14 DAY TRIAL // The smartwatch market specifically aimed at kids is growing, and while Garmin is already an established player in this niche, it’s also not a secret that the competition is getting fiercer.
Fitbit’s one Ace, for instance, is believed to be a top seller among parents and children, so Garmin had to come up with something fresh to reignite the battle.
The company’s latest bet on this front is Bounce, a device that looks and feels like a smartwatch. This is the good news. The bad news is that it comes with one big flaw.
First and foremost, worth knowing is that Bounce comes with LTE support, which makes perfect sense given not all kids have smartphones. So your children will be able to use the smartwatch pretty much anywhere they go, and you’ll still be able to connect to it via a data connection.
With touch support, Bounce looks like a Fitbit Sense or Versa, though I expect it to be substantially more durable (no matter what Fitbit says, both the Sense and the Verse don’t give me a sense of durability, especially during hardcore activities).
But what makes Bounce really great is its array of features aimed at kids.
Parents can not only always see the location of their kids, but also receive text and voice messages on a companion mobile device. There’s also an Assistance feature that can be used during an emergency.
In pure Garmin style, Bounce can track sleep, walking, running, pool swimming (because yes, the device supports swimming), and biking. Parents can also send notifications to children to remind them to move or to complete certain tasks. The playful side of the smartwatch is powered by educational games, trivia, and facts displayed on the screen to help kids learn new things every day. And be rewarded for doing it, that is.
The major flaw? The battery life. Garmin says Bounce offers two days of battery life, but I expect the device to last for less than 48 hours on a single charge. Compared to the Fitbit Ace 3, which offers 8 days of battery life per charge, Bounce is losing important points here.
And the same in terms of price. Fitbit’s kids smartwatch costs $49.99, while Garmin sells the new Bounce for no more, no less than $149.99.
