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Pebble smartwatch with color display leaks ahead of announcement

Pebble smartwatch with color display leaks ahead of announcement

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Pebble is a day away from making a big announcement, and it looks like that may be a brand new smartwatch. 9to5Mac reported on Friday that a slimmer Pebble with a color, "e-paper-like" display is on the way, and this morning, the publication points to an image hosted on Pebble's own website that seems to back that up. The image depicts what appears to be a somewhat larger watch with a color display. It doesn't appear to be of a particularly higher resolution (but then, this is only a mockup), and it's not clear how colorful it can get, as we can only see yellow, black, and white. Still, Pebble has basically just had black up until now, so even that appears to be a big step forward.

An announcement is expected tomorrow

9to5Mac's Mark Gurman reported Friday that the new watch will be thinner and brighter and feature a similarly long battery life to what the existing Pebble gets. The watch reportedly won't have a touchscreen, but a microphone is said to be another major hardware addition, finally allowing the watch to be used for voice commands and dictation. Gurman also reports that the watch's operating system is receiving a significant overhaul from former team members behind webOS. The new software is supposed to place a heavier focus on notifications and alerts, which sounds a lot like what Android Wear has been doing. The price will reportedly be around $199, and Pebble may choose to launch it again on Kickstarter.

Though Pebble hasn't hinted at what it'll be announcing, it currently has a timer on its website counting down until 10AM ET tomorrow — and at this point, a new watch seems quite likely. While Pebble was a runaway success when its initial model debuted, now it has a lot more to face off against. Android Wear is out there and capable, and the Apple Watch is right around the corner. If accurate, it doesn't sound like this new model of the Pebble intends to fight one to one with these big players, which might be a wise choice. There are certain things people love the Pebble for — like battery life — and figuring out a way to keep that strong while moving the entire system forward should make fans want to keep it on their wrist.