Pebble’s Plans for Round Smartwatches May Deliver Me Again to Wearables

If historical past is as cyclical because the Buddhists and Cynics would need us to consider, then the return of the Pebble smartwatch was inevitable. I’ve largely eschewed any smartwatches in my day by day life, largely as a result of I can’t stand the sensation of being an ever-connected cyborg inundated with notifications on my wrist. Eric Migicovsky, the founding father of the unique, long-deceased Pebble, who created the new company named Core Units to bring it back, now has a number of new merchandise slated for this 12 months, two of that are round in nature, and never simply because they’re—properly—spherical. They might be precisely what I’m in search of.

I spoke with Migicovsky throughout CES 2026. The Pebble founder has a genial affectation—a serious purpose why old-timey Pebble customers and younguns who by no means picked up these older smartwatches have an interest within the firm’s new/outdated devices. However instances have modified, know-how has progressed, and Migicovsky is making an attempt to match a few of these new expectations.

We topped the $200 Pebble Round 2 because the best smartwatch we saw at CES 2026. It’s a easy smartwatch with additional quirks that don’t really feel misplaced in 2026 however are wholly welcome. The primary factor is the 4 buttons—sure, bodily buttons on a smartwatch—that spark a way of pleasure after we’ve spent the final decade beholden to screens.

Bringing again buttons

“I like this watch,” Migicovsky informed Gizmodo, holding up the older Pebble Time Spherical from 2015 and evaluating it to the brand new wearable. “But it surely had just a few obvious points… primarily the big bezel.”

A 1.3-inch display screen (260 x 260 pixel decision) isn’t as giant as both of the 41mm or 45mm-sized Pixel Watch 4 fashions from final 12 months. On my wrist, the rounded Pebble’s Goldilocks dimension felt excellent. It’s far bigger than the face on the 10-year-old authentic Pebble Time Spherical. You will get it with both a 20mm or 14mm watch band. If you’d like the bigger dimension, you’ll go for a silver- or black-colored stainless-steel body. The smaller dimension solely comes with the rose gold or a separate silver body. The Spherical 2 ought to ship someday in Could, after the Pebble Time 2 ships in April.

The smartwatch is technically extra restricted than the still-to-be-released Pebble Time 2. The rounded design lacks a speaker and guarantees two weeks of battery life as an alternative of the estimated 30 days on the Time 2. It’s lacking coronary heart price monitoring as properly. And even after Migicovsky listed all that, I spotted I didn’t essentially need extra well being metrics. I don’t must hearken to my watch (though I’d in fact love higher battery life).

A not-so-smart ring with a brief shelf life

Then there’s Index 01. It’s simply Core Gadget’s most controversial product the corporate has thought to supply since coming on-line in 2025. What is basically a hoop with a button acts as a voice recorder you may have on you always. There’s no built-in AI, although the in-app transcription is your barebones transcription (which received’t require an additional subscription). The ring is a voice recorder, as a lot as your telephone is a voice recorder.

Migicovsky informed me that he was making an attempt to craft an ever-present gadget that might act as his “exterior reminiscence for [his] mind.” He stated he got here up with the concept whereas he was biking, and he wished one thing to jot down an thought with no need to take a break and rip the telephone out of his pocket. Pebble initially tried creating an app on a watch to perform the identical factor, however Migicovsky stated that will nonetheless require utilizing two arms to function the watch.

The one, apparent flaw on this design is the shortage of a chargeable battery. As a substitute, when the Index 01 runs out of juice in roughly two to 3 years, relying in your utilization, the gadget is successfully kaput. Once I talked about that some customers didn’t like the concept of a gadget with a restricted lifespan, he was skeptical. To him, the ring is a straightforward instrument. If it have been rechargeable, it might be dearer.

Index 01 has some built-in storage, and it may possibly report “a pair minutes” price of audio at a time. In case your telephone’s round, it is going to add your voice clips through Bluetooth. The onboard AI ought to be capable of comprehend if the voice clip is a word to self, a reminder, or an alarm, after which current all that in a feed inside an app.

“If you’d like one thing extra, simply get a Whoop or an Oura ring,” the Pebble founder stated. “There are tons of various choices.”

The Index 01 will promote for $75 if you happen to preorder earlier than the transport date in March. In any other case, it’ll price $100 afterwards. For all that, I’m not an individual to put on jewellery on my arms. The early model of the ring didn’t precisely really feel low cost, however it wasn’t a floor I’d particularly take pleasure in twiddling with all day. The button, nevertheless, is the star of the present. I’d have a tough time holding myself from diving my thumb down on the rubberized tip, even when I’ve nothing of curiosity to say.

Is a recorder ring you’ll ultimately must toss away price $100? That’s a query for the total assessment. On the very least, Pebble appears to be providing one thing few corporations wish to within the age of ever-present AI and overt well being monitoring: one thing easy, or—in Migicovsky’s phrases—”doesn’t take itself too critically.”