The best smartwatch for kids I’ve tried is not an Apple Watch or a Garmin

ZDNET’s key findings

• He Fitbit Ace LTE is a smartwatch and fitness tracker for kids with a dedicated data plan. It costs $230 and the Ace Pass LTE data plan costs $10 a month or $120 a year.
• Fitbit Ace has a comprehensive, kid-friendly platform. Plus, the monthly fee is affordable, especially with a 50% discount on the annual plan through August.
• However, the watch does not include sleep tracking information or support for receiving pictures or voice messages. Parents also do not receive a phone number with the data plan.

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Google recently launched the new Fitbit Ace LTEa smartwatch for kids that gamifies physical activity to encourage movement in exchange for on-device playtime. Best of all, Google doesn’t skimp on features; it’s a good smartwatch on its own, so you can presumably trust that it will get better with time, as evidenced by upcoming updates.

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The new Fitbit Ace LTE features a large 41mm by 45mm display with Gorilla Glass, which seems huge for a kids’ smartwatch, but is actually the perfect size. All of the games are designed to be played on the watch itself, so the extra screen space is appreciated as soon as you’re interacting with it.

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For comparison, I have been testing the Xplora XGO3 For over a year now. It’s a $130 kids’ smartwatch that also requires a monthly data subscription and turns fitness activity into a game. However, the Xplora XGO3 gives kids virtual coins in exchange for steps they take, which they can redeem for games on a phone or tablet. While it’s also very limited in what kids can type (there’s no keyboard in the messaging app), it has fewer features than the Fitbit Ace LTE.

Fitbit Ace App for Adults

The Fitbit Ace LTE looks more like a smartwatch for adults than kids, but it doesn’t include a phone number with Ace Pass. Instead, the watch requires parents to use the Fitbit Ace app on their iOS either Android smartphone, giving them full access to their child’s smartwatch settings, location, data plan, messaging, calling, and more.

The Fitbit Ace app lets parents see their child’s recent activity broken down into “light” and “active” categories and the steps they’ve taken. There’s no way to track sleep, which is one feature I’d like to see. The app also doesn’t show heart rate data, though it does monitor it to track movement and distinguish between light and active exercise. I’m not bothered by the lack of daytime heart rate data, as it varies by age, which could lead to false alerts, but I’d like to see it incorporated with sleep tracking.

Kids can’t text anyone because the watch doesn’t have a phone number associated with the data plan. Only approved users ages 13 and older with the Fitbit Ace app can text the child wearing the Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatch. Parents can also add emergency contacts who can be reached when the watch is set to school mode, a way to avoid distractions during a predetermined schedule.

The watch allows kids to call and send text and voice messages, but parents can’t send voice messages, which is a minor inconvenience that I’d love to see fixed. Messages also don’t support stickers or photos, so you can’t send your child a cute photo of their pet or a funny sticker. While kids and approved contacts can send emojis, they look tiny in the mobile app and on the watch.

Google also plans to add Google Wallet to the Fitbit Ace LTE, which allows kids to use the watch at the checkout with the tap-to-pay feature. I can already imagine my daughter asking me to keep her birthday gift card money in her wallet so she can pay for herself in stores.

How to use Fitbit Ace LTE

This smartwatch has so many features that I decided to break down the most important ones based on my son’s experience using each one:

‘Noodles’ or activity rings

Fitbit Ace LTE features a pedometer and heart rate sensor to track steps taken, light physical activity, and active exercise. Kids wearing the smartwatch start each day with a movement goal displayed on the Noodle-shaped screen, similar to the activity rings on the Apple Watch or the Wear OS activity tracker.

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Like most of the Fitbit Ace LTE features, Noodles are customizable. Kids can choose their favorite Noodle and watch an animation as it transforms into an upgraded version after completing their daily movement goal. For example, it can be a cartoon snake that approaches a bug as the day progresses. When the movement goal is met, the snake eats the bug and changes color as it “dies,” seemingly poisoned.

Fitbit Arcade Games

Games on the Fitbit Ace LTE are unlocked as the child wearing it reaches their exercise goals, and new features become available as the child moves more. The watch includes games that are played through physical activity, such as fishing and golf, which require arm movements. My daughter especially loved the Smokey Lake fishing game, which has new locations where she can try to catch different fish. However, these locations are X amount of steps away and can only be unlocked if she completes the set amount of steps.

Fitbit Ace LTE only works with Fitbit Ace Pass, so you can’t skip the subscription to use the smartwatch. Paid monthly or annually, Fitbit Ace Pass gives the wearable access to calls, messages, GPS location, and games. The games are part of Fitbit Arcade, accessible only with the data plan and updated almost daily. These games have no in-game purchases or download required; they are only available when your child is engaged in physical activity.

There are currently six games in Fitbit Arcade, with more coming soon.

‘Eejies’ or avatars

Each watch has an Eejie, an avatar that kids can customize and create content around by achieving movement goals. Eejies live in a house in Bit Valley that kids can decorate and unlock rooms as they progress through the different levels. Think of an Eejie as a modern Tamagotchi (without hatching or dying).

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If parents allow it in the Fitbit Ace app, kids can add each other as friends in Bit Valley when two or more Fitbit Ace LTE users are nearby, including siblings. Your Eejies can interact in Bit Valley, but they can’t message or call each other.

Interchangeable bracelets

Google sells different bands in polyester thread and sporty finishes. But unlike other smartwatches, each band unlocks a new Noodle, upgrades your Eejie’s house, and has new decor and outfits for your Eejie. Each band has a theme, such as Strange Arcade, Moovin, Spooky Pugs, Glitterbomb Skate, Camp Nightmare, and Courtside. The different bands only add to the watch experience, so kids don’t lose their Eejie or any progress they made before switching bands.

ZDNET’s buying advice

I’m not ready to buy my second grader a phone. I just know she’ll forget it somewhere, or one of us will forget to charge it, rendering it useless. Fitbit Ace LTE It is the perfect device to give kids control over their day, connect them with approved contacts, and track their location when needed.

This summer, the smartwatch gave me helpful insights into my daughter’s activity level. When she went to day camp, her daily physical activity doubled and sometimes tripled that of the days she stayed home. As a mom, this motivated me to get everyone moving more during the summer, when it’s easy to fall into a screen-and-snack routine.

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After testing it for a few weeks, I found the Fitbit Ace LTE to be the only kids smartwatch I would wholeheartedly recommend to parents with kids between the ages of 6 and 14 who can read and navigate a touchscreen. It’s a simple platform, future-proofed by Google in a way that justifies its price and gets kids moving.

The Fitbit Ace LTE has a few areas it could improve, but these can be remedied with future software updates and ultimately the pros outweigh the cons.