ePaper doesn't really consume any power when it's not animated.

One of ePaper's biggest benefits is that it can be on all the time without draining the battery to excess - unlike a colour display with ongoing refresh rate. While other smartwatch displays might be seen as miniaturised versions of what you see on a smartphone, the Pebble 2's screen is more like a high-tech digital watch screen. In a world full of AMOLED touchscreens with bright colours and smooth animations, Pebble's monochromatic square non-touch ePaper display looks decidedly old-fashioned.

Manual backlight button to see in the dark.

Always-on ePaper greyscale display, 114 x 168 pixel resolution.

It's easy to take off, but more importantly it's easy to find an alternative strap if you're not besotted with the out-of-box offering. One of the added benefits of the Pebble 2 is its quick-release 22mm watch strap. It does need to be worn fairly snugly for the heart-rate monitor to work, so it isn't suitable for those who prefer a looser-fitting watch. Its light build and soft, flexible strap mean you barely notice that it's on your arm.

Likewise, the heart-rate monitor on the underside is built into its own tiny hump, which never fails to leave a square imprint in your skin. There's the glass surface above the display which protrudes from the rest of the case, instead of being flush with it. There are some rather unrefined elements of the design that raise more questions than answers though. The back button on the left sits behind a similar coating. One improvement for the new model is that the standard three buttons on the right edge are sealed behind a single piece of resistant silicone, rather than by three individual hard buttons as before.

Pebble 2 free voice dictation