I’ve had one of these ‘smart watch’ things strapped to my wrist for a little over two years now. Purchasing the Pebble as more of an experiment than an impulse, I wanted to see if this wearable fad was really worth all the hype. Well, two years later and with a Pebble-shaped tan line embedded on my skin, I can honestly say my wrist shall never be bare again.
So what kind of options are out there for the best kids smart watch? Well, that’s going to depend a lot on the kid who is going to wear it… Is your child likely to break an expensive timepiece? Are they sporty? Are they super sociable? There’s a lot of different factors to take into account. So here are some of the most popular smart watches for kids to make the search that bit more simple.
Best Kids Smart Watch
1. LeapFrog LeapBand
LeapFrog make a huge selection of child-friendly devices and the LeapFrog LeapBand is one of their most popular. Created to encourage children to be more active, this kids smart watch presents wearers with fun active challenges and customizable play. Children can personalize their very own pet pal for an active playmate who’s always on hand and parents can choose from 50 different downloadable challenges to keep their child wiggling, dancing, hopping and having fun.
Ages: 4-7 years
Battery life: 1 day
Recommended for: Young Children, Fitness, Fun
2. VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX (2nd Generation)
The featureful VTech Kidizoom is a fantastic starter smart watch for kids. It can take photos and videos with a 0.3 megapixel camera, has more than 50 clock face designs and has an inbuilt voice recorder with some pretty wacky voice-changing effects. It’s equipped with an alarm, timer, stopwatch,calendar, calculator and motion sensor and also comes loaded with eight games (with more that can be downloaded from VTech’s Learning Lodge). Definitely a watch for fun more than function.
Ages: 4-7 years
Battery life: 2-3 days
Recommended for: Young Children, Multimedia, Fun
3. Pebble Smartwatch
The Pebble Smartwatch is still the most popular smart watch option for kids on the market. At a very reasonable price and with massive feature list, it’s the perfect balance of bang vs buck. Compatible with both Apple and Android devices the Pebble lets you view notifications from email, SMS, Caller ID, calendar and your favorite apps. Kids can download different watch faces and apps to suit their style and interests and the best part is that the rechargeable battery lasts 5-7 days on a single charge.
Ages: 8+ years
Battery life: 5-7 days
Recommended for: All Rounder, Low Cost, Battery Life
4. Pebble Time Smartwatch
With all the specs of the original Pebble and more, the Pebble Time brings a color screen, water resistance and a slick new interface for only a fractional increase on the cost. With a 7 day battery life, loads of customizable watch faces, fitness and sleep tracking, and an always on e-color display, this watch is my pick for bang for your smart watch buck.
Ages: 8+ years
Battery life: 7 days
Recommended for: All Rounder, Great Value, Battery Life
5. Martian Notifier Smartwatch
The Martian Notifier Smartwatch is a brilliantly unique player in the smart watch space, and is an especially great value piece of kit for kids. Functioning as a completely independant analog watch, the clock face has a 2 year battery life. The small notifier screen connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and has a 6 day (I get more though) rechargeable battery. This watch is perfect if you want the benefit of notifications without all the additional battery-sapping “smart watch” features.
Ages: 8+ years
Battery life: 2 years (6 days smart watch)
Recommended for: Basic, Low Cost, Battery Life
6. Fitbit Charge 2
The Fitbit is all about staying active and tracking every aspect of your health and fitness. If your child is looking to take their sport or training that bit more seriously then the Fitbit is the place to start. Monitoring stats like steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, stairs climbed, heart rate and active minutes the Fitbit is a great motivator for any aspiring athlete. The device can even be worn in bed to monitor sleeping patterns. While it is limited in functionality compared to some of the more full-featured smart watches, it has been designed for fitness and does that job extremely well.
Ages: 8+ years
Battery life: 5 days
Recommended for: Fitness, Sleep, Basic
7. Microsoft Band 2
The Microsoft Band is another smart watch that focuses on fitness but it does boast a more extensive feature set than the Fitbit. The band has eleven sensors, including inbuilt GPS, heart rate monitor, UV monitor, barometer, and more. With the ability to track heart rate, steps, calorie burn and sleep quality the Band is an excellent activity companion, but it does offer a few more ‘smart watch’ features. Linking with Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone, the Microsoft Band shows email previews, calendar alerts, incoming calls, texts, and more all from the bright, full-color touch screen.
Ages: 8+ years
Battery life: 2 days
Recommended for: Fitness, Sleep, Touch Screen
8. Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch
The Samsung Gear S2 is a full-featured high-end smart watch. Given the price and complexity of this device it is definitely an older kids smart watch though. With a large AMOLED touch display, all notifications such as texts, phone calls, and third party application notifications are clear and easy to see. The watch can take voice commands, track fitness and comes with very neat wireless charging dock to make boosting battery hassle-free. An amazing piece of hardware, the Gear S2 comes in a range of styles with the added ability to swap and change bands to complement your kids personal style or look.
Ages: 8+ years
Battery life: 1-3 days (depending on display settings)
Recommended for: High End, Samsung/Android Phone Users
9. Apple Watch
You knew it was coming, and while it may be a huge jump in price, the Apple Watch is always going to be the top of the line smart watch option. Whether you are going for the ‘cheaper’ Sports models ($269+) or all the way up to the Edition modes ($10k+) you will want to make sure this kids smart watch is going to get some really good use. With features ranging from a flexible Retina screen to the ability to pay for goods and services using Apple Pay, the Apple Watch certainly packs a punch. While it is still early days, there is no doubt with Apple’s track record, this device will be the one to watch (no pun intended).
Ages: 12+ years
Battery life: 18 hours
Recommended for: High End, iPhone Users
If you are looking for any easy answer, my top pick is still the Pebble Smartwatch. I have been wearing it for over two years now and love it! It’s the right balance between functionality and price, which makes it the perfect kids smart watch option before jumping in the deep end with a super high-end device.
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