From the second my son discovered his new smartwatch had the Dinosaur Recreation — sure, the one from Chrome that everybody loves — he was hooked. Whereas the T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch is not designed to play video games all day, there is not any denying how the suitable function can get you to right away love a product from the second you first attempt it.
Fortunately, the remainder of the expertise on the T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch lived as much as the preliminary impressions. The whole lot from the highly effective parental monitoring app to the straightforward watch UI works nicely — though I would argue that the cellphone app might be barely extra intuitive — and it sits nicely atop the checklist of finest youngsters smartwatches.
If the watch has one explicit adverse, it is that it solely works on T-Cellular’s community. No Wi-Fi help means you will at all times have to maintain a line in your plan only for the watch.
We have seen some buyer opinions point out that the watch does not maintain up over time, however that wasn’t an issue for the boys who examined it for Android Central. Should you’re involved about sturdiness, Amazon sells a number of totally different sorts of protectors to maintain it wanting new. To date, although, the preinstalled display protector has been all we wanted.
Chris Wedel initially reviewed the look ahead to Android Central again in 2021, so I am taking one other take a look at it in 2024 after T-Cellular has made some notable updates and adjustments over time.
T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch: Value and availability
The T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch is offered solely by means of T-Cellular. T-Cellular presents the watch without cost once you add a brand new watch line to your account. In any other case, the watch is $174 at full worth. A watch line on T-Cellular sometimes prices $10 per thirty days.
The watch solely is available in one coloration, black, but it surely ships with two watch bands within the field, so you’ll be able to change the colours up a bit. The included material band is black with teal edges, whereas the clasping silicone band is all black.
You may additionally discover a charger and pamphlets contained in the field. A movie display protector is preinstalled on the watch and may also help maintain the show from getting scratched for some time. Should you’re involved about sturdiness, you’ll be able to seize a pack of display protectors from Amazon.
T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch: What’s good
Since our authentic evaluate was revealed in 2021, T-Cellular has up to date the watch with some crucial function updates. Chief amongst these is the addition of video calling and scheduled faculty mode, each of which have been complaints in our authentic evaluate.
When enabled, faculty mode disables video games, the digicam, sounds, the alarm clock, and process reminders. It may be arrange on a easy schedule or manually enabled. I discovered this invaluable, as my son would inevitably get distracted and start taking part in the aforementioned dinosaur sport whereas he was at college, inflicting some apparent issues among the many different college students.
The watch’s new video calling function was fairly good in my testing, though video availability is determined by sign energy. Fortunately, the video body fee will probably be slowed all the way down to accommodate sign energy and can mechanically be turned off in areas with poor sign. It really works precisely as you’d anticipate and could be activated from the watch or from the dad and mom’ app.
Speaking with my son by way of video or voice calls is useless easy. Calls could be initiated from the watch or the SyncUP cellphone app. Audio calls and textual content messages use service voice and SMS messaging providers, whereas video calling is dealt with by means of the SyncUP app in your cellphone. Youngsters can solely name or message whoever you have placed on their contact checklist
Whereas T-Cellular hasn’t improved the keyboard from the watch’s preliminary launch, my son preferrs utilizing the built-in voice messaging function anyway. He is accustomed to the sort of performance from utilizing the Garmin Bounce, however he can at all times use any of the out there emojis, premade messages, and even take an image if he wants to inform me one thing a unique manner.
Setup was useless easy, and calls and messaging could not be simpler to make use of.
The watch’s type issue is much like that of many different youngsters’ watches, with its thick, sq. design. It is made completely of plastic—together with the show—so it’ll survive a fall from most heights, even straight onto concrete. The draw back to a plastic show is that it scratches simply, so be sure you have a display protector on it to maintain it from getting completely scuffed up.
Navigation is dealt with completely by way of the contact display, however the aspect button can be utilized at any time to navigate again to the watch face. A satisfying zipping sound emits from the onboard speaker as you navigate, making navigation really feel oddly tactile, contemplating there is not any bodily rotating crown. If the speaker will get tinny from getting moist, there is a built-in water ejection operate that is notably useful since this watch is totally IP68 water and dust-resistant.
The watch ships with a cushty material wrist strap that’s preinstalled and makes use of a easy Velcro-like fastening methodology. My son most well-liked this band over the rubberized one included within the field. Our earlier reviewer’s son most well-liked the opposite one however any commonplace 20mm watch band will work with the watch, that manner you are not confined to simply these two bands.
| Specs | T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 1.65 x 1.85 x .57 inches |
| Weight | 1.26 oz |
| Battery | 510mAh |
| Show | 1.4-inch |
| Colours | Chalk |
| Band choices | Normal 20mm bands |
| Reminiscence | 1GB |
| Processor | Qualcomm SDW2500 |
| Water and Mud resistance | IP68 |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE |
| Location | GPS 4G LTE |
Digital boundaries and video calls made me really feel protected whereas my son was out and about.
The charger that ships with the T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch is impressively well-built and designed. It makes use of a USB-C plug to hook up with your favourite USB-C charger, and POGO pins join strongly to the watch itself. Not like another smartwatches, I by no means ran right into a state of affairs the place the watch did not cost once I put it on the charger.
On common, I discovered the watch boasted a 2-day battery life underneath regular use. That included just a few gaming and messaging classes all through the day, however gaming or utilizing the built-in real-time monitoring function will drain your battery fairly rapidly.
Fortunately, the watch has a built-in security mechanism that shuts off gaming and different battery-draining options as soon as it will get beneath 20%.
Throughout the companion app, you’ll be able to take a look at your kid’s exercise and see their step rely for the day or view their historical past. It’s also possible to arrange a step aim to your little one to encourage them to maintain going. My son enjoys this half because it helps him really feel like he reached an essential aim day-after-day.
From the SyncUP KIDS app, dad and mom can create alarms and duties. This helps maintain my son on process with homework and chores and reminds him when it’s time to prepare for mattress. Whereas there is not a factors reward system just like the Gabb Watch or Garmin Bounce have, you’ll be able to embrace a reward message that is mechanically despatched after they full a process.
The login for the app is similar as you’d have to your T-Cellular account, and you’ll allow biometrics in case you choose a faster app sign-in.
The app does a great job of creating the method of including the watch simple. After including in your kid’s information, you’ll be able to enter the contacts you approve of your little one speaking with. Setting my spouse up as one other parental person on the watch was as simple as placing her cellphone quantity within the invite part and having her undergo the sign-up course of.
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I am glad to see that the T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch helps geofencing in what is named Digital Boundaries.
The app will notify you as soon as the watch enters the designated space. Chris Wedel used this usually for his son throughout faculty days, letting him know when his son arrived and left faculty. This function may also help ease a guardian’s thoughts as their little one begins to have increasingly more experiences away from house. An emergency contact button and 911 dialing are additionally out there as added security choices.
Except for the automated location alerts that may be arrange, dad and mom may manually find their little one utilizing the app and even activate reside monitoring. This may ping the watch each 10 seconds for a most of quarter-hour. Nevertheless, remember that utilizing this function will rapidly deplete the watch’s battery life.
My son beloved the included dino sport and step monitoring however hoped for some extra out there apps.
The digicam may take foolish photos that your little one can retailer on the watch and later ship as messages. The standard is sweet sufficient for a watch and customarily seems to be nice on the watch face. It is good having the ability to obtain photos like this, because it makes spontaneous moments enjoyable.
The app state of affairs can also be fairly barebones, however that is not dangerous if the aim is to scale back distractions. The apps are restricted to step monitoring, the digicam, a media folder, communications, timers, a calculator, and some video games. The video games out there are few and easy: Tic Tac Toe, Puzzle, Voice Changer, and Dino Run.
T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch: What wants work
Although the watch does a great job of managing battery in poor mobile protection areas, it might be useful if it had the choice of Wi-Fi calling or messaging. The T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch lacks any connectivity possibility apart from the 4G LTE.
The machine makes use of the mobile community to handle calls and texts as they arrive by means of regular SMS, and when the community connection is poor, it is going to clearly battle.
Supporting Wi-Fi wouldn’t solely assist on this regard but in addition lengthen the lifetime of the watch itself. Having poor community protection means the watch will consistently waste battery trying to find an LTE sign, and it additionally means you’ll be able to’t use the watch’s important communication options until you are in vary of a T-Cellular tower.
The community availability may additionally deter potential customers from this smartwatch. Despite the fact that T-Cellular has considerably expanded its community, that largely applies to 5G alerts which this watch does not help.
Having no Wi-Fi help means the watch may undergo from poor indoor community protection.
Whereas I do not essentially want it, some prospects have requested about the potential of getting widespread messaging apps like Fb Messenger or WhatsApp on the watch. Watches just like the Angel Watch help WhatsApp, which is extra extensively used worldwide for communication. This is not as essential for a U.S.-only watch, however it might nonetheless be good to have some extra choices.
I additionally discover the app UI to be slightly complicated, partly as a result of it is pretty sluggish to load. It’s a must to discover the watch within the checklist of members of the family on the app house display to open watch choices. Tapping the watch thumbnail on the principle map display does nothing, which was very unusual to me. As soon as I found out find out how to discover the watch, issues have been OK, however this step was needlessly complicated.
Lastly, I would like to see extra well being sensors on a future model of the watch. Step counting is good, however most grownup smartwatches help issues like coronary heart fee monitoring, stress monitoring, and extra. It might be good to have this on a youngsters watch just like the Angel Watch Sequence R has.
T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch: Competitors
If the watch options or community capabilities are causes to provide you pause when contemplating the T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch, don’t be concerned. The choices for linked youngsters’ smartwatches are plentiful. My son’s favourite smartwatch can also be our prime decide: the Garmin Bounce. Whereas it does not have the dino sport or a digicam, it is acquired even higher battery life than the SyncUP, a factors reward system, and Wi-Fi help.
Should you’re searching for a watch with even higher cameras, the TickTalk 4 has two cameras so your little one take much more photographs. It additionally helps video calling. Whereas there are not any video games on this watch, it does have free iHeartRadio Household music. This, together with many different options, could be restricted or turned off inside the TickTalk companion app. The draw back is that it is lacking geofencing help.
Our different alternative is the Angel Watch Sequence R. Whereas the app is clunkier than what’s provided by the T-Cellular SyncUP, the Angel Watch helps WhatsApp for richer communication. As well as, a sequence of well being sensors make it attainable to watch coronary heart fee and different well being knowledge all through the day, making it one of many solely youngsters’ watches with extra superior well being options.
T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch: Must you purchase it?
You should purchase this if …
- You desire a watch with nice communication choices.
- You desire a watch with good security options.
- You’re a T-Cellular buyer.
You should not purchase this if …
- You reside in an space with poor T-Cellular protection.
- You desire a watch with well being sensors.
- You desire a watch that helps Third-party apps.
The T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch could be my decide for the very best youngsters smartwatch if it have been provided outdoors of the confines of T-Cellular’s community. Whilst you’re not more likely to discover too many locations with poor T-Cellular community protection today, being restricted to a single LTE community is surprisingly confining, particularly when there is not any Wi-Fi help to assist with protection in buildings.
However, in case you’re a T-Cellular buyer or trying to be part of T-Cellular’s wonderful community, it is a excellent possibility that’ll solely value you $10/month because the firm provides the watches away without cost with a brand new watch line.
It presents practically each function you may consider or need — aside from a factors reward system for chores and duties — and contains wonderful voice and video calling, plus numerous textual content and voice messaging choices. The setup is tremendous easy, and all the pieces is dealt with by means of your T-Cellular login. All in all, it is a excellent alternative for anybody on T-Cellular, as long as you do not have points with indoor reception.
T-Cellular SyncUP Youngsters Watch
Maintaining together with your youngsters
Supplied solely from T-Cellular, this youngsters’ smartwatch does all the pieces you might want to communicate together with your youngsters and maintain them on-task. Scheduled faculty mode, video calling, and improved messaging are simply a number of the newest enhancements to an already wonderful smartwatch expertise.
