The Pebble Time Round is the most elegant smartwatch Pebble has ever made. It's thin, light and comes in widths that would fit even the most slender of wrists. Its circular, all-metal chassis and options for both leather and metal straps make this a device to behold. Yet, Pebble made significant tradeoffs to achieve such a slim design. The reduced two-day battery life is a big blow; worse, it negates one of the few factors that made previous Pebble watches so unique. Designing it to be less water-resistant feels like a misstep as well. That wouldn't even be such a big deal if the Time Round didn't cost $249, which puts it in the same price class as more feature-rich Android Wear watches. In the end, the Time Round is really only for those who want a pretty smartwatch regardless of the compromises.

It's lighter and better-looking than any Pebble before, but the battery life and app compatibility mean those in the market for the brand may prefer a Pebble Time Steel.

Purely on the basis of the battery life and the (so far) limited number of apps, the Pebble Time Round won’t be for everyone. But no smartwatch is. What matters is that Pebble has proved that it has the design chops to add to its terrifically simple OS and enthusiastic community of developers and users. This is a must have for women put off by smartwatches and, for that matter, anyone looking for a helpful, always on, no fuss device that fits into your life and under your shirt sleeves.

Pebble's newest round, thin watch takes the Pebble formula and shrinks it to a stylish design, but gives up battery life and some app support in the process.

It looks the business, but the Pebble Time Round misses the mark in a number of important areas.