Gadgetory

it's something that we all want for smartwatches to actually look like watches and even though this year we had some great offerings from Android wear that seemed to be quite indistinguishable from timepieces analog users definitely have one big advantage against the SmartWatch crowd the thickness of their watches a typical SmartWatch will always be really thick and pebble is hoping to buck that trend by creating one that is not only sleek but incredibly fashionable and since getting this watch it honestly hasn't left my wrist unless I have to charge it of course it starts with agar from Android authority what's going on everybody and this is the pebble time round it's really obvious what the difference is about this pebble time after all it's in the name the fact that there's a round design to it now it's the main draw with pebble now trying to bring their time devices into the growing group of round smartwatches that we've seen this year lugs are on the top and the bottom so you can put on the twenty millimeter or thinner 14 millimeter bands or replace them and then the metal constructed round body is made splash resistant rather than fully water resistant that means that it can take a few drops but you're not supposed to be diving or really submerging this watch into water and then you see it how thin the pebble time round is seriously just compare this to really any Android wear iteration right now and the round comes out looking sleeker and certainly more accessible for anyone with smaller wrists especially just enough thickness is available to put on some buttons and as this is pebble you're not going to get a touchscreen here you get a back button on the left and then up down and select buttons on the right and there is also a microphone underneath the buttons on the right now the buttons do kind of make for a bit of a weird back design but no one will see that when it's on your wrist anyway and the buttons really feel solid in the press there's a tiny bit of movement that can be felt as you're starting to press it down and then there's a very reassuring click when you press all the way the time round is simply one of the best-looking smartwatches available right now not because of what it packs in but because it prioritizes minimalism while there are quite a few features that had to go in order to make this thin body work we'll get to those in a little bit but if you're looking for a watch that is as easy on the eyes as it is easy to wear the pebble time round design is worthy of your attention a change to a round display means kind of changing how information is displayed on this color capable a paper display but pebble has managed to really handle the round design beautifully in broad daylight the round has the same issue as the original pebble time it can get tough to really see elements in the display the backlight is also a bit strong in low-light situations but the intensity can be lowered in the settings the only real issue we had with the display is that it's kind of hard to trigger the backlight easily sometimes we had to be overly aggressive in order to turn on the backlight when we really needed it and the 2.5 D Gorilla Glass gives it a nice Sheen but there's a bit of a peeve as we found with the bezel not so much how thick it is but with how it's used silver editions have minutes all around while you can get the black edition with either our designations or really nothing at all this meant I was torn between getting a digital face or an analogue face because I felt like I had to properly use those minutes markings thankfully the pebble star has really good Smart Watch faces already for both of those applications but of course I can always just cover up the bezel with the skin of some sort but then again it isn't that big a deal it's just something that we noticed performance with the pebble doesn't require too much and in the time round we see this trend continue their snappy and smooth transitions and hardly any issues with apps absent watch faces are installed from the smartphone app which in and of itself is a little bit slow but does get the job done and then after that the apps are either standalone on the watch or require a companion application on the phone but in either instance we've had a good time for example using applications like a Pomodoro timer or even a sleep tracking app and none of them really gave us any issues so for what the time operating system is able to do the SmartWatch is able to perform without any issues and provides a smooth experience overall now hardware on the pebble time round is actually rather simplistic this is a SmartWatch that requires pairing to a smartphone via bluetooth so Wi-Fi and mobile networks are not a focus and for that matter there are no extras like a heart rate monitor but supposedly there will be smart straps made available sometime in the future that will address these functions what you do get is the standard Bluetooth connection with the microphone that is underneath the buttons on the right for voice inputs now voice input is quite good on the pebble time round with only the loudest of environments making it tough to perform proper dictation but for most purposes like replying to messages we actually didn't have much trouble with it now battery life on the pebble time round is a big deal because it is the first SmartWatch by the company that can't boast really long life whereas the time and original pebbles go for close to a week or even more the round is only able to get about two days but still even though there are only two days in the battery life it is really easy to charge and because you have the leather strap already on there you shouldn't be wearing this in the shower anyway so we find that during the day when we're going to get ready to go out or anything like that plugging it in for maybe just even 20 minutes is enough to get the pebble all of the power that it needs it takes only about half an hour for it to go from zero to 100 which is really great and finally in software we have the round version of the pebble time OS and the transition has been mostly smooth but we do love about the time OS is it's nice transitions and sometimes cute and quirky animations it makes for a fun experience that is still very functional going through the app list requires hitting the up and down buttons a lot and then this is the same method of inputs for any and all applications and even the animations that were made specifically for the time round are really nice eye candy like an iris animation when going backwards in the interface but the timeline is the main thing here where from the watch face you can hit up and down to see future and past events or reminders if you're not much of a calendar user already then this might not strike you as a killer app but install one of the few applications in the store that can convert voice input into reminders and the timeline can actually become a pretty powerful tool in to that end applications are the crux of the pebble experience a layer on top of what is primarily a Notification Center and a good one at that but in the transition to a round body applications had to change in order to utilize the space better and the conversion is not quite yet complete apps like Yelp and Evernote's have yet to make their applications available for the round which is a bummer but hopefully we'll be rectified soon certain other applications already make around their home and do so very well like solanum a Pomodoro style application and note to self which takes the voice input I mentioned earlier and uses key phrases to insert what is said into the timeline it's pretty easy to find uses for the pebble time software even past the main function as a method to see notifications from your phone and even then if you have never used a SmartWatch as a way to keep your phone in your pocket you should definitely try it customization is still pretty alive and well in the pebble and even with a better-looking body to surround all a little due diligence can make the time round a very worthy companion to stay on your wrist but you might be paying quite a bit for all that goodness on the pebble website $249 is the price for the leather strap editions and some extra money allows for metal bands the time round is definitely being considered a more premium device after all its design and well performing functions are what it offers and users will look to the time round as the watch they wants when simplistic elegance is what they desire and that's exactly what the pebble time round manages to achieve elegance and a confidence in what features it does offer rather than trying way too hard to be everything to everybody after all for most users being able to see notifications and then in most cases respond to them is the core of a SmartWatch and pebble has been able to do that for quite a while now but where other smartwatches fail is what they provide in the extras not because the features aren't good but because the design generally has to suffer in order to make room for them the time round is the antithesis of this trend in smartwatches and by prioritizing simplicity it is probably the first SmartWatch that paradoxically can actually be recommended to literally anybody if you do really need a heart rate monitor the ability to make calls from your wrist or even just autonomous usage via mobile connectivity then you probably won't be buying this watch but you will be missing out on one of the best-looking pebbles No one of the best-looking smartwatches that we have seen all year as always thank you guys very much for watching and I hope you enjoyed this review of the pebble time round don't forget to check out the content from all of my colleagues in android right over on the side and get the Android thority app so that you can keep up with all of the content that we put out into the interwebs including the 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