Pebble Round 2 makes rival smartwatches look chunky in new hands-on video

The Pebble Round 2 certainly impressed us when we got our hands on it at CES earlier this year, but a brief hands-on can only tell you so much about a device. With the long-awaited wearable still yet to reach buyers, one beta tester has now shared his experiences after several months of use. The verdict is overwhelmingly positive, although he’s encountered one frustrating issue.

As spotted by Notebookcheck, tester Nick Lum has published a YouTube video showcasing the Round 2 and comparing it with the Pebble Time 2 and the Garmin Forerunner 165. Lum says he understands his unit to be identical to those that will ship to customers, and he’s clearly a fan. He particularly likes the watch’s thin design and comfort, to the extent that he’s barely worn his Pebble Time 2 since getting the Round 2.

At just 8.1mm thick, the Round 2 is considerably slimmer than most of its rivals, as the side-by-side comparison in the video above demonstrates. The lack of a heart rate sensor also means it sits completely flat against the wrist, making it comfortable under shirt sleeves. Lum adds that the watch is still in mint condition despite months of everyday use.

His main complaint concerns the physical buttons, which sometimes feel like they’ve clicked without actually registering an input. Lum says he discussed the issue with Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky and even experienced it on a replacement unit. It appears to depend partly on how he presses the buttons, but it’s still a potentially annoying problem.

Battery life has also been somewhat inconsistent during his testing, ranging from five to 14 days depending on the configuration and potentially the software updates rolled out during that period. Lum’s latest figure is around 10 days, which is the low end of Pebble’s advertised 10 to 14 days. He recommends avoiding watch faces that display seconds and disabling the progress monitor in the music app to help extend battery life.

The $199 Pebble Round 2 was originally expected to ship in May, but production issues pushed that timetable back. Notebookcheck reports that production has now started, although most customers may not receive their watches until December. These early impressions should be mostly reassuring to those still waiting, though the button issue sounds like it could bother certain users more than it does Lum.