Pebble counts down to 24 February launch of new smartwatch with colour screen

Smartwatch maker Pebble is counting down to the launch of a new product on 24 February, thought to feature a larger colour screen and thinner body.

The company's website shows a timer counting down to 3pm on 24 February, and invites fans to submit their email address to find out what Pebble has up its sleeve when the countdown reaches zero.

Pebble's next product will be a smartwatch with a wider, brighter, colour screen - although still using e-ink, as before, and not including touch controls - plus a thinner body and the same one-week battery life as the current Pebble and Pebble Steel models.

Speaking to 9to5Mac, multiple industry sources also claim the new smartwatch will include a microphone, paving the way for a new category of third-party apps created by Pebble developers; voice recognition from Nuance is also tipped to be included.

An all-new operating system designed to be "dramatically different" from anything Pebble has done before will debut on the new wearable; features include many new animations and a timeline view to record a chronological list of recent notifications.

The new watch is thought to carry the same price as the $199 (£129) Pebble Steel, but with a stronger focus on sport than luxury, as it will have a predominantly plastic body with aluminium edges, the sources claim.

Looking further ahead than next week's announcement, Pebble has plans to include a heart rate monitor in future models, along with offering "Smart Bands" which will include additional sensors, although neither of these are expected at the 24 February event.

More smartwatches are expected to be announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, and this is where we'll see the LG Watch Urbane in the metal for the first time. In April, Apple will finally enter the market with Watch, a high-end smartwatch with a touchscreen, heart rate monitor, iOS connectivity and a solid gold version expected to cost more than $4,000.