Is this minimalist watch a viable alternative to smartwatches? My decision after a week

ZDNET Highlights

• The Pebble 2 Duo is now available in both black and white for $149.
• The watch is extremely light and affordable, lasts for weeks, and has a vibrant and active development community.
• You’ll miss some of the usual health-tracking tools, and the buttons aren’t the most tactile.

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I have a bit of history with the Pebble brand. In 2013, I backed its first watch on Kickstarter, and then a few years later, I bought the Pebble 2.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been wearing the latest pebble 2 pair Which is based on the features introduced in Pebble 2. What’s new? A little bit of everything, as the Duo name – a play on the words “do over” – implies.

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At first glance, the Pebble 2 Duo looks almost identical to the Pebble 2. It has a familiar crisp and clean high-contrast e-paper display, a quick-release 22mm watch band, one button on the left side, and three buttons on the right side. The best part? It supports both iOS and Android, with an active developer community that has since created over 10,000 apps and watch faces.

After weeks of use, here’s my verdict on one of the more polarizing smartwatches of 2025.

There have been some significant improvements since the launch of the Pebble 2 in 2017, including increasing battery life from 7 days to 30 days, increasing water resistance from 30 meters to iPX8, and a new generation Bluetooth chip, speaker, and barometer/compass sensor. This all equates to a more unencumbered experience, as I’m spending less time stressing about stamina and connectivity than before.

Notably, the Pebble 2 Duo is not designed to compete with the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch or Apple Watch. Any Advanced sports watches from Garmin, Suunto and other manufacturers.

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Although it’s nostalgic, it’s also a very affordable and capable smartwatch that can last up to a month between charges. It’s for those who want something minimal, free of distractions and unnecessary pop-ups that clog up your day rather than move things forward.

I’ve found the open-source Pebble OS interface to be quite enjoyable and functional, with slick animations, thousands of customization options in the App Store, and a smartwatch that excels at basic wrist-to-wrist communications.

The included 22mm silicone band is well-designed with thick, soft material, providing a comfortable band that makes it easy to wear all day (and probably into the night).

The buttons are quite large, but there is little tactile feedback when you press them. Although the interface remains responsive, it took me a while to get used to the stiffness. Those who crave that satisfying tactile feedback won’t find it here. Core Devices, the company behind the Pebble, says the buttons should last 30% longer than the previous Pebble 2, given its price.

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Setting up the watch is quick and straightforward, as you primarily configure things from the Pebble app on your smartphone. I spent most of my time testing the Pebble 2 Duo with the iPhone 17 Pro Max. You can get the watch working with basic core functionality through the app, but I highly recommend setting up a Rebel account to access the vast number of watch faces and apps created by developers over the last decade.

I’ve spent most of the past week browsing the App Store and testing out some of my favorites from the past. Most apps are compatible with the new Pebble 2 Duo, but the display is slightly larger, so some apps may be framed differently, and some services associated with these apps may not be active yet. With this watch, you will definitely want to experiment with the different tools provided, which I think may turn off some users.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

Eric Migicovsky launched the original Pebble in 2013 and set a record for fundraising on Kickstarter at the time. Apparently, they haven’t lost their passion for Pebble and now they’ve delivered a worthy successor. pebble 2 pair

So far, I’m enjoying the experience and blast from the past. At $149, this is a smartwatch I recommend for those looking to try out a smartwatch and for those who want a watch that will last a month between charges while still providing smartphone communications and triage.

If you want to get the most out of your wrist device, you already have plenty of options available on the market. Just don’t expect them to get as many looks from passersby as this one.