The 2015 Pebble Time Round stole a lot of hearts by looking like a real analog watch and still being a Pebble, but it shipped with a tiny screen, a huge bezel, and battery life that lagged behind its siblings. It remained the thinnest smartwatch ever made, yet always felt like a beautiful compromise waiting for a second chance, the kind of product people kept wearing despite its flaws because it looked better than anything else on their wrist.
Pebble Round 2 is that second chance, part of the broader Pebble relaunch. It keeps the same ultra-slim stainless-steel profile, just 8.1 mm thick, but fixes the two big complaints: the bezel is gone, and the battery now lasts around two weeks. It is framed as the most stylish Pebble ever, but this time without the asterisk or the mental math about whether style was worth the compromises.
Designer: Pebble
The new 1.3-inch color e-paper display covers the entire face, 260 × 260 pixels at 283 DPI, twice the resolution of the original. The always-on, reflective screen still behaves like a classic Pebble, readable in sunlight and gentle indoors, but finally looks proportionally right. Wrap that in a stainless-steel frame, and you get something that reads as a watch first, gadget second, which has always been the goal.
The two-week estimated battery life, made possible by newer Bluetooth chips and Pebble’s frugal OS, brings the Round in line with the rest of the lineup. Interaction stays very Pebble, four physical buttons you can use without looking, plus a touchscreen you do not have to rely on. There is a backlight for night glances, but the default state is that calm, always-on face that does not glow at you during meetings.
The software side stays fun, quirky, and open source. PebbleOS powers everything, with an open-source mobile app that works with iOS and Android. The Pebble app store has over 15,000 apps and watchfaces, and the SDK is there if you want to build your own. Health tracking covers steps and sleep, enough for everyday awareness without pretending to be a hardcore fitness or sports watch.
Dual microphones handle speech input, from interacting with AI agents to replying to messages on Android, with iOS support coming in some regions. Water resistance is targeted at 30 m, enough for daily life. Style-wise, you get matte black with a 20 mm band, brushed silver in 14 mm or 20 mm, and polished rose gold in 14 mm, all with quick-release bands and room for standard straps.
Pebble Round 2 speaks to people who miss glancing at a watch that is always on, who like the idea of weeks-long battery life and tactile buttons, and who want something that looks good with a shirt cuff as well as a hoodie. It is not chasing the latest sensor arms race; it is doubling down on the idea that a smartwatch can still feel like a watch, just one that happens to run PebbleOS in 2026, with a full-face display and enough battery to forget about charging for 14 days.
The post Pebble Round 2 Fixes the Bezel and Battery After an 11-Year Wait first appeared on Yanko Design.
