A telephone different
If your youngster is just too younger for their very own cellphone however you continue to need them to have the ability to contact you to verify in or in case of emergency, the Fitbit Ace LTE is an efficient possibility. It isn’t the primary youngsters’ GPS and mobile watch, but it surely’s the primary from Fitbit. And it provides some compelling options. But the subscription requirement, entry to on-wrist video games, and lack of sleep monitoring may make you assume twice.
ForComes with mobile connectivityIncludes GPS location trackingCharges quicklyGamifies health to get youngsters movingAgainstRequires a recurring month-to-month feeNot wanted if they’ve a phoneNo sleep trackingSignificantly shorter battery life
A youngsters’ starter tracker
The Fitbit Ace 3 is an easy system designed for youthful youngsters that may observe their exercise and sleep whereas letting them personalize on-screen characters, get reminders to maneuver, and extra. It’s restricted in performance however for some mother and father (and children), that’s all you need. At its present worth, it’s an important tracker to check the waters earlier than diving into one thing extra function wealthy.
ForNo subscription requiredDetailed sleep monitoringSimpler band designGreat battery lifeAgainstLimited functionalityOlder mannequin in want of a refreshNo connectivity with out a telephone
There comes a time when youngsters become old and want some autonomy. When that is the case, you is likely to be mulling over getting them a cellphone. However, many mother and father desire to not get their youngsters cell telephones at an early age. The new Fitbit Ace LTE is an fascinating in-between system, a youngsters’s smartwatch with, because the title implies, LTE mobile connectivity.While each the Fitbit Ace LTE vs. Fitbit Ace 3, the model’s final youngsters’ exercise tracker, may bear the identical title and be for teenagers of across the identical age, they’re very totally different units.The Fitbit Ace LTE’s subscription-based connectivity might be a viable compromise you need for teenagers who want extra autonomy or mother and father who need some peace of thoughts. But do you want it? Let’s study how these two wrist-worn units work that can assist you make the appropriate resolution in your baby.Fitbit Ace LTE vs. Fitbit Ace 3: How they appear(Image credit score: Google)First, let’s contemplate the seems. The Fitbit Ace LTE is available in Spicy Pebble with a Moovin’ Band or Mild Pebble with a Strange Arcade band (different bands can be found individually and interchangeable with the originals). Made of plastic, chrome steel, and glass, the system has a sq. smartwatch-style face that comes with recycled supplies. It is designed to be scratch, bump, and waterproof. The band is produced from recycled polyester yarn whereas the clasp and lugs are plastic and silicone.Compatible with most telephones working Android 11 or newer in addition to iOS 15 or newer, the Fitbit Ace LTE has a scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Color OLED display. It’s waterproof to 50 meters by way of the 5ATM score so youngsters can put on it underwater, within the bathtub, whereas taking part in exterior within the rain, you title it. The watch even comes with a protecting bumper case for particularly clumsy youngsters. Offering as much as 16 hours of battery life, that is principally affected by mobile connectivity and GPS monitoring, which I’ll talk about in additional element within the subsequent part. So, remember the fact that you might want to recharge this tracker each day. It does, nonetheless, fast cost to 60 %, or about 11 hours value of battery life, in simply 30 minutes, or to full in simply over an hour.(Image credit score: Android Central)Also designed for teenagers aged six to seven and older, the Fitbit Ace 3 is available in Black and Sport Red or Cosmic Blue and Astro Green with two buttons on the aspect. Employing a skinny and rectangular exercise tracker design, it comes with a silicone band with an adjustable plastic clasp. There are Fitbit branded and third-party band choices you’ll be able to swap in, together with Fitbit’s licensed Minions character bands.I reviewed the Fitbit Ace 3 when it was launched and love how simple it’s to pop the tracker out of the band and swap it with one other. Even for those who preserve the identical band, although, you’ll need to take away it and clear across the underside of the band to forestall pores and skin irritation.Equipped with a PMOLED touch-sensitive show, it additionally meets a 5ATM score to be used in and round water. It’s suitable with Android 10 or greater and Apple iOS 15 or greater units.Battery life is a giant differentiator right here since this watch can run for as much as eight days per cost, although it takes about two hours to totally cost to 100 %. This is as a result of the Fitbit Ace 3 doesn’t connect with something past a telephone or different system by way of Bluetooth.Fitbit Ace LTE vs. Fitbit Ace 3: The specsBefore diving into the core options of those two health trackers for teenagers, let’s see how the specs examine.Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0 Fitbit Ace LTEFitbit Ace 3ColorsSpicy Pebble/Moovin’ Band, Mild Pebble/Strange Arcade BandBlack/Sport Red, Cosmic Blue/Astro GreenSwappable BandSure (new one included yearly with plan)SureBattery LifeUp to 16 HoursUp to 8 DaysHeart Rate MonitoringYesYes (however deactivated)GPSBuilt-inNoSleep MonitoringNoYesWater Resistance5ATM5ATMPhone NotificationsYesYesScreen SortColor PMOLED TouchscreenMonochrome OLED TouchscreenScreen Decision333 ppi240 x 240Connectivity4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPSBluetoothGamesYesNoSensorsAccelerometer, optical coronary heart fee sensor (activated), altimeter, magnometer, ambient gentle sensor, gyroscropeAccelerometer, vibration motor, optical coronary heart fee sensor (deactivated)Built-in SpeakerYesNoBuilt-in MicYesNoAs you’ll be able to see, whereas the names of those two exercise trackers for teenagers are comparable, there may be much more than meets the attention to the Fitbit Ace LTE.Fitbit Ace LTE vs. Fitbit Ace 3: What youngsters can do with them(Image credit score: Google)The Fitbit Ace LTE is just not your normal wrist-worn step tracker for teenagers. It takes the expertise a lot additional. It contains built-in 4G LTE mobile connectivity by way of an included SIM card. This additionally means there’s a month-to-month subscription price. At the time of this writing, it’s $9.99/mo. or $120/yr. and contains the flexibility for teenagers to name, message, and share location.A purchase order of the plan (the watch would not make a lot sense with out one) additionally contains an Ace Band, with a brand new band at each annual renewal interval. Six enjoyable bands can be found at launch, and there’ll doubtless be extra down the road. The plan is on for half worth by means of August 31, 2024.Once arrange and activated, your youngsters can use the Fitbit Ace LTE together with its built-in microphone and speaker to name and message as much as 20 contacts. This can embrace trusted people like mother and father and caregivers, grandparents, shut mates, and different relations.The smartwatch additionally options GPS location monitoring with superior location expertise powered by Google. Keep a watch on the place your youngster is in real-time and guarantee they aren’t leaving the varsity premises, for instance, or preserve observe of older youngsters as they stroll residence alone from faculty or a pal’s home. Google says solely mother and father or caregivers can see the placement knowledge, which is routinely deleted after a short while.(Image credit score: Google)Additionally, youngsters can play interactive 3D video games within the Fitbit Arcade that use haptics, sounds, and the accelerometer. Think video games that see them racing by means of house or going fishing; new video games might be added each few months. While gaming from the wrist may sound like a distraction, gameplay is deliberately spaced out, rewarding youngsters solely after they take part in lively play in the true world. Essentially, the extra the kid strikes in actual life, the extra recreation segments they will unlock in a digital one. The School Time possibility, in the meantime, limits gameplay throughout faculty hours.Further encouraging bodily exercise is a Noodle exercise ring that seems on the watch’s residence display, recording their motion all through every day. There’s a enjoyable animation every time they attain a Move Goal, which may be achieved by strolling, leaping, and even spinning in circles! The aim is to encourage youngsters to get no less than an hour of bodily lively time per day, according to the suggestions from the World Health Organization.Tying all the things collectively is Eejie, a digital character who lives within the digital Bit Valley world on the watch. Fitbit’s reimagining of the Tamagotchi, youngsters preserve Eejie completely happy by assembly their each day transfer objectives. The extra they transfer, the extra gadgets they earn for Eejie, like a ping pong desk for its room or a skateboard for it to experience. Kids can join with their mates’ Eejies to go to them in different elements of Bit Valley as nicely.With Tap to Pay coming quickly, older youngsters can leverage the built-in NFC sensor and use the watch to pay for gadgets from suitable terminals, like on the comfort retailer or fast-food restaurant throughout lunch in school. All they want is a cost card loaded to the account. It’s an effective way to show older youngsters concerning the significance of saving and provides them some independence to often spend, too. Parents can set controls and obtain real-time notifications every time a baby spends cash.The Fitbit Ace LTE additionally has primary capabilities like an alarm clock, each day objectives settings, and rewards. Kids get anticipated exercise monitoring together with an optical coronary heart fee sensor. One evident omission, nonetheless, is sleep monitoring. This is presumably as a result of each day charging and the always-on connectivity imply youngsters should recharge in a single day. But it’s an vital function that many mother and father may not be prepared to forego.(Image credit score: Android Central)How does the Fitbit Ace 3 examine? It’s very totally different. Introduced years in the past in March 2021, the Fitbit Ace 3 provides the identical dependable sleep monitoring you get with different Fitbit units, advising in case your youngsters are getting sufficient sleep and good high quality sleep, and after they go to mattress and rise. Kids (and fogeys) can use the Fitbit app to schedule bedtime reminders and set silent alarms that wake youngsters up gently with a lightweight buzzing on their wrists.Parents can see if youngsters fall asleep after they say they do, how stressed they’re at evening and their general sleep patterns. Beyond simply satisfying curiosity, this might recommend patterns, like that your youngster tends to be temperamental on nights after they don’t get good high quality sleep or get up groggy after they go to mattress after a sure hour. Since you’ll be able to see a full historical past within the app, it’s a helpful function and a disgrace it isn’t within the Fitbit Ace LTE as nicely.The Fitbit Ace 3 exercise tracker displays youngsters’ each day actions as nicely with on-wrist reminders to maneuver or for them to stand up and stretch if they’ve been sitting too lengthy. Along with primary steps, it additionally tracks Active Minutes. This presumably makes use of the built-in coronary heart fee sensor to measure, although the app doesn’t show coronary heart fee knowledge for teenagers. Kids can obtain messages on the watch (they will’t reply to them) however solely when it’s paired with a close-by related and suitable smartphone.There’s nothing as interactive as eejie with the Fitbit Ace LTE, however there are digital badges, animated clock faces with characters like a rocket, bunny, and even Minions, and personalised avatars youngsters can take pleasure in. It’s on a way more rudimentary stage on the a lot smaller display. I do love the celebratory messages, nonetheless, when youngsters obtain objectives together with digital badges they will acquire and think about them within the app.Other easy options within the Fitbit Ace 3 embrace a timer and stopwatch for racing with mates or timing chores. Kids may see their stats on their wrists as they transfer all through the day.Fitbit Ace LTE vs. Fitbit Ace 3: Which do you have to purchase?(Image credit score: Google)It’s an advanced resolution between the Fitbit Ace LTE vs. the Fitbit Ace 3. While the Fitbit Ace LTE provides a compelling proposition, it has a little bit of an identification disaster. Some of the options, like NFC and GPS location monitoring, are higher suited to older youngsters with extra autonomy, like teenagers and tweens. Other options, in the meantime, like video games, are higher suited to youthful youngsters. So, who would need this watch?The Fitbit Ace LTE is right for teenagers within the age 8-13 vary who may not but be sufficiently old for a cellphone however are prepared for a little bit of independence. Some youngsters between these ages, for instance, are allowed to stroll residence from faculty alone, go to the native park, go away faculty on lunch, or play with mates exterior. The Fitbit Ace LTE would supply peace of thoughts.But then, why not simply get them a cellphone with a plan? There is a cost-benefit: even with a month-to-month plan, the Fitbit Ace LTE continues to be nowhere close to what even the most affordable telephone and plan would price. Plus, the kid doesn’t should convey alongside a telephone, simply staying in contact from the watch proper on their wrist.(Image credit score: Fitbit)For youthful youngsters aged 6-10, the Fitbit Ace 3 continues to be a great possibility. It’s ultra-affordable and easy. While it doesn’t have video games, per se, there are easy gamification options that younger youngsters will love. They are partaking, not distracting. The battery lifetime of greater than every week and the detailed sleep monitoring are the 2 largest pluses of this tracker.Bottom line: for older youngsters who aren’t but prepared for a cellphone, contemplate the Fitbit Ace LTE. It offers youngsters autonomy and fogeys peace of thoughts. But once you begin moving into the teenager years, chances are high they’ll need one thing extra substantial in a smartwatch, to not point out a telephone!For youthful youngsters, keep on with the Fitbit Ace 3. While having LTE connectivity for emergencies is nice, the month-to-month price provides up. Alternatively, contemplate inserting a Bluetooth system tracker of their backpack or pocket, just like the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 or any of the very best Bluetooth trackers. You may discover that these fulfill your want for GPS location monitoring on the very least. If you’re interested by what else is on the market past these two, see our picks for the very best youngsters’ health trackers.
A related child
If you need your child to be related for emergency functions and present some accountability however don’t but need to put money into a smartphone and plan, the Fitbit Ace LTE is an efficient transitional system. While it requires a month-to-month plan, the system nor the plan prices something near a smartphone and plan. Plus, it helps encourage youngsters to get shifting extra and have enjoyable whereas doing it.
Simple but enjoyable
The Fitbit Ace 3 is a number of years outdated now and due for a refresh. But as a easy exercise tracker for youthful youngsters, it has helpful options like transfer reminders, lively minutes, and detailed sleep monitoring, all of which oldsters can monitor from the mother or father view of the app. It’s a primary but additionally enjoyable and helpful wristwatch that children will really feel vital sporting.