{"id":1882,"date":"2026-01-16T05:27:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T05:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/pebbles-plans-for-circular-smartwatches-could-bring-me-back-to-wearables\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T05:27:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T05:27:31","slug":"pebbles-plans-for-circular-smartwatches-could-bring-me-back-to-wearables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/pebbles-plans-for-circular-smartwatches-could-bring-me-back-to-wearables\/","title":{"rendered":"Pebble’s Plans for Circular Smartwatches Could Bring Me Back to Wearables"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If history is as cyclical as the Buddhists and Cynics would want us to believe, then the return of the Pebble smartwatch was inevitable. I\u2019ve largely eschewed any smartwatches in my daily life, mostly because I can\u2019t stand the feeling of being an ever-connected cyborg inundated with notifications on my wrist. Eric Migicovsky, the founder of the original, long-deceased Pebble, who created the new company named Core Devices to bring it back, now has several new products slated for this year, two of which are circular in nature, and not just because they are\u2014well\u2014round. They may be exactly what I\u2019m looking for.<\/p>\n
I spoke with Migicovsky during CES 2026. The Pebble founder has a genial affectation\u2014a major reason why old-timey Pebble users and younguns who never picked up these older smartwatches are interested in the company\u2019s new\/old gadgets. But times have changed, technology has progressed, and Migicovsky is trying to match some of those new expectations.<\/p>\n
We crowned the $200 Pebble Round 2 as the best smartwatch we saw at\u00a0CES 2026. It\u2019s a simple smartwatch with extra quirks that don\u2019t feel out of place in 2026 but are wholly welcome. The main thing is the four buttons\u2014yes, physical buttons on a smartwatch\u2014that spark a sense of joy when we\u2019ve spent the last decade beholden to screens.<\/p>\n
Bringing back buttons<\/h2>\nThe old Pebble Time Round, left, compared to the new Pebble Round 2. \u00a9 Kyle Barr \/ Gizmodo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cI love this watch,\u201d Migicovsky told Gizmodo, holding up the older Pebble Time Round from 2015 and comparing it to the new wearable. \u201cBut it had a few glaring issues\u2026 mainly the large bezel.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 1.3-inch screen (260 x 260 pixel resolution) isn\u2019t as large as either of the 41mm or 45mm-sized Pixel Watch 4 models from last year. On my wrist, the rounded Pebble\u2019s Goldilocks size felt just right. It\u2019s far larger than the face on the 10-year-old original Pebble Time Round. You can get it with either a 20mm or 14mm watch band. If you want the larger size, you\u2019ll opt for a silver- or black-colored stainless steel frame. The smaller size only comes with the rose gold or a separate silver frame. The Round 2 should ship sometime in May, after the Pebble Time 2 ships in April.<\/p>\n
The smartwatch is technically more limited than the still-to-be-released Pebble Time 2. The rounded design lacks a speaker and promises two weeks of battery life instead of the estimated 30 days on the Time 2. It\u2019s missing heart rate tracking as well. And even after Migicovsky listed all that, I realized I didn\u2019t necessarily want more health metrics. I don\u2019t need to listen to my watch (although I would of course love better battery life).<\/p>\n
A not-so-smart ring with a short shelf life<\/h2>\nThe Index 01. \u00a9 Kyle Barr \/ Gizmodo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Then there\u2019s Index 01. It\u2019s easily Core Device\u2019s most controversial product the company has thought to offer since coming online in 2025. What is essentially a ring with a button acts as a voice recorder you can have on you at all times. There\u2019s no built-in AI, though the in-app transcription is your barebones transcription (which won\u2019t require an extra subscription). The ring is a voice recorder, as much as your phone is a voice recorder.<\/p>\n
Migicovsky told me that he was trying to craft an ever-present device that could act as his \u201cexternal memory for [his] brain.\u201d He said he came up with the idea while he was biking, and he wanted something to jot down an idea without needing to take a break and rip the phone out of his pocket. Pebble initially tried creating an app on a watch to accomplish the same thing, but Migicovsky said that would still require using two hands to operate the watch.<\/p>\n
The one, obvious flaw in this design is the lack of a rechargeable battery. Instead, when the Index 01 runs out of juice in approximately two to three years, depending on your usage, the device is effectively kaput. When I mentioned that some users didn\u2019t like the idea of a gadget with a limited lifespan, he was skeptical. To him, the ring is a simple tool. If it were rechargeable, it would be more expensive.<\/p>\n
Index 01 has some built-in storage, and it can record \u201ca couple minutes\u201d worth of audio at a time. If your phone\u2019s around, it will upload your voice clips via Bluetooth. The onboard AI should be able to comprehend if the voice clip is a note to self, a reminder, or an alarm, and then present all that in a feed within an app.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want something more, just get a Whoop or an Oura ring,\u201d the Pebble founder said. \u201cThere are tons of different options.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Index 01 will sell for $75 if you preorder before the shipping date in March. Otherwise, it\u2019ll cost $100 afterwards. For all that, I\u2019m not a person to wear jewelry on my hands. The early version of the ring didn\u2019t exactly feel cheap, but it wasn\u2019t a surface I would especially enjoy fidgeting with all day. The button, however, is the star of the show. I would have a hard time keeping myself from diving my thumb down on the rubberized tip, even when I have nothing of interest to say.<\/p>\n
Is a recorder ring you\u2019ll eventually need to toss away worth $100? That\u2019s a question for the full review. At the very least, Pebble seems to be offering something few companies want to in the age of ever-present AI and overt health tracking: something straightforward, or\u2014in Migicovsky\u2019s words\u2014\u201ddoesn\u2019t take itself too seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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