Pebble is reaching back into its past and fixing what once held it back.
The smartwatch pioneer has announced the Pebble Round 2, a reboot of its iconic round-faced watch from 2015, promising a slimmer design, a much larger screen, and battery life measured in weeks, not days.
The Pebble Round 2 revives the circular design first seen in the Pebble Time Round in 2015. Back then, Pebble chased ultra-thin hardware and paid the price with short battery life and a chunky bezel. This reboot is meant to fix that.
The new watch keeps the slim profile — measuring 8.1mm thick — but replaces the old bezel-heavy face with a 1.3-inch color e-paper touchscreen that stretches edge-to-edge. The display resolution jumps to 260 x 260 pixels, offering twice the pixels of the original Round. Pebble says the watch is still “incredibly thin,” but now far more usable.
Battery life was one of the biggest complaints about the original Round, which struggled to last more than a couple of days. Pebble claims the Round 2 will now run for around 10 to 14 days on a single charge, thanks to improvements in Bluetooth chip efficiency and the always-on e-paper display.
That long battery life remains one of Pebble’s biggest selling points in a market dominated by watches that need daily charging.
Not a fitness watch
The Pebble Round 2 isn’t trying to compete with fitness-focused smartwatches. It offers basic health and activity tracking, including steps and sleep, but lacks a heart rate sensor and advanced sports features.
“You can do basic health and activity tracking (steps, sleep) but it’s not designed to be a fitness or sports watch,” the company said in its announcement. The trade-off is simplicity, longer battery life, and a lighter design.
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Buttons, touch, and open-source roots
Like earlier Pebbles, the Round 2 blends old and new. It features four physical buttons alongside the touchscreen, allowing users to navigate without looking down. Pebble has long argued that buttons are faster and more reliable for quick actions.
Under the hood, the watch runs on the open-source PebbleOS and supports both Android and iOS. The Pebble Appstore offers thousands of apps and watch faces, and developers are being encouraged to update their apps to support the larger round display.
Dual microphones are also built in for speech input and message replies. Replying to messages currently works on Android, with iOS support expected later in the EU.
Pricing, colors, and availability
Pebble is offering the Round 2 in matte black, brushed silver, and polished rose gold, with band sizes varying by finish. The stainless steel watch supports standard quick-release bands.
The Pebble Round 2 is priced at $199 and is available for pre-order now, with shipping expected to begin in May. Customers who previously pre-ordered the Pebble Time 2 will also have the option to switch their order to the Round 2.
Also read: In wearables news, Apple’s watchOS 26.2 update tweaks Sleep Score ranges and fixes EU Wi-Fi sharing issues.