Pebble Time Round Mocked For Its 'Giant Bezel,' But It Beats Apple Watch Battery Life

Pebble launched a smartwatch on Thursday that the company touts as the thinnest and lightest smartwatch in the world. Pebble Time Round is the first watch in the Pebble range with a circular face; previous iterations came with a square face.

The watch was immediately criticized on social media, however, for having a large bezel around the screen display. The top post on the Pebble subreddit, at the time of writing, is a manipulated image of the new smartwatch that exaggerates its bezel.

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The watch weighs 28 grams and is 7.5mm thick. By comparison, the Apple Watch Sport weighs 25 grams and is 10.5mm thick, but this measurement does not include the weight added by the band. The Pebble Time Round beats Apple Watch on battery life; while the Apple Watch tends to need recharging every night, the Pebble Time Round can provide "dayslong" battery life after just 15 minutes charge, the company says.

But this failed to satisfy commentators on Twitter, who despite the impressive specifications and thin design, couldn't get past what they saw as a terrible design flaw.

The first Pebble sold for $150 initially and launched in 2013. Pebble Technology CEO Eric Migicovsky said in an interview in February that the company shipped its one millionth Pebble at the end of last year. Meanwhile, analysts estimate the Apple Watch sold somewhere between 3 and 5 million smartwatches in the June quarter. The Pebble Time Round is a crucial release for the company, as it faces stronger competition from Apple Watch and Android Wear competitors.

The Pebble Time Round starts at $249, and can be reserved directly from Pebble or selected retailers ahead of the early November shipping date.