New Pebble 2 and Time 2 smartwatches, plus the all new Pebble Core

Pebble returns to Kickstarter for their new smartwatches

The ever popular crowd-funded, Kickstarter-started smartwatch company is back with a third generation of smartwatches. And staying true to their origins and their second generation watches, the company is right back on Kickstarter for their next watches, the Pebble 2 and Time 2 - as well as a little fitness companion called the Pebble Core.

However, the biggest difference this time around for both smartwatches from the previous Pebble smartwatches is the presence of a heart rate monitor. Users who wanted a Pebble with heart rate monitors can now rejoice - last I heard there was another crowd-funded attempt to make a heart rate strap for the Pebble Time, I wonder what goes with that now. 

Both the Pebble 2 and Time 2 will have the heart rate sensor on the back, which rests against our wrists, providing an accurate heart rate estimation.

Pebble 2 and Time 2; time to Pebble too?

Fans and users of the Pebble Classic smartwatch (like yours truly) will unmistakably notice the resemblance of the new Pebble 2 smartwatch with the previous Pebble Classic. Both watches have got very similar shape and design, although the new Pebble 2 will have a more angular design to it.

The Time 2 retains a more similar design with the Pebble Time, but I am rather surprise at the decision to start off with a stainless steel build instead of a plastic one. Pebble has always launched with a plastic build smartwatch, only to release a steel version of it later (or at the same time), but I'm just going to assume that the Pebble 2 will fulfil the more affordable end of their smartwatches.

Both Pebble smartwatches will feature their e-paper display, the Pebble 2 with black and white, and the Time 2 with a 53% larger colour display. The smartwatches will also retain their super awesome battery life of up to 10 days, and also still have their 30 meter water resistance. I'll have to say that the water resistance paired with the heart rate monitor does truly make the new Pebble smartwatches a very wholesome device, fulfilling both a smartwatch and an activity tracker.

The all new Pebble Core

I expected new smartwatches from Pebble, we all did. It's a brand new year and of course there's going to be some updates and new stuff, but I doubt anyone predicted the arrival of the Pebble Core.

It would seem that the Pebble Core acts purely as an activity tracker. It's basically a small little box-thingie that clips onto your clothing during runs to track your pace, distance and location. The Pebble Core has built-in cellular connectivity which can stream music from Spotify, and track your pace and location through GPS - which means it'll take a micro-SIM card for the tracking and streaming. 

The idea of the Pebble Core for Runners is that we can leave our phones at home while we go for a run. No more having our large phones bouncing around in our tiny pockets or having a heavy armband weighing us down.

Developers will also be able to get their hands on the Pebble Core for Hackers, which omits all of the activity features and is simply a barebone miniature Android computer. Along with the Core SDK, developers will be able to program the Core for other tasks such as tracking their pets or perform actions with the two programmable buttons.

If you're interested, it's a good idea to back them on their Kickstarter right here. Although knowing how popular Pebble crowd-funding is, it might have already surpassed their target and is all sold out.

The Pebble 2 will ship out September 2016 and the Time 2 will ship out November 2016. The Pebble Core will be the only one having a much later release in the following year: January 2017.

Pebble 2 and Time 2 don't strike your fancy? You can still purchase the previous Pebble Time.


Pictures are all sourced and retrieved from the Pebble 2 Kickstarter page.