Most public colleges are beginning again up this week, and plenty of dad and mom need to discover a children’ smartwatch that (A) lets them keep up a correspondence, (B) can observe their location in the event that they go away faculty unexpectedly, and (C) prevents having to purchase their child a smartphone for an additional few years.
Many individuals purchase an reasonably priced Apple Watch SE for this objective since they’ll set it up through their very own iPhone, set Schooltime exercise blocks, and create makeshift geofencing with the Discover My app. The issue is that this can be a absolutely practical smartwatch for adults; it’s important to be extra purposeful about setting it up and supervising its use so it isn’t too unrestricted or sophisticated on your child.
Fortunately, we will level you to an alternate that is explicitly designed for youths: the Fitbit Ace LTE. It launched this summer time and instantly turned the favourite of Android Central’s resident Dad-tech professional Nick Sutrich. It is a watch that retains issues easy and pleasurable on your younger’un whereas providing you with peace of thoughts.
Why we suggest this Fitbit watch on your child
The Fitbit Ace LTE is basically a squircle Pixel Watch 2 operating a stripped-down Put on OS interface that (in contrast to the Pixel Watch) can nonetheless join with dad and mom’ iPhones, in addition to Android telephones. It is quick, snug on small children’ wrists, has cute video games that encourage exercise, and retains observe of their location.
As Nick explains in his Fitbit Ace LTE evaluate, most children watches are designed like plastic toys, or one thing you’d see in a 50s sci-fi present. They’re “thick and chonky,” and the unoptimized software program is simply as unpleasant. They fulfill their objective and let children keep in contact, however they are not going to get pleasure from sporting them as soon as the novelty wears off.
However Fitbit has been making slim squircles and coding its common Fitbit OS for over a decade — effectively earlier than Google acquired it — and that experience comes throughout within the Ace LTE. Whereas it comes with a thick bumper case in case your child will get too tough with their toys, it is “so darn smooth trying” by itself, so children will really feel like they’re sporting an “grownup” smartwatch.
Underneath the floor, the Ace LTE software program is tailored for youths to hit their 60 minutes of exercise a day; ending quests like step objectives or simply transferring round as a substitute of sitting will internet them “motion factors” that they’ll money in to play video games. Nick’s child loves the house technique sport that has him level his wrist to fireside assaults at ships, however he is aware of he cannot begin the subsequent stage until he will get lively first.
You can too use these factors in your Eejie, which Nick calls “a form of Tamagotchi-meets-Animal Crossing-type digital pet.” Gaining factors helps you to customise your Eejie in enjoyable methods so children have a visible incentive to remain match.
In contrast to extra adult-focused health watches that observe sophisticated metrics, the Fitbit Ace LTE retains issues easy: steps, flooring, gentle exercise, and moderate-to-vigorous exercise. It does not have instruments like sleep monitoring or guide exercises that another Fitbit can handle, which looks like an intentional choice to keep away from overcomplicating issues, distracting children with a display at evening, or stressing dad and mom out about children’ sleep habits.
In an identical vein, the Fitbit Ace LTE intentionally limits the quantity of display time children can get, with 5 minutes or so of earned gaming time after 20+ minutes of exercise. My colleague argued that oldsters must be allowed to tweak this ratio to make the display incentive a bit extra enjoyable, however no less than you will not have to fret in regards to the Ace turning into a time-suck distraction on your child.
Actually, all of that is simply window dressing, meant to make your child be ok with staying lively at a younger age as a substitute of sitting round watching YouTube. The primary motive to purchase any children smartwatch is to present them a method to name or textual content you (and different members of the family) with out giving them a telephone.
In contrast to with a smartphone, you needn’t fear about your child getting messaged by strangers. The Fitbit Ace LTE calls devoted contacts arrange through the Android/iOS Fitbit Ace app; if you need your child to have the ability to name or message, say, a grandparent or sibling, they’re going to additionally want a smartphone with the Fitbit Ace app and a Google account, which is simply a draw back if your loved ones members aren’t tech-savvy.
You may want the Fitbit Ace Go subscription for LTE calling; it may nonetheless name over wi-fi, however you will need mobile connectivity for issues like broadcasting your child’s real-time location via the Fitbit Ace app. It is a reduction for folks to have the ability to examine, although sadly, Fitbit hasn’t carried out a geofencing software that auto-notifies you if the child leaves a chosen space, like the college grounds.
Geofencing is the one characteristic discovered on different children watches just like the T-Cell SyncUp or Garmin Bounce that we want the Fitbit Ace LTE provided, too. However hopefully, you will be happy with the flexibility to examine your child’s location at any time, reminiscent of should you lose observe of them in a retailer or on the park.
Final 12 months, we really useful the Garmin Bounce because the back-to-school watch to beat, and it is nonetheless an awesome possibility. It is cheaper (with the identical month-to-month price for LTE calling), higher for battery life, and fitness-focused. However should you can afford the Fitbit Ace LTE, it is arguably higher for each {hardware} and software program.
Google is constant to replace the Ace LTE, including an NFC tap-to-pay characteristic — with approval from dad and mom, in fact — new video games, and a promised characteristic to let children message different children with Ace LTE watches later this 12 months. This provides us hope that it could obtain updates like geofencing down the road; even with out it, this can be a nice children watch that ought to final you thru a number of faculty years.
Maintain your child secure, wholesome, and glad.
Steady step and exercise monitoring will guarantee your child is staying wholesome and reward them with interactive video games and digital pet perks. Past that, you will get wi-fi or LTE calling, messaging, and placement monitoring, all packed into a trendy watch with {hardware} that is constructed to final.