Now that Fitbit is officially under the Google umbrella, of course we are are all curious what the first product will beHowever, if you were hoping for a deceptive Google-powered smartwatch, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. This spring, Fitbit is instead one Ace 3, one affordable fitness tracker for kids.
The first bait tracker launched in 2018, with the Ace 2 about a year later. This time, the new bait sticks with the more rugged look of the Ace 2, albeit with a more rounded bumper and edges. (The original Ace was actually a Fitbit Alta, minus the heart rate sensor.) New features include 20 new watch faces, including animated watch faces with a rabbit, cat, M.artian and spaceship. The Ace 3 also improves battery life to eight days. Like its predecessor, the Ace 3 is swimmingproof and allows children with smartphones to receive call notifications from their families. And apparently the Ace will introduce 3 new accessory bands, of which the first Minions will play the lead role. Yep, those yellow pill-shaped blobs in jeans from Despicable Me
Privacy and security, of course, are the big elephants in the room when it comes to strapping one fitness tracker to a child Fitbit said parents can use a Fitbit Family account – which is necessary to use Ace 3 – to monitor their kids’ activity, control what their kids see on the device itself, and approve friend requests. The device also complies with children’s privacy laws such as COPPA in the US and GDPR in Europe. Fitbit also stressed that the focus of the Ace 3 is to encourage activities and help parents work on healthy sleeping habits with their children. (The default settings focus on 60 minutes of activity and 250 steps per hour, with the option to adjust the goals during school hours.) Overall, the data collected by the Ace trackers is quite simple, as it relies on an accelerometer and not much else. The Ace 3 doesn’t have the typical heart rate monitor, or GPS SpO2 sensor you’d see on fitness trackers and adult smartwatches. But IIf the idea of Fitbit – and by proxy, Google – of having some form of data about your kids gets you out of it, you shouldn’t be putting fitness trackers on them to begin with.
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Nothing Fitbit does with the Ace 3 is a drastic change, both for this particular device and for kids’ fitness trackers in general. Garmin V.ivofit Jr. line also includes popular characters, bright designs, family challenges and bumper case.
One thing that Fitbit changes is price. The Ace 3 is about $ 10 more expensive than its predecessor at $ 80. That’s still quite affordable in terms of trackers, but given that it doesn’t add much more in terms of features, the price increase is a bit disappointing.
The Ace 3 is available for pre-order in black and red, and blue and green, and is expected on March 15. An embossed Minions strap, should your kid really want it, is expected sometime this summer for an additional $ 30.