The Fitbit Ace LTE is a great smartwatch for kids who aren’t quite ready for their first smartphone. It has cute games, a fun little activity tracker, location tracking, and it lets kids call or text with preselected contacts. There’s no app store, no internet access, no smartphone connection, and no way for them to get spam calls or texts. It’s down to $170.95 from $229.99 on Amazon in both spicy (green and gray, with a purple and green band) and mild (gray, with a gray and black band) during the current arbitrary shopping event. My daughter has been using one since this summer, and we both recommend it.
The Ace LTE is a cross-platform standalone watch; parents or guardians set it up using the Fitbit Ace app on Android or iOS. That app is also where you choose who your child can call or text (those people also need the Ace app), set school hours (no games or incoming phone calls), and check on location (though location sharing also shows up in the Google Maps app, which is nice). Calling, texting, and location sharing require the Ace Pass, which is $9.99 per month and enables LTE access. There’s no carrier integration required.
The watch also has interchangeable bands, at $40 a pop, that unlock new games and activities when connected. It’s a shameless attempt to engage the gotta-catch-em-all mode — or at least encourage watchband swapping at recess — and it’ll probably work.
The Verge’s Vee Song did a hands-on with the Ace LTE earlier this year, and my family has been testing one since June. My favorite thing about it is that it lets my nine-year-old text me, which I really appreciated during the summer when she was at day camp. She was able to tell me her brother needed dry shoes, for example, or that the toys at the toy museum they visited looked creepy and that the place smelled weird. It opened up a whole new way of communicating compared to the preset text replies and 20-second audio clips she had to work with on the Garmin Bounce.
The Ace LTE is best suited for kids between maybe 7 and 11 years old, by which age they’ll probably start to chafe at its limitations compared to an Apple Watch or an actual phone. But for now, I’m cherishing those limitations. Look for my full review soon.