Pebble Time Round Review - Tom's Guide

Our Verdict

The Pebble Time Round is the sexiest smartwatch yet, but it makes some sacrifices for its good looks.

For

Stunning, svelte design
Compatible with Android and iOS
E'er-on screen
Text reply for iOS

Confronting

Shorter bombardment life than other Pebble watches
Expensive
Lack of uniform apps

Tom'south Guide Verdict

The Pebble Time Round is the sexiest smartwatch nevertheless, but it makes some sacrifices for its proficient looks.

Pros

+
Stunning, svelte design
+
Uniform with Android and iOS
+
Always-on screen
+
Text respond for iOS

Cons

-
Shorter battery life than other Pebble watches
-
Expensive
-
Lack of compatible apps

When I kickoff saw pictures of the Pebble Time Circular, I was in awe, just skeptical that a smartwatch could be so thin and sexy. But it really is. This is the slimmest and most cute smartwatch on the market. To deliver on the slim profile, though, Pebble had to sacrifice battery life. Plus, the Pebble Fourth dimension Round's e-colour display isn't as flashy as those on the Apple Watch or Android Wearable devices, and it doesn't support as many apps as its rectangular brothers. Nevertheless, looks and growing iOS functionality might be enough to convince you to get the $250 Pebble Fourth dimension Circular.

Editor's Note (12/vii/16): Later being acquired by Fitbit, Pebble is discontinuing its unabridged product line, and is no longer selling or supporting its smartwatches. As such, we cannot recommend purchasing whatsoever Pebble smartwatch.

Pattern: So slim, so sexy

Winter is coming, and the Pebble Time Circular's svelte frame lonely, which makes it compatible with coat sleeves, might secure the watch a identify on my wrist. At simply 7.5mm (0.29 inches) thin, the Round is the just smartwatch I've tried that fits under my winter coat's snug sleeve.

Credit: Mike Prospero — (Epitome credit: Mike Prospero)

Simply the reasons the Circular reigns practice not end in that location. The rose gold frame and white leather band (14mm) philharmonic that we received looks so swish and gorgeous that I was dressing upwards to match the watch. This is the beginning smartwatch I've tried that is so pretty that I couldn't bear to take it off.

On the right of the frame are three buttons, while 1 sits on the left of the confront. These provide the main method of navigating the Pebble's interface. The watch uses a standard buckle that'south easy to shut and accommodate, and our unit of measurement's rose gold buckle and 14mm band were the perfect size for my petite wrist. Bands are swappable, and you can get 20mm options (with the corresponding case).

Because information technology's rated for splash resistance upwardly to IPX7, the Time Round volition survive stray drops of water from rain or when you wash your hands. Even so, dissimilar with the Pebble Time Steel, yous won't be able to submerge this scout or wear it in the shower.

At just 0.29 inches thin, the Round is the simply smartwatch I've tried that fits under my wintertime glaze'southward snug sleeve.

At merely 0.99 ounces, the Pebble Fourth dimension Round felt similar a feather on my wrist; I barely noticed it was at that place. It'southward lighter than the 2.19-ounce Pebble Fourth dimension Steel (with leather band), the 1.76-ounce Apple tree Lookout (polished stainless steel example in 42mm size) and the 2.46-ounce Asus ZenWatch ii.

At 1.49 x i.49 x 0.29 inches, the Fourth dimension Round is smaller and sleeker than the Apple tree Lookout man (1.5 10 i.iii x 0.41 inches) and the ZenWatch 2 (1.95 x i.6 10 0.37 inches).

Brandish: Always on, but blah

Compared to the colorful touch screens of the Apple Picket and Android Wear watches, the Pebble Fourth dimension Circular's 180 ten 180 e-color display is dim and dull. Information technology's easy enough to see in vivid light, though, and I like that the ever-on display means I volition always see the time on the sentry without having to elevator a finger.

The lookout man face'due south diameter is 1.v inches, while the screen'southward diameter is just i inch, significant a third of the face is bezel. That feels like a waste of space and overwhelms the display, which is somewhat small.

The east-color brandish is clear plenty to show off the pops of color in the watch's interface and faces, just the hues can exist washed out when the backlight is on. You'll need the backlight to illuminate the screen in the dark, simply having the device'south ambience sensor enabled tin can forestall the low-cal from coming on when you need it.

Pebble Os: Very unproblematic

Compared to Apple's watchOS and to Android Vesture, Pebble's simplistic operating system feels similar the smartwatch equivalent of a flip phone. But the lack of complexity isn't a bad thing, especially for those intimidated by lots of options. Instead of swiping through multiple pages of icons or apps, you lot'll navigate the Pebble's nontouch interface using the 4 buttons surrounding the watch face.

Press the top and bottom buttons on the right side to navigate through notifications and apps, while the middle push selects the option you land on. The push button on the left acts as a back button. You tin also program the lookout to launch specific apps when you long-printing the up and downward buttons on the right

Like Pebble's other smartwatches, the Round supports the company'due south Timeline, which lets you see your day'due south activity in chronological order. Pressing up shows you events that occurred before in the 24-hour interval, while pressing down shows you lot what'southward coming up. Dissimilar apps can contribute to the time line. For instance, the Conditions app adds daily sunrise and sunset times, and the Checklist app adds your reminders.

Pebble's simplistic operating arrangement feels like the smartwatch equivalent of a flip phone.

Another new feature is Quiet Time, which is easily activated past pressing the dorsum push button from the habitation screen. Similar a do-not-disturb style, Quiet Time keeps the spotter confront dimmed and vibrations off until y'all stop the mode.

Pebble also offers bones activity tracking via the Misfit sentinel app. After you sign into or create a new Misfit profile, the app will tap into the smartwatch's existing accelerometer to go your steps, altitude, calories burned and sleep, and display weekly summaries on the watch face.

Voice Apps

As with the other Pebble Time watches, you can speak commands into the Round via its born microphone. Just 11 apps are compatible with the mic right now, including Notes, Magic Dict-eight Brawl for asking about your hereafter and Watchie-Talkie for Pebble to Pebble communication.

I loved the convenience of adding items to the Checklist app just past speaking, and dictating notes for later reference in the Notes app.

The Time Round's mic and vocalisation-recognition system were accurate during my testing. It correctly interpreted that I asked, "Should I run for president?" despite an episode of Friends playing loudly on my TV. (The ball told me to "Ask once again later," presumably subsequently I had gained some political experience.)

Text Replies: Android good, iOS Improving

When paired with an Android phone, Pebble Fourth dimension devices let you respond to texts and emails with a canned message or phonation answer. Pebble recently released a Text Reply for iOS feature that lets some iOS users answer to SMS messages from their watches.

Only available to AT&T iPhone customers for now, the new update lets you respond with a pre-defined response or dictate an respond. Pebble says information technology is working with carriers to bring the feature to users both in the United States and away. In add-on, the feature works but with SMS messages, as opposed to both emails and texts when paired with Android devices.

More than: How to Employ Pebble Time to Respond to iPhone Texts

Pebble and Third-Political party Apps

Pebble'due south app menu is accessible by pressing the center button from the watch confront. In addition to Settings, Notifications, Music, Alarms and Scout Faces, third-political party apps that yous've downloaded will bear witness upward hither likewise, and you tin can reorder them via the Pebble app on your telephone.

While more than 8,000 apps and lookout faces are available for the regular, rectangular Pebbles, only 90 apps and 275 faces accept been optimized for the Round. Yous won't be able to use the other apps and faces until they accept been updated to fit the Circular.

The biggest apps that are currently available for the Round include Uber, which lets you call for cabs from your wrist, and Swarm past Foursquare for checking into places. Pebble says that other big names working on optimizing their interfaces for the Round include Yelp and ESPN.

Battery Life

Pebble sacrificed a long-lasting battery to give the Fourth dimension Round its sleek silhouette. Unlike the Time Steel and other Pebbles, the Time Round is rated for just 2 days of endurance instead of seven to 10 days. This claim held true during my testing. I took the watch out on Saturday morning time when the device was at 100 percent, and by midnight Sunday, the Time Round was at 5 percent battery.

Other watches, such as Apple Watch and Android Wear (ZenWatch ii) concluding about one to two days on a charge.

As with the Pebble Time and Time Steel, the Time Round volition probable concluding longer when connected to an iPhone, since the iPhone uses Bluetooth Low Energy rather than regular Bluetooth equally on Android devices.

Pebble sacrificed a week-long battery life to give the Time Round its sleek silhouette.

Running out of juice isn't a huge problem with the Pebble Time Round, thanks to how quickly the device charges. I got from 0 pct to 100 percent in but almost an hr. By comparison, the Apple tree Sentinel takes 1.5 hours to achieve eighty per centum, and another 60 minutes to reach 100 percent.

Watchband Options

Our Pebble Fourth dimension Round came with a white, 14mm ring that looked perfect on my dainty wrist. You tin can also get the 14mm ring choice in Stone Leather, Flame Red Leather, Argent Mesh, Blackness Mesh and, my favorite, Rose Gold Mesh.

14mm band in Stone Leather — 14mm band in Rock Leather

Those looking for a broader strap tin can pick from 20mm options in Nero Blackness Leather, Nubuck Brown Leather, Silver Link and Black Link.

The Mesh bands cost $30 each, while the Link straps cost $50. Pebble doesn't nevertheless offer the leather bands for sale separately.

Because of the smart accessory port on the dorsum of the Pebble Time, Time Steel and Time Circular, these watches support what Pebble calls Smartstraps. These are bands that can potentially host components such as temperature sensors or external batteries, to expand the lookout's functions and endurance. No Smartstraps are available simply yet, but Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky said he expects it may take until Apr 2016 for the bands to hitting the market.

Bottom Line

This is 1 of the few smartwatches I've reviewed that I've wanted for myself. The Pebble Time Circular's stunning good looks alone make information technology worth considering. Just its attractiveness only gets information technology and so far. Its battery life, while on a par with Android Wearable and the Apple tree Sentry, is far less than that of other Pebble smartwatches; it runs fewer apps, and its display is smaller, dimmer and less colorful than those of its competitors.

If you just desire a more than full-featured smartwatch, cheque out the Asus ZenWatch two, which puts Android Clothing on your wrist for a starting price of simply $130. But if yous're primarily interested in getting smartphone notifications on your wrist and desire to go along better tabs on what'due south happening each day, the Pebble Time Circular has plenty of entreatment.

Cherlynn is Reviews Editor at Engadget and was previously a staff author at Tom'southward Guide, covering wearables, cameras and smartphones. In her spare time she enjoys devouring old episodes of Torchwood or The X-Files. Or taking selfies.