Fitbit Google Ace LTE - Kids Smartwatch with Call, Message, GPS, and Activity-Based Games, Ace Pass Data Plan Required - Spicy - Moovin

This watch is just what I’ve been looking for for my two kids who are eager for more independence but in my opinion too young for a smart phone.The kids previously had Fitbit Ace fitness trackers, which they wore daily and enjoyed checking their step and exercise count on, so they were already used to having a watch on daily and are extremely pleased with the Fitbit LTE as a major upgrade.CALLS & MESSAGING:Main functionality we as parents were looking for. I love that they don’t have to carry around a phone (that inevitably would be dropped / lost) and the call functionality works really well (can even leave voice messages). Messaging works great too. Kids say that it’s a bit tricky to type on the tiny watch face keyword (understandable!) but the watch provides suggested replies that often works really well and can just be tapped on to reply back. You can add emojis to messages which of course is being used frequently.We look forward to having more friends using the watch so that the kids can text with them (this functionality can be turned on / off as far as I understand).LOCATION TRACKING:Love this functionality as we give the kids more freedom to roam the neighborhood and expand their range to be independent. Great to check that they arrived to school in the morning as they walk there on their own.I love that I can check their location to see if they are on their way home when they say they are, versus calling/messaging them as I think this allows them to feel much greater independence (without mom having to worry about them being a few minutes late…).DESIGN:Great size watch face for little wrists. Cute comfortable bands. We have tried both the fabric and the silicone type bands. The kids slightly prefer the fabric ones, but are good with either type. It’s nice to have the silicone one for sweaty exercises in my opinion. We wish there were even more designs to choose from. It’s really fun for the kids that adding new bands unlocks new things on the watch.SET UP & APP:Set up was very easy, we didn’t experience any issues and the set up flow was easy to follow. The App interface is simple and easy to navigate. I can see both kids profiles on one page and select which one to call/text/locate from the same page. I can track their movement, including steps and exercise.GAMES / incentives to exercise:The games can be used for short times before the kid is asked to complete a movement task to unlock more ‘screen time’. Great functionality!Son, 10 years old:The games kept his full attention for some time, and now he uses them once in a while. That being said, he’s an active kid already and moves plenty without the game incentives (i.e. they aren’t providing much additional motivation for him and that’s OK). I think the games are adorable so he might just be a tad old for them.Daughter, 9 years old:Absolutely loves the games and moves all the time to unlock additional game time etc. She loves the cute interface, the rooms and the avatars. The functionality of unlocking extra stuff for the games / avatars is really engaging to her.COST:Main con for me is the cost of the watch, but compared to getting them an Apple Watch or a smart phone with a data plan, I think this is a much better option/value for kids/tweens.BONUS:Option to add schedules when certain functions are turned off, for example games or calling during school time (you select the hours yourself). Lots of settings are customizable, which is great.Love the plastic free packaging!!! That’s how all electronics should be packaged.

Bought two of these to replace Garmin Bounces for my twin 7 year olds. Reason being, the Bounces would say they were at the neighbors across the street (a retired lady w/no kids) when they were asleep in bed... Then, it would say they read the text message I sent them, but they weren't wearing their watch. So, too unreliable to continue use. Already VERY impressed with these. The watch bands are very, very nice. And they were SUPER easy to install, and WAY, WAY easier to take off and replace than the Bounces. The screens are infinitely more responsive, the games are better, the app is great and when I did the location feature, it got our address numbers (where she currently was) perfectly. All in all, an excellent start. I'm very hopeful this will be the answer for us. Downside, it has to be charged every day - but, they came with 30% battery and so we're charging them now and it's going very fast. The additional feature of being able to call me (which the Bounces couldn't do) is worth having to charge them more.

We were excited to get this for our soon to be 10 year old daughter. She was excited as well when she opened the box and saw it. The hardware is great, the watch software is great, the user interface is great. The setup was super easy on my Samsung phone. I was immediately able to call and text her, as she was able to call and text me. We set up my wife's phone, but we had to tweak her Pixel's permission settings, which was fine since we know how to do that. Sadly, that is where the good ends. Here are the problems, from minor annoyance to outright design failures, which are quite surprising since I expected more from such a major tech company.1) The grandparents got stuck with the app setup on their phone, as they don't know how to go into settings to allow the proper permissions. They were able to call my Daughter, but she was not able to call them, which is very disappointing as we listed them as emergency contacts. We can fix it, but it shouldn't be difficult.2) I have a Galaxy Watch 7. If my daughter called me, I would not get a notification on my watch. If she texted me, I would get a notification but could not answer. I use my watch so I don't always need to have my phone with me. However, in order to ensure my daughter can always reach me, I need to have my phone near by at all times. Ridiculous that there is no support for Android Watches to receive or make calls to the Ace LTE.3) Android Auto support is even worse. While driving, a call or text from my daughter was not sent to Android Auto. Therefore, if my daughter calls while I am driving, I will not know until I check my phone. Again, unbelievable that Fitbit/Google did not anticipate that parents would want to get notifications or calls on their Android Auto screens.4) My wife's car doesn't have Android Auto, so she connects through Bluetooth. However, her Bluetooth connection would not recognize an incoming call either.5) We paid for the 50% full year subscription in advance. Be aware that if you purchase a full year upfront, and you find you don't like the Ace LTE experience, you will not be refunded the cost of the subscription.It is truly surprising that this product would be released with all of these connectivity limitations by Google. There are at least 6 other similar products available. While the Ace LTE may have better quality hardware, it seems like the other options have a much better thought out infrastructure plan for their products. The other companies seem to understand their customer needs. Surprising, Google was clueless with their approach for a kid's LTE watch.