After years with an Apple Watch, a Pebble Time 2 'downgrade' was exactly what I needed

exactly what I needed">

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form .

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.

I've been into the concept of a smartwatch since the first Pebble released back in 2013. At the time, there was something very compelling about taking a smartphone's core functionalities like notifications, messages, and incoming call alerts, and slapping it all on my wrist.

While Pebble eventually faded away when its assets were purchased by Fitbit in 2016 , which was then bought by Google in 2021 , the Apple Watch arguably took up the smartwatch mantle in 2015.

Also: I've worn dozens of smartwatches, but the Pebble Time 2 is the most fun I've had testing one

Since then, I've been a dedicated Apple Watch user, going all the way back to the (somewhat lackluster) first-generation version. Whether it was fitness tracking, taking phone calls from my wrist, keeping tabs on my notifications, or even turning it into a portable calculator, the Apple Watch became a key part of my life.

But lately, I've felt something shift. Whether it's having a child or just getting older, I no longer want to be connected to everything all the time. Instead, I find myself actively looking for ways to avoid notifications that don't truly matter, so I can be more present in the real world.