The best smartwatch for kids that I've tested is not an Apple Watch or Garmin

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Fitbit Ace LTE is a kids’ smartwatch and fitness tracker with a proprietary data plan. It costs $230, and the Ace Pass LTE data plan costs $10 a month, or $120 annually.
• The Fitbit Ace features a rich, kid-friendly platform that is easy to navigate. Also, the monthly fee is inexpensive, especially at 50% off for the annual plan through August. 
• However, the watch doesn’t feature sleep-tracking insights or support for receiving images or voice messages. Parents also don’t get a phone number with the data plan.

Google recently launched the new Fitbit Ace LTE, a kids’ smartwatch that gamifies physical activity to encourage movement in exchange for playtime on the device. The coolest thing about it is that Google doesn’t skimp on the features; it’s a good smartwatch on its own, so you can presumably trust it to only get better in time, as evidenced by the upcoming updates.

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The new Fitbit Ace LTE features a large 41mm by 45mm Gorilla Glass watch face, which seems huge for a kids’ smartwatch but is actually just the right size. All the games are meant to be played on the watch itself, so the extra screen real estate is readily appreciated as soon as you interact with it. 

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For comparison, I’ve been testing the Xplora XGO3 for over a year now. It’s a $130 kids’ smartwatch that also requires a monthly data subscription and gamifies physical activity. However, the Xplora XGO3 gives kids virtual coins in exchange for steps taken, which they can exchange for games on a phone or tablet. While it’s also very limited in what kids can write — there’s no keyboard in the messaging app — it has fewer features than the Fitbit Ace LTE. 

Fitbit Ace app for grownups

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

The Fitbit Ace app lets parents see their kids’ recent activity broken down into “light” and “active” categories and their steps taken. There’s no way to track sleep, which is one of the features I’d like to see. The app also doesn’t show heart rate data, even though it monitors it to track movement and discern from light and active exercise. I don’t mind the lack of heart rate data during the day, 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 message anyone they want because the watch has no phone number attached to the data plan. Only approved users over 13 with the Fitbit Ace app can message the kid wearing the Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatch. Parents can also add emergency contacts that can be reached when the watch is set to school mode, a way to avoid distractions during a predetermined time. 

The watch lets kids call and send text and voice messages, but parents can’t send voice messages, which is a minor inconvenience I’d love to see corrected. The messages also don’t support stickers or photos, so you can’t send your kid 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, letting kids use the watch at checkout with tap-to-pay. I can already imagine my daughter asking me to put her birthday gift card money in her wallet so she can check out herself at stores.

Using the Fitbit Ace LTE

This smartwatch is so feature-rich that I decided to break down the biggest ones based on my kid’s experience using each one:

‘Noodles’ or activity rings

The 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 Move Goal displayed on their screen as a Noodle, similar to an Apple Watch’s Activity Rings or Wear OS fitness tracker. 

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Like most features on the Fitbit Ace LTE, Noodles are customizable. Kids can choose their preferred Noodle and see an animation when it transforms to an upgraded version after they complete their daily move goal. For example, it can be a cartoon snake getting closer to a leaf bug as the day progresses. When the Move Goal is reached, 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 kid wearing it reaches exercise goals, with new features available as the kid moves more. The watch features games played through physical activity, like fishing and golf, which require arm movements. My kid particularly loved the fishing game Smokey Lake, which has new locations where she can try catching different fish. However, these locations are an X number of steps away, unlockable only if she completes the set number of steps. 

The Fitbit Ace LTE only works with the Fitbit Ace Pass, so you can’t bypass the subscription to use the smartwatch. The Fitbit Ace Pass, paid monthly or annually, gives the wearable access to calls, messaging, GPS location, and games. The games are part of Fitbit Arcade, accessible only with the data plan and updated almost daily. These games don’t have in-game purchases or need to be downloaded; they only become available when the child does physical activity.

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

‘Eejies’ or avatars

Each watch has an Eejie, an avatar that kids can customize and make content by achieving move goals. Eejies live in a house in Bit Valley that kids can decorate, unlocking rooms as they progress to different levels. Think of an Eejie as a modern-day Tamagotchi (without the hatching or dying). 

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

Interchangeable wristbands

Google sells different wristbands in polyester yarn and sports finishes. But unlike other smartwatches, each band unlocks a new Noodle, levels up their Eejie’s house, and has new decor and outfits for their Eejie. The bands each have a theme, like the Strange Arcade, Moovin, Spooky Pugs, Glitterbomb Skate, Camp Nightmare, and Courtside. The different wristbands 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 get 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. The Fitbit Ace LTE is the perfect device to give kids control over their day, connect them to approved contacts, and track their location when needed. 

This summer, the smartwatch gave me some actionable insight into my kid’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 her parent, this motivated me to get them all moving more during the summer when it’s easy to fall into a routine of screens and snacks.

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After testing it for a few weeks, I found that the Fitbit Ace LTE is 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, futureproofed by Google in a way that justifies its price and succeeds in getting kids moving. 

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