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Release date, price and specs
Update: The Pebble Time will be shipping out to backers of its Kickstarter fundraising campaign from May 27.
This watch has everything the Pebble Time has - timeline interface, voice input, color screen - but is "refined, made from premium materials, and designed for busy professionals who need to accomplish more during their day" according to Pebble. It comes with a silver, black or gold finish.
You'll be able to back the campaign for $250 (about £163/AU$320) until March 27, with the regular retail price set at $299 (about £195/AU$383). Anyone who's already backed the original Pebble Time can switch to a Steel one.
- Is the Pebble Time better than the Apple Watch? Find out in our versus!
Original article below ...
The original Pebble wasn't even really a "smartwatch" when it debuted but it revolutionized wearables and set the standard for future smartwatches to come.
The Pebble Steel further cemented the company's standing as a legit smartwatch competitor by creating a sleeker model, but it didn't fully impress with usage.
Now, with Pebble Time, it seems like the public cries were heard, and most issues with the previous watches have been ironed out.
We've been lucky enough to get our hands on the newest wearable during MWC 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.
We're still working on a full review so in the meantime, here's everything we know about the Pebble Time.
What is it? A cross-platform smartwatch that plays nice with your iPhone and Android phones
When is it out? Starts shipping to Kickstarter backers May 27
What will it cost? Starts at $199 (£149, AU$199)
Release date and price
The Pebble Time will start shipping on May 27 to Kickstarter backers, which puts it a month behind the Apple Watch release date. So far it's unclear when Time will show up on retailer doorsteps but expect it to soon afterwards.
Backers will get a tracking number letting them know when they can expect delivery of their brand new Pebble Time watch. Shipments should be no later than the middle of June.
Pricing starts at $199 (£149, AU$199) which is the same as the Pebble Steel. However while the Kickstarter is still running you can grab the Time for $179 (about £115, AU$227).
It's far cheaper than the $250 (£200, AU$330) Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R, which costs $270 (£200, about AU$400). The iWatch will be the priciest wearable of the bunch, and starts at $349 (likely north of £223, AU$403).
Specs and battery life
The full array of specs haven't been released but a recent Reddit AMA revealed a few gems.
The Pebble Time will have 64KB of RAM on board and an ARM Cortex M4 CPU running at 100Mhz, an upgrade from the original Pebble's M3. The additional processing power is essential in supporting a new microphone feature.
Full specs will be released later on alongside the Pebble Time SDK.
Four sensors built are built into the smartwatch, including a 3 axis accelerometer, 3D compass, ambient light sensor and the aforementioned microphone.
Pebbles are known for outstanding battery life and the Time is no exception. Like the previously used e-ink displays, the new color e-paper screen helps reduce power consumption, allowing the battery to last for seven days before the next recharge.
The e-paper interface also utilizes a color palette that's limited to 64 colors, yet it looks like it will be far easier to read than the usual smartwatch displays. The company also kept the physical buttons opposed to incorporating touchscreen capabilities.
Design
Bluetooth is of course included in the Time package with range supposedly better than the other Pebbles, reaching up to 50 meters or more.
It's been noted the Time is similar in design to the Steel but even better. At just 9.5mm, it's 20% thinner than the original Pebble.
Similar to the Samsung Gear S, the scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass watch body will be curved, though it will be much smaller and fit more comfortably on the wrist. The bezel is made of stainless steel and will have three different watch case colors - black, red and white - with a black bezel for the former two colors and silver for the latter.
The Time will also come with a silicone watch band in the same colors above to match the watch case, but any 22mm strap can be swapped in thanks to a quick release pin.
Compatibility and features
Compatibility
Yet another reason why Pebbles have been so enticing is their cross-platform ability. The Pebble Time is compatible with iOS 8 and Android phones but unfortunately not Windows phones.
However, that still means you're not stuck with ndroid Wear smartwatches or the Apple Watch, which isn't even out yet.
Features
Pebble Time is fully compatible with all 6,500 existing Pebble apps and watch faces. The newest feature the Time will tout is the timeline interface.
You can sync notifications, alerts, messages and apps in a chronological, scrollable timeline to pop up on your wrist - similar to Google Now on Android Wear.
If you disconnect from your watch, the timeline will still be on the Pebble Time. You'll also be able to store more than eight apps, though the number you can install will depend on the app's size.
Apps are cached in the watch so recently used ones will be readily available even if you're disconnected from you phone, though some apps may still require internet to work. Pebble CEO and founder Eric Migicovsky notes, "It just caches a smaller number of apps, but still way larger than you may reasonably need."
Like the other generation of Pebbles, the Pebble Time is water resistant. You can wear it in the shower, when it's raining and even swim with it on, but exact details on these capabilities haven't been released yet. It will probably match up with the previous 5ATM rating which allowed depths up to 50 meters (165 feet) without it frying.
Voice dictation through a microphone is another exciting new feature. You'll be able to take short voice notes and send voice replies through most Android apps like SMS, Hangouts, Gmail, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and hundreds more. iOS is a little trickier and so far only Gmail notifications work with voice dictation but more should be on the way. The Pebble devs have said they're still working out the kinks with Android and iOS,
Last but not least, Pebble Time features a "smart accessory port," which the company says will allow hardware developers to build "sensors and smart straps that connect directly to the watch" in the future.
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