Pebble smartwatches are back as ‘Core,’ starting at $149 with 30-day battery life

Just shy of nine years after their initial debut, Pebble’s second-gen smartwatches are officially making a comeback with the original founder’s new company, “Core Devices,” reviving the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 as the Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2, shipping starting in July with updated hardware and the same appeal as the Pebble smartwatches that came before.

To recap the history a bit here, Pebble smartwatches first hit the scene over a decade ago and, in many ways, shaped the smartwatch market as we know it today. In 2016, Pebble announced the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 as its full second-generation release, but the company was bought out by Fitbit before those devices truly came to market. The Pebble 2 shipped to early buyers, but Time 2 never made it to market at all. Pebble as a company was shuttered and only through the tremendous efforts of fans and developers have Pebble smartwatches continued to be operational all this time later.

Now, though, that hardware is making a true comeback.

In January, Google, the current owner of the remnants of Pebble following its own purchase of Fitbit in 2021, made PebbleOS open-source. That opened the door to Eric Migicovsky, the original founder of Pebble, to spin up efforts to revive Pebble hardware.

Migicovsky has today officially announced that revival, with his new company, “Core Devices,” introducing its first two smartwatches.

The “Core 2 Duo” is effectively a reboot of the Pebble 2 from 2016, right down to using the same displays from that previous smartwatch (which, yes, those panels are eight years old, but Migicovsky assures they still work well).

The “Duo” moniker stands for “do-over.”

The Core 2 Duo shares the same core design as the Pebble 2, with a 1.26-inch black and white e-paper display and a polycarbonate frame that comes in black or white color options. The watch is targeting an IPX8 water resistance rating, supports traditional 22mm watch bands, and supports step and sleep tracking, all just like the Pebble 2. Upgrades to the hardware will include a speaker alongside the microphone, which Migicovsky teases will be used for talking with AI assistants (ChatGPT being one example). There also a new vibration motor that’s both stronger and quieter, and the buttons on this new smartwatch will last about 30% longer than those in Pebble 2.

The big news on Core 2 Duo is that battery life is jumping from 7 days on the Pebble 2 to 30 days on this updated hardware, an improvement that Migicovsky says came primarily from the simple fact that Bluetooth has gotten a lot more power efficient over the past decade.

Meanwhile, the Core Time 2 is essentially the Pebble Time 2 that never made it to market.

This smartwatch has all of the upgrades and elements as the Core 2 Duo, but with some big upgrades. The body of the watch is made from metal (as are the buttons) and the display is not only bigger at 1.5-inches, but features color e-paper tech and is higher in resolution too. It also adds a heart rate monitor and, most importantly, has a touchscreen. That touchscreen is not for all interactions with the smartwatch – Migicovsky says it will still work with buttons as every other Pebble did, as that’s core to the experience – but is primarily for the use of watch face complications.

The comparison between the two is as follows:

That’s the hardware, but what about the software? These new watches will run the same software experience as prior Pebble devices, but the new open-source nature of PebbleOS opens the door to big changes. For instance, You won’t need to use a specific app to set up these watches. You can use the Rebble project’s app. You can use an app that Core Devices will be putting out. Or, technically speaking, you could just build your own.

The experience should feel very familiar on the whole, though. You’ll even be able to use the existing thousands of watch faces and apps that were built for prior Pebble smartwatches.

Core 2 Duo will cost $149 and will ship starting in July 2025. 10,000 units are being produced and once those are sold out, further units will only be produced based on customer demand. So if you want one of these rebooted Pebble smartwatches, you’ll want to get in on pre-orders, which are open today.

Meanwhile, Core Time 2 is shipping in December 2025. Why the delay? It’s more so that the Duo is easier to get up and running, especially as it’s reusing some existing design and components from the prior Pebble 2 smartwatch. It will be available for $229, and pre-orders are also open now. Migicovsky added that if you change your mind, you can simply cancel the order for a full refund. Quantity on Core Time 2 will also be limited, but not quite to the same degree as the Duo.

Pre-orders are open now at store.repebble.com.

Are you going to get one?

More on Smartwatches:

• How to use a Pebble smartwatch with Android in 2025
• Wear OS brands grow as the Apple Watch leads first smartwatch market decline
• Honor Watch 5 Ultra is a beautiful timepiece that should be running Wear OS

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