My first love is back and more beautiful than ever - Pebble 2 Duo

Quick Overview

The Pebble 2 Duo smartwatch, a spiritual successor to the original Pebble, launches with core features like an e-paper screen, 7-day battery life (now improved to 1 month), physical buttons, and water resistance, but notably lacks modern features like a color display, heart rate sensor, or cellular connectivity, positioning itself as a focused, simple device that successfully leverages community support after the original company's demise.

Key Points: The Pebble 2 Duo features a 1.2-inch black/white e-paper display and a polycarbonate frame, offering 20M water resistance. Battery life has been significantly improved from the original's 7 days to an expected 1 month due to Bluetooth chip power efficiency upgrades. The watch retains physical buttons and lacks modern features like a color display, heart rate monitor, altimeter, or cellular connectivity. The device includes a barometer, compass, and step/sleep tracker, with the sleep tracking being less sensitive than other devices. The physical buttons allow for navigation and interaction, including replying to messages (though the response options are limited). The original Pebble founder, Eric Migicovsky, acquired the trademark and is relaunching the product through his new company, Rebel, with open-sourced software. The Pebble 2 Duo is priced at $149, which is significantly cheaper than many modern smartwatches like the Google Pixel Watch 4 ($299.99) or Fitbit Sense 2 ($159.95 on sale).

Context: This video is an unboxing and review of the Pebble 2 Duo smartwatch, a revival of the popular early smartwatch brand initiated by its original founder, Eric Migicovsky, following the original company's cessation of operations. The reviewer compares the new device's features, which focus on simplicity and battery life, against modern competitors and discusses the community-driven effort to keep the platform alive.

Detailed Analysis

The video reviews the Pebble 2 Duo smartwatch, a spiritual successor to the original Pebble, launched by founder Eric Migicovsky's new company, Rebel, after the original Pebble Technology Corp. ceased operations. The watch features a 1.2-inch black/white e-paper screen, polycarbonate frame, and 20M water resistance, retaining physical buttons instead of a touchscreen. A major improvement over the original is the battery life, increased from 7 days to about 1 month due to modern Bluetooth chip efficiency. It includes a barometer, compass, step/sleep tracker, and a microphone for dictating short responses, though it lacks modern features like heart rate monitoring or color displays. The setup process involves scanning a QR code via the new Pebble mobile app (which requires an iPhone or Mac for firmware updates initially). The watch is priced at $149, significantly lower than competing devices like the Fitbit Sense 2 ($159.95 sale price) or the Google Pixel Watch 4 ($299.99). The reviewer expresses excitement over the core features and the open-sourcing of the original Pebble software by Google, which allows the community to maintain and advance the platform.