In 2018, Fitbit launched Ace, a wearable tracker for kids. On Wednesday, it adds Ace LTE to the lineup, a device aimed at the same demographic that borrows heavily from its smartwatch, Versa. The Google-owned clothing company is targeting ages 7 and up with this one, focusing on games with Wii-style motion control, as well as location sharing and messaging for parents.
Rather than offering the same type of pure metrics that the company uses to motivate its older users, the product’s main focus is a much more literal version of gamification. The watch features a variety of different 3D games, allowing play time to increase as kids get moving.
(Whether it’s a chicken in a bathtub running through space or fishing for a blob fish in ‘Smokey Lake,'” writes Fitbit, “Ace LTE keeps kids moving. Better yet , Fitbit Arcade updates with new games every few months, so there’s never a dull moment.
It’s not the worst way to try to get kids to hit the proverbial grass, and honestly, it makes me long for the bygone days of Wiimotes and Microsoft Kinects. I miss Tamagotchi almost as much as I do. The once-powerful electronic pets are back here, in the form of Eejies. Just like the play element, the customizable animals “feed” on movement.
Once the activities are completed, kids earn “arcade tickets,” at a Chuck E. Cheese-style autarky, where they can be used to buy new clothes and furniture for their Eejie. Fitbit’s approach to accessories is much more capitalistic. The company offers six different DLC-packed bands that include different settings.
Although Ace LTE is indeed designed to motivate children to move more, the benefits end once a certain threshold is reached, in order to discourage children from overdoing it. Fitbit is quick to note: “We worked with leading independent experts in child psychology, public health, privacy and digital well-being to design Fitbit Ace LTE to be fun, safe and useful. »
This is the kind of thing the company really needs to address up front, because the notion of a fitness tracker built by a tech giant that sucks up data naturally raises all kinds of red flags for people . The degree to which everyone is comfortable sticking a Google device on their child’s wrist undoubtedly varies widely.
Fitbit notes that location is only shared through the app on a parent/guardian’s device, while location data automatically disappears after a day. Activity data, on the other hand, can only be stored for a maximum of 35 days, after which it is also deleted. Adding friends on Ace LTE, on the other hand, must be done in person and with guardian approval. As the name suggests, the device comes in a cellular version, so it doesn’t rely on a connected device to work/sync. It’s up for pre-order Wednesday for $230. There is also a subscription service, which costs an additional $10 per month or $120 for a full year – which, if my math is correct, is the same rate. Shipping begins June 5.
techcrunch
