Google/Fitbit has just announced the new Fitbit Ace LTE kids activity tracker. This new model takes their existing inexpensive $79 Fitbit Ace 3 activity tracker, up to a full-blown smartwatch level device, based entirely on the Google Pixel Watch 2. Aside from the name, this thing is entirely different – both far more advanced and also far more capable. But of course, with increased demands comes decreased battery life – dropping down to less than a day from what was 8 days. Still, how and what Google/Fitbit is aiming for here is definitely interesting, and worth touching on. As you’ll see, the goal isn’t screen time – but actually the opposite.
Of course, Fitbit isn’t the only player in the market. At the name-brand level, they’ve got Garmin with their Garmin Bounce LTE tracker, and then arguably more importantly, they’ve got a gazillion other no-name kids activity trackers out there. These are often from telecom companies, or generic brands focused more on being a kid location tracker, than an activity tracker. Still, they are the primary competition of both companies.
In my case, I do have a unit for test, but it’s waiting for me in America when I get there next week. Unfortunately, the Fitbit Ace LTE is only available in the US, and won’t initially activate in Europe (hence, my review-starting issue). Thus, my full in-depth review will come down the road, once it’s both (my) kids-tested and LTE-tested. As a parent of three young daughters who has subjected them to testing other kid activity trackers for reviews, I’m interested in their feedback.
Until then, I had an interesting chat with the folks behind it, including lots of geeky technical details I thought were interesting.
Screen First but Not Screen Time:
Fitbit’s product manager said they wanted this to be the “Tesla of kids smartwatches”, including both the looks but also that it’ll get “new and exciting features over time”. So, let’s dive into that a bit.
As one can see from the imagery, this is no longer a cheap $79 Fitbit revamped for kids. Instead, this new unit costs $229 plus a seemingly steep $10/month (or $120/year) subscription fee. But more than that, it’s also got a comparatively big screen on it, rather than the small LCD found on the previous Fitbit Ace trackers. That screen is actually a Google Pixel 2 screen, as the entire internals are also a Google Pixel 2 watch.
But Google/Fitbit says that the user interface that you or your kid uses is anything but Google’s Wear OS. Instead, it’s a fully custom experience from the ground up, specifically noting that it’s “Not an adult product that’s been locked down for children”, but rather, built entirely from scratch for kids.
When the product manager responsible for the Fitbit Ace LTE started explaining the concept, they said it was a device focused on kids and gaming, my stomach turned. After all – isn’t the entire point of an activity tracker to get kids *OFF* screens? But, as they continued through explaining the device, it became clear that the screen was the carrot – and in order to actually use said screen, you got suckered into doing activity.
The Fitbit Ace LTE has essentially the following core features:
– Daily activity tracking with just four metrics: Light Activity, Moderate/Vigorous Activity, Steps, and Floors
– LTE connectivity, including indoor location with Google Maps support
– GPS internally for tracking location in conjunction with LTE
– An ‘arcade’ of fitness-first games that release quarterly with new games
– Targeted at ages 7 to 11 years old, but
– Voice calling (including the ability to pair to headphones)
– Text messaging
– Ability to setup designed family/friends for contacts
– Ability for kids to setup/pair to kid-aged friends within the games (have to be in-person to pair)
When asked about whether it would support music onboard, they chuckled a bit, and said it’s not “currently” a feature, but that they “have an exciting roadmap of things to come” and that it’s an “exciting idea”.
Notably on the above list, they aren’t showing heart rate or calories. This is roughly inline with what other companies have done from a heart rate standpoint, in that kids heart rates are a bit crazy compared to adults and tracking them doesn’t tend to have a ton of value. Instead, movement tends to be more valuable. Likewise, they didn’t want to show calories, as they don’t want kids pigeon-holed down the calorie counting game at this age.
Now, the main driving feature of this watch is the gamification of everything. Fitbit/Google was very clear this is a gaming-forward device, but at the same time, also clear that it was gate-kept by having to do activity to get points. Specifically, they wanted to encourage “interval-based gaming”. To that end, the unit has an arcade with 6 games built-in. The company says each quarter they’l release new games, which they also said is included in your subscription cost. You can see one game below, Smokey Lake:
In this game, the child must use physical movements akin to casting a line for fishing. But the concept is similar in other games. In order to get another ‘move’ or unlock another aspect of the game, the child is told to go off and do something. That could be doing 5 minutes of jumping jacks, complete 3,000 steps, and so on. Thus, the maximum time period the child can play otherwise is only 2-3 minute before they’re told to go do more activity for a while.
They noted they also have meditation games too, so it’s not necessarily all about tiring the kids out. Still, as Google noted, “the only currency in this game is activity and movement”. Also, while we’re at currency, Fitbit/Google stated numerous times that the unit will have “No ads full stop, not now, not ever.”
Likewise, from a privacy standpoint, Fitbit noted that Google isn’t leveraging any data from the device for advertising either. Further, Google purges all location data within 24hrs from their system, as well as all activity tracking data after 35 days from Google’ systems (thus, apparently historical step tracking isn’t possible beyond that).
In any case, the next kid-focused feature is Eejie , which are simply pronounced “e-gee”, because apparently Google wanted to make the most impossibly Googleable and spellable thing ever. These are roughly akin to Tamagotch that you remember from your own childhood. You can ‘purchase’ things for it, via movement and activity. This includes building out rooms, clothes for it, and so on.
Within this, there’s the ability for kids to have friends digitally in the app, but they can only be done in-person. Meaning, two kids have to physically pair their devices together in-person, with parental approval, in order to become friends. As a parent, I appreciate this.
All of the parent features are tracked in a dedicate app, including the location of the child. Notably, though, there isn’t any sort of geofencing option to automatically get alerts when a child leaves a certain zone. I find this arguably one of the most useful features of the Garmin Bounce LTE tracker that we mostly use, as I get alerts when the kids leave school, arrive at after-school care, get home, etc…
Kids can communicate via live calling (via LTE or WiFi), as well as text messages and voice messages. On the parent side, this is exclusively done within the dedicated Fitbit Ace app on iOS and Android. Meaning, kids can’t send or receive text messages to regular phone numbers, only within the app. Parents can add trusted contacts to the app for communications, but those trusted contacts can’t see the location of the child.
When it comes to school time, the watch is locked down to disabling games and notifications, but they can call/messages if they need to. Further, activity built-up during school time will be counted forward for accessing the games after school.
Interestingly, when it comes to goals, the device does have an activity goal concept, however, streaks can continue if a child is sick and misses a day. How much and what counts towards a streak is a bit fuzzy at the moment, but Google said they didn’t want to discourage kids for having a broken streak simply because they got sick.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the unit does not “currently” do sleep tracking. I note the “currently” side of things because they said the word and noted that “it is a feature we’re considering offering in the future”. Still, at the present the Fitbit Ace LTE actually rewards you for *not* sleeping with it. Specifically, Fitbit noted they don’t really want kids distracted by the screens, and actually reward kids for putting it on the charger at night (in terms of in-watch rewards). I appreciate this, as this is one area we initially struggled with our kids and the Garmin Bounce tracker, because you can’t set a different night-time lock (different than the school-time lock). Eventually, our kids shifted to just taking it off and charging at night, so as not to have bedtime distractions.
Prices, Specs and More:
Let’s just go through a quick-hit list of price stuff, not price stuff, and anything else I couldn’t fit into the above.
– Price is $229, in two colors: Mild & Spicy. Spicy is the brighter one.
– Subscription cost is $9.99/month (or $120/year), inclusive of the LTE cost
– Annual subscribers get a free extra band ($34.99 normally)
– Early adopters get the annual subscription cost for $60 instead of $120, if before August 31st, 2024
– Device is based on the Pixel Watch 2 internally, including WiFi/GPS
– Google Wallet payments coming (NFC payments), but not at launch, in a future software update
– Device will have a “3 year+ support program” on planned software, with updates every 3 months for new games
– Battery life is 16hrs on a single charge
– Charging time 30 minutes for 11-hours of usage (60%), or 100% in 70 minutes
– Specifically designed and tested to go through the washing machine
– LTE only in the US, can use WiFi elsewhere
– WiFi Built-in (802.11 b/g/n WiFi 2.4Ghz)
– Requires Android 11 or iOS 15
– Display is Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Color OLED with 333ppi
– Water resistant to 50m/5ATM
– Built-in Microphone & Speaker
– Includes Accelerometer, Optical HR sensor, Altimeter, Magnetometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope
The bands are interesting in that they unlock additional features within the games, and additional characters. While the bands do cost money, kids can swap bands (even for a few seconds) to unlock those features on their watches. Meaning if your kids friend has a different band, they can briefly connect the bands to each others devices, and then they’ll permanently get access to the characters of that particular bands. The bands are $34.99.
From an availability standpoint, the units are on pre-order via Amazon and Google Store until June 5th. However, if you live near a physical Google Store, they will have some on-hand from today for immediate purchase.
As noted, I’ll start diving into the testing of this next week when I travel to the US for a whirlwind slate of meetings. After that, I’ll let me kids dive into what they think (as well as whether or not I think the benefits of the activity-driven arcade outweigh any added screen time).
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the full in-depth review!
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