Pebble is making a comeback, and this time, it’s arriving with a low-key but smart charging solution. The Core 2 Duo, a modern reimagining of the original Pebble 2, is ditching the traditional charging cable in favor of a simple USB-C adapter. It’s a small change, but one that says a lot about how the brand is being revived.The new Pebble watches are coming from Core Devices, a group led by original Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky. After Google open-sourced PebbleOS, the door opened for a new wave of Pebble-inspired hardware. The first products from this effort are the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2, which are direct throwbacks to the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2. They’re expected to ship in May, just in time for some wrist-bound nostalgia.Migicovsky recently gave an early peek at the Core 2 Duo’s retail packaging. It’s pretty minimal, and notably, it doesn’t look like it includes a watch band. But the main thing that stood out was the charger. Rather than a full charging cable, the box includes a small USB-C adapter made by Nomad.
This adapter connects to a USB-C port on one end and delivers power through the magnetic pogo-pin system that Pebble users will remember from years past. Nomad had actually given these adapters away for free around the time Pebble was winding down, so its return feels like a full-circle moment.
Here’s what we know about the Core 2 Duo so far:
- It builds on the Pebble 2’s original design
- Runs a modernized PebbleOS, now open source
- Uses a USB-C to pogo-pin adapter for charging
- Expected to ship in May 2025
- Pricing could be affected by ongoing tariffs
The smartwatch world has changed a lot since Pebble’s heyday. Today’s top options like the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, and Pixel Watch are all about big features and big screens. But in doing so, many have lost what made Pebble popular in the first place: long battery life, easy readability, and simple functionality.
For longtime fans, myself included, the return of Pebble through the Core 2 Duo could feel like getting back something that was lost in the smartwatch arms race. It’s not trying to out-spec Apple or Samsung, and that’s exactly what makes it worth watching. Let’s hope this return can bring that feeling back.
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