Pebble Founder Unveils Slick E-Ink Smartwatches With Impressive Battery Life

Remember the Pebble? Quite possibly the first smartwatch when it launched in 2013, it eventually fizzled out three years later (not thanks to FitBit), but it left an indelible ripple in the tech world that’s still felt in the wearables we have today. Guess what, the founder of Pebble has decided to bring the nostalgia into 2025 with two new models—the Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2. One is a basic model that hearkens back to the OG Pebble 2, whereas the second model adds mod-con features in a shell resembling the Pebble Time 2.

Eric Migicovsky, the founder of the original Pebble, is back with a self-funded Kickstarter to produce not just one, but two new Pebble-like watches for the masses. We say "Pebble-like" because Migicovsky is running the show under a new company called Core Devices, even if the watches look like carbon copies of Pebbles of yore and even run PebbleOS.

For those wanting to relive their mid-2010 Pebble days or just want a smartwatch that's uniquely simple, there are two models up for grabs. The Core 2 Duo is decidedly the barebones basic model rocking Pebble 2 vibes. It has a simple 1.2-inch black-and-white e-ink screen wrapped in a polycarbonate body, but unlike its spiritual predecessor now has a barometer and compass, has up to 30 days of battery life (compared to seven), a haptics motor, and "improved buttons."

The bigger Core Time 2 is basically a Pebble Time 2 complete with the same 1.5-inch 64-color e-ink panel, except more upgrades than you can shake a stick at. The display glass is flat now to reduce glare and reflections and also to better incorporate the touchscreen. It adds a heart rate monitor sensor to the activity/health monitoring sensor suite, too.

Both devices run PebbleOS with access to 10,000+ watch faces and apps, have a mic and speaker, step and sleep tracking, and IPX8 among other niceties. The latter allows users to wear the watch in the shower or the pool for lap swims.

Besides being an innovation milestone before smartwatches even became a thing, a few big reason why Pebbles were loved by its fans were the always-on e-ink display that still brought monster battery life, the clean industrial design, and the open-sourced, hackable nature of PebbleOS.

Core Designs has opened both models for pre-orders right now. The Core 2 Duo goes for $150 in either black or white colorways (shipping begins in July), while the Core Time 2 can be had for $225 (shipping begins in December).