Pebble seeks to remedy the wearable industry’s original sin

As soon as I held the Pebble Round 2 in my hand, I suddenly realized what I had been missing for almost a decade. I’ve always thought smartwatches should complement, rather than supplant, your phone, but that’s an attitude that seems almost antiquated these days. After all, Apple and Samsung think everyone wants a watch that can do almost everything your phone can do. But that wasn’t the prevailing view at the dawn of the smartwatch era, either philosophically or because of the limitations of the technology. At the time, companies like Pebble, Vector, Basis, and others were all making devices that added a second screen to the device in your pocket, and were all the better for it. Fortunately, Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky agrees, and if his plan to revive the company succeeds, we may see these alternative approaches flourish again. The first step on this very long road is the Pebble Round 2, which aims to be the standard bearer of a new generation of relatively less intelligentbut fundamentally more useful, smart watches.

The second round was announced on January 2 and is the second product in the relaunched Pebbles line from Core Devices (Migicovsky’s new company). The first was the revamped Time 2, mimicking the shape of its more successful predecessor, while the Round 2 is an attempt to correct the mistakes of the Pebble Time Round from 2015. This watch, upon its debut, was disappointed by reviewers who only liked its aesthetics but nothing else. At the time, building a Pebble with a round face required many compromises, including a higher price, shorter battery life, fewer features, and a massive frame. A decade later, technology has advanced enough to make such compromises moot, making it a much better device overall.

The new watch features a 1.3-inch e-paper color touchscreen that extends to the end of the case. Its screen has been bonded to crystal glass, significantly improving viewing angles and reducing glare. You should expect to get two weeks of battery life from a single charge, but it’s still only 8.1mm thick and you can really feel that lack of heft when it’s in your hand. In fact, compared to so many of its smartwatch peers, it could almost unironically be described as delicate, which makes its case size almost comically large. Materials-wise, the case is sturdy enough that I think it would withstand the rigors of daily life, and I’m quite taken with the polished rose gold and brushed silver finishes.

On the one hand, it’s not the main reason to buy a watch, but I’m deeply struck by the amount of text the Round 2’s screen can render. Even the most sophisticated smartwatches aren’t willing to display large amounts of text for easy reading. I was delighted to read a long Slack message that reminded me, once again, of what I’ve been missing all these years. Perhaps that’s a sign of the broader benefits a device like this offers, namely the ability to tailor its UI to your needs, rather than being tied down by UI designers in Cupertino and Mountain View.

There are many omissions from the specifications list, including the absence of an optical heart rate sensor, GPS and speaker. I’m not crying over any of them: I haven’t used my smartwatch’s GPS in years and yes, and Pebble is moving away from the health and fitness market. I also don’t want to take calls from my wrist, and while the omitted heart rate sensor is harder to pick up on given its ubiquity, this was done to ensure the watch is thinner than many of its competitors.

Migicovsky speaks candidly about Pebble’s failure, saying the company spent too much money to become a global hardware brand. He invested heavily in inventory in anticipation of blockbuster sales that never happened, similar to Peloton’s post-COVID crisis. This time around, the focus is on sustaining the business over the long term and hopefully creating a succession of products. Rather than big investments, it will make small batches of devices to fill pre-orders and won’t water down its philosophy in hopes of attracting a large user base. He even said that Pebble’s website could include recommendations for alternative smartwatches from other companies to ensure that it only caters to loyalists.

He hopes this approach will give him the time and space to make more products, like the already announced Pebble Index 01. It’s a $75 ring equipped with a microphone, Bluetooth and a single push button, where users can record brief reminders for themselves. Rather than adding weight and complexity with a rechargeable battery, each Index has a sealed cell that the company says will last up to two years. One month before the battery expires, you will be asked if you would like to purchase a replacement, sending the original for recycling. It’s an unusual arrangement, but one that Migicovsky says is more compelling than others. After all, users are not faced with monthly subscription fees and they only need to purchase a new one if they have actually benefited from their existing model. As with the revived Pebbles, the prevailing attitude is that no one twists your arm here.

More broadly, Migicovsky now has the time and money to explore these product ideas without the usual pressures. He has no investors or backers demanding instant returns and rapid growth, giving him the freedom to pursue his ideas as far as he wants. And he’s determined to bring some fun back into consumer electronics, creating gadgets that are somehow fun. Let’s hope he succeeds, because the industry can’t survive another decade of homogeneity.