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Pebble Steel coming to Best Buy June 15, in a lower-priced leather band-only $229 version

One of the very best smartwatches will cost a little less very soon -- if you're willing to give up the metal wristband.

Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Scott Stein

Pebble Steel
The Pebble Steel. Sarah Tew/CNET

The Pebble Steel is one of the best-looking, best-performing smartwatches around, and it's about to get a little less expensive -- in a sense.

Pebble just announced that the Pebble Steel , in both color variants, will be coming to Best Buy this Sunday, June 15. It'll also be receiving a bit of a price drop: $229, versus the original price of $249. But, that also means you'll just get the leather wristband. The $249 version of Pebble Steel sold elsewhere will have both leather and metal bands.

The original Pebble Watch remains at $149.

As Google I/O approaches, and with it the summer availability of Android Wear watches, reducing the price of the Pebble Steel might be seen as an inevitable defensive move for a watch that debuted in January. It's also a welcome price drop. But, it's really just dropping an extra previously included accessory. Be forewarned: going leather band only makes the Steel less shower-friendly.

The wearable landscape is about to get a lot more competitive, very quickly. But for now, the Pebble Steel is still the best smartwatch to wear, and this is an interesting little price move.

Editors' note, June 12, 2014: Updated to clarify that the Best Buy version only includes a leather wristband)