Now that Fitbit is officially under Google’s umbrella, of course we’re everyone is curious to see what the first product will be. However, if you were waiting for a smartwatch equipped with Google, you will have to wait a little longer. This spring, Fitbit is instead of launching a Ace 3, one fitness tracker accessible for children.
The first Ace tracker released in 2018, with Ace 2 following about a year later. This time, the new Ace maintains the more robust look of the Ace 2, albeit with a bumper and more rounded edges. (The original Ace was basically a Fitbit Alta, without a heart rate sensor.) New features include 20 new watch faces, including animated ones with a rabbit, cat, Martian and spaceship. Ace 3 also extends battery life to eight days. Like its predecessor, the Ace 3 is swimmingproves and allows children with smartphones to receive call notifications from their families. And apparently, Ace 3 will feature new accessory bands – the first of which will be starring Minions. Yes, those yellow pill-shaped blisters on jeans from My favorite evil.
Of course, privacy and security are the big elephants in the room when it comes to tying a fitness tracker for one kid. Fitbit said parents can use a Fitbit Family account – required to use Ace 3 – to monitor their children’s activity, control what they see on their device, and approve any friend requests. The device also complies with child privacy laws, such as COPPA in the USA and GDPR in Europe. Fitbit also emphasized that the Ace 3’s focus is to encourage activity and help parents work with their children to establish healthy sleep habits. (The default settings are 60 minutes of activity and 250 steps per hour, with the option to customize goals during school hours.) In general, the data collected by the Ace tracker series is pretty basic, because it depends on an accelerometer and not much else. The Ace 3 does not have the typical heart rate monitor, GPS or SpO2 sensor that you see on fitness trackers and smartwatches for adults. But IIf Fitbit’s idea – and by Google’s proxy – of having any kind of data about your kids, you shouldn’t put fitness trackers on them to begin with.
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Nothing Fitbit is doing with Ace 3 is a drastic change, either for this particular device or for fitness trackers for children in general. Garmin Vivofit Jr. line also incorporates popular characters, brilliant designs, familiar challenges and bumper lining.
One thing that Fitbit is changing is the price. The Ace 3 is about $ 10 more expensive than its predecessor, at $ 80. This is still quite affordable when it comes to trackers, but given that it’s not adding much more in terms of features, the price increase it’s a little disappointing.
Ace 3 is available for pre-order in black and red and blue and green versions, and is due for release on March 15. An embossed Minions bracelet, if your child really wants it, is expected this summer for an extra $ 30.