Google Ace LTE - Kids Smartwatch with Call, Message, GPS, and Activity-Based Games, Ace Pass Data Plan Required - Mild - Strange Arcade

Finally, after failing twice with Gizmo watches for my older kids, we found success with this watch for my 3rd child. It is simply the best kid's smartwatch we've owned BY FAR. Pro's: This watch looks great, performs above expectations and my daughter loves it. 1. The sound quality is more than adequate on the other callers end. It's not perfect on the Fitbit end but it's very close when it comes to clarity. 2. The fact that my daughter has to meet certain fitness goals (steps) in order to unlock any game features is such a great idea. She will go out of her way to meet the step goal every day and every month just so she can be earn new games. It's so cool. 3. School mode allows the parents to put the watch in a Do Not Disturb mode during school hours in order to keep them from being distracted but still allowing them to accumulate steps 4. It looks great 5. The touchscreen is responsive and simple to use 6. The texting is easy and convenient. Allowing her to talk to text and also send vocal recordings is awesome. 7. The tracking feature is very accurate Cons: 1. The battery drains pretty quickly. It is of course, affected by how much she uses it, but on average it only lasts around 24 hours. Either way, we bought a charger stand made specially for the device and she easily charges it while she sleeps. 2. I wish we could just simply press once to toggle school mode. Instead you have to go into settings and find it. It won't allow a single call or text go through in this mode. I bet you're thinking "That's what it's supposed to do." You're right, but in an actual emergency while in school mode, she would have no way to reach us and vice versa. I wish there was a simple way to toggle it on both ends. For example, the other day my oldest son dropped my daughter off at her friend's house the other day. Unfortunately, the friends weren't home but my son had already left her there. She's 9, so she freaked out when she realized she was alone. This happened on a snow day so school was cancelled. The watch would not allow my daughter to call us for help. Even though there was no school, the watch was still is school mode. (After crying a while, she's doing great now btw). All of that said, this is well worth the cost!

My kids and I are already in the google ecosystem, so setup was super easy. A friend of mine had a few problems setting up her account because her son's Gmail account had an issue and she needed to make a new one. It became a hassle for her but as long as the accounts are usable it should be okay. The biggest problem was that she paid for the year membership on the wrong account and that was difficult to get straightened out with customer support. They say the $119/year plan is not refundable, even when it was mistakenly applied to the wrong account. My son LOVES this watch. Like others have said, it's a great way to keep him out of a phone for a few more years while giving us quality tracking and connectivity for calls and texts. This will let us give him more freedom over the summer and in the afternoons while giving us peace of mind about where he is. He also loves the games and step tracking. He's been using it a lot in the first week or so, giving a shorter than expected battery life of just a day. I'm hoping the battery life gets a bit better in the coming weeks, especially as he uses it a bit less. The watch is a good size for the kids, the band is very comfortable and fits well. I like that by getting the year pass, we get another band for free. He's still deciding on what band to get, but we have a couple of months to figure it out. I think it will be the Minecraft one. I like that it comes with a screen protective bumper, but I spent another 10 bucks to buy a screen protector that actually covers the screen. I found several reviews that mentioned scratched lenses and I'd like to avoid that. Overall, I'd say this watch is a good value among it's competitors, even at two years after release. I hope that the battery life gets better, but part of that is just how long the screen is on per day because he is enthralled with the watch. It's a win-win for parents and kids, lots of fun while giving us the tracking and exercise data we are interested in.

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.

As a parent navigating the complexities of raising kids in the digital age, I was on a quest for the perfect balance: keeping my children safe and connected without exposing them to the full-fledged smartphone experience. After exploring comparable options that fell short, this Fitbit emerged as a near-perfect solution, exceeding my expectations in many ways while presenting a few minor challenges. Pros: The ability to know my child's whereabouts at any time is invaluable, providing immense peace of mind, though faster location updates or passive notifications would be helpful (hoping this can be fixed with software updates). Call quality is clear, ensuring effortless conversations with my kids. The messaging feature is a delightful way to stay connected. My kids love expressing themselves with emojis, and I appreciate the instant communication channel. The battery consistently lasts throughout the day, even with active use. The ability to lock down the device during school hours with School Mode gives me peace of mind for a distraction-free learning environment. My kids love tracking their steps and activities, motivating them to move more and embrace a healthy lifestyle. The built-in games provide a safe and enjoyable alternative to smartphones, keeping my kids entertained without the endless distractions. Cons: While the initial setup process might require a few attempts, it remains straightforward. The activity tracking feature is fantastic, but certain activities necessitate removing the watch, which can be a minor inconvenience. The Fitbit app is functional, but a few UI refinements could enhance the user experience and prioritize essential features like messaging and location tracking. My kid managed to chip the glass on the bottom edge, so investing in screen bumpers is a wise decision to prevent accidental damage. Overall: This Fitbit has revolutionized how I connect with and protect my children. It provides the perfect balance of freedom and security, encouraging healthy habits and open communication. While a few minor improvements could elevate it to absolute perfection, this smartwatch is a game-changer for parents seeking a safe and engaging alternative to smartphones. AAAA++++ would buy again!

This is our second one for another child. First one, we have used for a couple months now. Note, the watch comes pre charged to about 75%, but you have to put it on charger to initiate setup. PRO - It's really easy to put the band on the watch. Also easy for the child to put the watch on themselves and adjust. - We are an android family, with family profile and google wallet / pay all that already setup. My children also have their own account. So setup is really easy, just pick their name, done in maybe 5 clicks. - Tracking is integrated with Google Maps. You will see them from the app as well as within Google Maps. It's pretty accurate. - Battery life is good for LTE device. Can fully charge in 15-30min or so. Last about 1.5 days. - It's water proof, you can swim with it. - Reception is good, sometimes my T-Mobile phone won't get reception in the hills, but this watch still have it. - Child can call or message you. With messaging, they can text, voice to text, or record a voice. OK - This version comes with bumper, nice bonus. Though, wish it wasn't necessary, or thinner, as it does deter from it's slick look. - It's really fun for them, lots of games to keep them active. (Game part I don't like.) But it has good fitness tracking ability that comes with fitbit device, so that is good. - There is orientation to the charger, though generally my child has not have problem with it. There was only one day when it didn't get charged, I think it was due to the orientation issue. - Child can only message people you add (they have to install the app on their phone). In other words, only communicate with trusted adults. This is fine and probably good idea for little kids. But if your kids are older and watch to chat with their friends, then this is not supported. If I could turn off games, or device can chat also chat with another watches (between siblings), then I would give this watch 5 stars. But for now, it does the job of giving me a peace of mind.

It’s been about a month and I VERY much love this product. We bought for my daughter because she just moved to a very large neighborhood! -only I can add contacts into her watch, which makes me feel so much better! -it tracks her with GPS, but also tracks her steps and exercise -it holds a charge for quite a bit -it’s a lot less chunky than other watches and the band is more comfortable -it has calling AND messaging It took me just a bit to set it up, but it’s because I’m so bad at signing into my google account! If I was more tech savvy, it would be a total breeze! My daughter got turned around in our neighborhood and her friends ran off without her and she was able to immediately call me on the watch, and I could track where she was in the neighborhood so I could get to her almost immediately! I very much appreciated that!

If you're paying mainly for GPS you would expect this feature to work pretty well. It's constanly in a low coverage area and nowhere near where your child really is. For example, she is with Mom in a Tesla so I know where they are aprked, when you open the App and click locate the device it might show somewhere along the road maybe a mile away. No matter how many times you click Locate the Device it might say the device is off or in a poor signal area. This could be when they are inside a McDonalds in the middle of town for the past 30 minutes (not a low signal area). I am disappointed in the GPS, it's a gimmick. The main thing I like is that my kid swims with it at the YMCA camp for 2 months now. I suggest you pay by month because I doubt you will keep this toy for a year. The calls are a hit or miss when she's at a friends house. The messages are ok but it's all related to this Low signal..seems it always has low signal! Did I tell you - the signal is loooow..

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 this for my daughter and absolutely gutted that it does not work in Canada. Amazon.ca why have it on your platform when it does not work in Canada. Actually ships from the USA.

Es una barbaridad que vendan un articulo que no se puede usar en mexico por que la app del celular ni esta disponible en mexico, Amazon deberia hacer algo

Really annoyed that this is unusable yet bought from Amazon in the uk. Product discontinued so unlikely to be able to sell on to a US buyer

This item doesnt work in the UAE, do not buy if you plan to use it in the MENA region as it is not made for it. I dont understand why Amazon would sell such an item in our region. should be removed or atleast notify the buyers.

CANADIANS: DOES NOT WORK IN CANADA.