuracy even in noisy situations.
Bad – Pebble Time Round UK price and release date
Sadly the Pebble Time Round is going to cost the same as the Pebble Time Steel, namely £229 here in the UK. Not bad, but we were really hoping for a price tag under £200 like the original Pebble Time.
Worse news is that UK Pebble fans will have to wait until 2016 for the Pebble Time Round to hit stores. In US, the release date is early November 2015.
Check back soon for our full Pebble Time Round review.
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