Pebble Time – SmartWatch

Pebble Time is a simplest kind of smartwatch. It’s the first Pebble with a color screen, but it still isn’t touch-based instead using the same four-button combo we saw on older Pebbles. And while some its rivals are trying to drive into a fashion or tech intersection, where they could almost be mistaken for standard timekeeping watches Pebble still looks very much like, well a smartwatch.

Style/Design

There’s still quite a bit of outer bezel, but it’s not as large as before, and at least it’s made out of stainless steel with rounded off corners and has an overall thinner frame. Pebble Time, in a lot of ways, actually looks like a mostly plastic Apple Watch, as if Apple decided to unapologetically create an iPhone 5C version of its upcoming smartwatch. There aren’t as many colors for early adopters with three case choices at launch: black, white and red, and each have a specific silicon strap and stainless steel bezel colors. Like past Pebbles, more variety is likely to be introduced at a later date.There’s an all-black version that sports a black case, stainless steel black bezel and rubber-feeling black strap. The white case mixes things up with a white band, but silver bezel.

Display

The color screen makes it easier to recognize what you are seeing on the small watch face, which is great for quick glimpses. Furthermore, it should be easier for readability in direct sunlight. Pebble Time supports up to 64 colors and pushes 30 frames per second. It doesn’t have a bright and color-rich AMOLED or P-OLED used by Samsung and LG, but there’s a healthy color palette ready for app and game developers alike.

Battery Life

Battery life remains one of Pebble’s biggest strengths. All of the touchscreen-based smartwatches require charging every night. But Pebble can last up to a week on a single charge. We typically charged our review unit after several days, and you may want to do that too to be safe, but its impressive battery life continues to make Pebble the Kindle e-reader of wearables.

Assessment

The true test for Pebble Time is going to come with daily use. It works with iOS and Android and has fun animations broken up into past, present and future menus. That could end up being its biggest selling point if it’s laid out just right. Time will tell.