Google Announces Fitbit Ace LTE for Kids, Looks Fun and Expensive

Google introduced new hardware this week in the form of a kids smartwatch under the Fitbit brand. The new watch is the Fitbit Ace LTE and it looks pretty great on paper. It is also quite expensive both upfront and in an ongoing basis.

The Fitbit Ace LTE apparently runs Wear OS, but Google doesn’t mention the OS anywhere in any of its materials. We’ll take other press’ word for it on that. And that doesn’t really mean much anyway, because this sure looks like a super customized skin on top that probably barely resembles Wear OS and is there to run a limited number of already-available Wear OS apps.

At $229.95, the Fitbit Ace LTE can be yours to live on a child’s wrist and do lots of tracking (the activity ring is now a ‘Noodle‘). The watch has a bunch of built-in games that encourage kids to be active and move throughout a day. Google claims that they’ll add fresh new games “every few months.” I’ll be shocked if that happens for more than a few months, so please Google, prove me wrong.

There’s also something called Eejie that live on the watch. These are customizable creatures that react and remain healthy and happy as your kid moves more. In other words, daily activities keep the Eejie thriving. Kids can change their Eejie’s look through new outfits, a home, etc.

As far as connectivity, you’ll notice the “LTE” part of the name, and yes, there is an LTE connection required to get many of the useful features. That LTE connection costs $9.99/mo through the Ace Pass. So you spend $230 for the watch and then $10 every month going forward. That’s a lot of cash for a kids smartwatch.

Should you connect to LTE, you can track your child’s location with GPS and allow for calls and texts with up to 20 family and friends. All of this is run through the Fitbit Ace app (download here), which parents have control over. This is where you add contacts, see location, etc.

For other specs, you are looking at a 41x45mm case made of plastic, stainless steel, and glass. It has a built-in LTE SIM, GPS, NFC (that will work “soon”), WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, 50M water resistance, and an OLED display covered in Gorilla Glass 3. The watch should fit wrists 120mm to 200mm around and lasts about 16 hours on a single charge.

Overall, this looks like a nice smartwatch for kids. I have concerns about the battery life and price, but the rest seems like a solid package. I ordered one for my 10-year old, so expect some reports back on how it’s going.

The Fitbit Ace LTE is up for pre-order now and ships June 5. If you buy one and the Fitbit Ace Pass at an annual rate, Google will slash 50% off the rate and give you a free Ace Band. Additional Ace Bands costs $35 normally and the Ace Pass at full price for a year would be $120. That’s decent savings.

Fitbit Ace LTE Pre-order Links: Amazon | Google Store