Gamifying boring but necessary life tasks has been a thing for a while. Perhaps the most well-known option for fitness in recent years is Fitbit. Since Google now owns Fitbit, they’ve been making fitness smartwatches, bringing the same idea for kids with the Fitbit Ace LTE. This kid-friendly smartwatch came out this summer and is discounted for the first time, currently $199.95 (originally $229.95), the lowest price yet according to price-checking tools.
The Fitbit Google Ace LTE focuses on making active lifestyles fun for kids, offering engaging games and animated digital animals. It has a screen time limit—if you’re playing a game, you need to reach a specified activity goal every five to 10 minutes before you can play on. For the parents, it includes a neat feature that lets you track the smartwatch with its LTE GPS signal. The smartwatch supports texts and calls, is compatible with Android or iOS, and has parental controls. The Fitbit Google Ace LTE is not perfect, however. It can be sluggish at times; there is no compatible app for music or sleep tracking; and the rewards system can be a bit much—all of this according to PCMag’s “excellent” review.
The watch is designed for kids between the ages of seven and 11 and you’ll need a $9.99 monthly subscription (although they sometimes offer annual Ace Pass subscriptions for 50% off) which is what provides access to games, GPS location tracking, and LTE services. As the parent or guardian, you’ll need to download the Fitbit Ace app to set up the watch and subscribe to the Ace Pass data plan.
If you don’t pay for the subscription, you’ll only have access to basic movement and step tracking, but at that point you might as well get a Fitbit Ace 3 for $73.99 (originally $79).
