ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Fitbit Ace LTE is a children’ smartwatch and health tracker with a proprietary knowledge plan. It prices $230, and the Ace Go LTE knowledge plan prices $10 a month, or $120 yearly.
- The Fitbit Ace LTE incorporates a wealthy, kid-friendly platform that’s straightforward to navigate. Additionally, the month-to-month charge is cheap, particularly at 50% off for the annual plan by means of August.
- Nevertheless, the watch does not function sleep-tracking insights or assist for receiving photos or voice messages. Mother and father additionally do not get a telephone quantity with the information plan.
Google not too long ago launched the brand new Fitbit Ace LTE, a children’ smartwatch that gamifies bodily exercise to encourage motion in alternate for playtime on the machine. The best factor about it’s that Google does not skimp on the options; it is a good smartwatch by itself, so you may presumably belief it to solely get higher in time, as evidenced by some current updates.
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The brand new Fitbit Ace LTE options a big 41mm by 45mm Gorilla Glass watch face, which appears enormous for a children’ smartwatch nevertheless it proves to be simply the suitable dimension in apply. All of the video games are supposed to be performed on the watch, so the additional display screen actual property is instantly appreciated when children are interacting with it.
For comparability, I have been testing the Xplora XGO3 for over a 12 months. It is a $130 children’ smartwatch that additionally requires a month-to-month knowledge subscription and gamifies bodily exercise. Nevertheless, the Xplora XGO3 provides children digital cash in alternate for steps taken, which they will alternate for video games on a telephone or pill. It is also very restricted in what children can write — there is no keyboard within the messaging app — and it has fewer options than the Fitbit Ace LTE.
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Utilizing the Fitbit Ace LTE
This smartwatch is so feature-rich that I made a decision to interrupt down the largest ones based mostly on my child’s expertise utilizing every one:
‘Noodles’ or exercise rings
This Noodle has a cat with ice cream on its head. As the child will get nearer to closing it, an ice cream cone seems on the decrease proper nook.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
The Fitbit Ace LTE incorporates a pedometer and coronary heart fee sensor to trace steps taken, mild bodily exercise, and lively train. Children carrying the smartwatch begin every day with a Transfer Aim displayed on their display screen as a Noodle, much like an Apple Watch’s Exercise Rings or Put on OS health tracker.
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Like most options on the Fitbit Ace LTE, Noodles are customizable. Children can select their most popular Noodle and see an animation when it transforms to an upgraded model after they full their each day transfer objective. For instance, it may be a cartoon snake getting nearer to a leaf bug because the day progresses. When the Transfer Aim is reached, the snake eats the bug and adjustments shade because it ‘dies,’ seemingly poisoned.
Fitbit Arcade video games
Kaiju Golf has children make golf swing actions.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Video games on the Fitbit Ace LTE are unlocked as the child carrying it reaches train objectives, with new options obtainable as the child strikes extra. The watch options video games performed by means of bodily exercise, like fishing and golf, which require arm actions. My child notably cherished the fishing recreation Smokey Lake, which has new places the place she will be able to strive catching totally different fish. Nevertheless, these places are an X variety of steps away, unlockable provided that she completes the set variety of steps.
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Taking part in Kaiju Golf on the Fitbit Ace LTE children smartwatch.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
The Fitbit Ace LTE solely works with the Fitbit Ace Go, so you may’t bypass the subscription to make use of the smartwatch. The Fitbit Ace Go, paid month-to-month or yearly, provides the wearable entry to calls, messaging, GPS location, and video games. The video games are a part of Fitbit Arcade, accessible solely with the information plan and up to date virtually each day. These video games haven’t got in-game purchases or should be downloaded; they solely turn into obtainable when the kid does bodily exercise.
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Google launched the Fitbit Ace LTE with six video games and promised that new video games would quickly be obtainable within the Fitbit Arcade. Now, Google added two new video games for Fitbit Ace customers, together with Sproutlings and Spirit Backyard.
‘Eejies’ or avatars
Every watch has an Eejie, an avatar that children can customise and preserve completely satisfied by reaching transfer objectives. Eejies reside in a home in Bit Valley that children can enhance, unlocking rooms as they progress to totally different ranges. Consider an Eejie as a modern-day Tamagotchi (with out the hatching or dying).
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If dad and mom enable it on the Fitbit Ace app, children can buddy one another in Bit Valley when two or extra Fitbit Ace LTE customers are close by, together with siblings. Their Eejies can work together in Bit Valley however cannot message or name one another. When added as siblings, children can talk with different Fitbit Ace customers or a sibling with a smartphone.
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Bit Valley has occasional ‘Snowstorms,’ which come up when a child has spent an excessive amount of time within the digital land. These give children an opportunity to do one thing else in addition to adorning their home in Bit Valley, like get shifting.
Interchangeable wristbands
Google sells totally different wristbands in polyester yarn and sports activities finishes. However not like different smartwatches, every band unlocks a brand new Noodle, ranges up their Eejie’s home, and has new decor and outfits for his or her Eejie. The bands every have a theme, just like the Unusual Arcade, Moovin, Spooky Pugs, Glitterbomb Skate, Camp Nightmare, and Courtside. The totally different wristbands solely add to the watch expertise, so children do not lose their Eejie or any progress they made earlier than switching bands.
Fitbit Ace app for grownups
The Fitbit Ace LTE appears extra like a grownup smartwatch than one for teenagers, nevertheless it does not embody a telephone quantity with the Ace Go. As an alternative, the watch requires the dad and mom to make use of the Fitbit Ace app on their iOS or Android smartphone, which provides them full entry to their children’ smartwatch settings, location, knowledge plan, messaging, calling, and extra.
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The Fitbit Ace app lets dad and mom see their children’ current exercise damaged down into “mild” and “lively” classes and steps taken. There is not any solution to monitor sleep, one of many options I would wish to see. The app additionally does not present coronary heart fee knowledge, despite the fact that it displays it to trace motion and discern from mild and lively train. I do not thoughts the shortage of coronary heart fee knowledge throughout the day, because it varies by age, which might result in false alerts, however I would wish to see it integrated with sleep monitoring.
Children cannot message anybody they need as a result of the watch has no telephone quantity hooked up to the information plan. Solely authorized customers with the Fitbit Ace app can message the child carrying the Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatch. Google simply introduced the flexibility so as to add siblings, whether or not an older sibling with a telephone or a youthful sibling with an Ace LTE smartwatch, and allow communication between them.
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Mother and father also can add emergency contacts that may be reached through telephone when the watch is ready to highschool mode, a solution to keep away from distractions throughout a predetermined time. The app permits breaks at school time to present children entry to the smartwatch’s options throughout lunch or recess.
The watch lets children name and ship textual content and voice messages, however dad and mom cannot ship voice messages, which is a minor inconvenience I would like to see corrected. The messages additionally do not assist stickers or photographs, so you may’t ship your child a cute photograph of their pet or a humorous sticker. Whereas children and authorized contacts can ship emojis, they appear tiny within the cell app and on the watch.
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After saying it as ‘coming quickly’ on the smartwatch launch, Google added Google Wallet with tap-to-pay to the Fitbit Ace LTE. This can work with one debit card from Greenlight or GoHenry and can assist educate children accountable cash expertise. When children make a transaction, dad and mom will obtain an alert on the Fitbit Ace app. I can already think about my daughter asking me to place her birthday present card cash in her pockets so she will be able to take a look at herself at shops.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
I am not able to get my second-grader a telephone. I simply know she’ll neglect it someplace, or one in all us will neglect to cost it, rendering it ineffective. The Fitbit Ace LTE is the proper machine for giving children management over their day, connecting them to authorized contacts, and monitoring their location when wanted.
This summer season, the smartwatch gave me some actionable perception into my child’s exercise degree. When she went to day camp, her each day bodily exercise doubled and generally tripled that of the times she stayed dwelling. As her mother or father, this motivated me to get all of them shifting extra throughout the summer season when it is simple to fall right into a routine of screens and snacks.
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After testing it for a couple of weeks, I discovered that the Fitbit Ace LTE is the one children’ smartwatch I might wholeheartedly suggest to oldsters with children between the ages of 6 and 14 who can learn and navigate a touchscreen. It is a easy platform, futureproofed by Google in a manner that justifies its worth and succeeds in getting children shifting.
The Fitbit Ace LTE does have a couple of areas it might enhance, however they are often remedied with future software program updates, and in the end, the professionals outweigh the cons.
