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Smartwatches Can Learn a Lot From Fitbit's New Kid-Focused Watch

The Fitbit Ace LTE is a fresh take on what a children's smartwatch should be. Some of its features would be useful elsewhere too.

Headshot of Lisa Eadicicco
Headshot of Lisa Eadicicco
Lisa Eadicicco Former Senior Editor
Lisa Eadicicco covered mobile devices. Prior to joining CNET, she served as a senior tech correspondent at Insider, reporting on Apple and the broader consumer tech industry. She was also a tech columnist for Time magazine and got her start as a staff writer for Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide.
Expertise Apple | Samsung | Google | Smartphones | Smartwatches | Wearables | Fitness trackers
Lisa Eadicicco
4 min read
Three Fitbit Ace LTE watches on a wooden table

The Fitbit Ace LTE has fitness, games, phone service, and a variety of swappable straps, but it's specifically made for kids.

 Scott Stein/CNET

Smartwatches typically gain better battery life, new health features and design upgrades with each year. The smartwatch's general purpose and the way you use it don't really change from generation to generation. 

Google's Fitbit has done exactly that with its new smartwatch for kids, the $230 Fitbit Ace LTE, which is available for preorder on Wednesday before becoming available on June 5. The Fitbit Ace LTE is designed specifically for children aged 7 and older, but it includes a few capabilities that could translate to general-purpose smartwatches for adults.

It's impossible to know if the Fitbit Ace LTE lives up to its promises just yet. Google's ideas feel interesting and fresh, at least in theory, and could open up possibilities for smartwatches beyond its kids-focused device. 

From the watch's creative use of bands to unlock new types of functionality to its more flexible approach toward activity goals, smartwatch makers can take a few notes from the Fitbit Ace LTE. 

Read more: Buying a Smartwatch? Ask Yourself These Questions First

Watch this: Fitbit Ace LTE Hands-On: The Apple Watch Just Got a Competitor for Kids

More creative games

Developing games for smartwatches is tricky. The screen is too small for long bouts of swiping and tapping, and that tiny display means visuals aren't as immersive as they would be on your phone. That's why many smartwatch games usually consist of simple puzzles or arcade-style gameplay. 

Google's take on gaming on the Fitbit Ace LTE feels novel by comparison. Games are designed to take advantage of motion and encourage you to move. A fishing game I briefly witnessed in a demo, for example, requires you to mimic tossing out a fishing line, while a haptic buzz on your wrist serves as your cue to reel in your catch. The use of haptics and motion in this way almost feels Nintendo-like and reminds me of the Switch's Joy-con controllers.

Games for the Fitbit Ace LTE are also made to encourage movement. If you whack a virtual golf ball, for example, expect to walk over to it to pick it up.

I'm not sure how many adults are interested in playing games on their smartwatches. Maybe that's because smartwatch games haven't been compelling enough yet. I think there's a lot of potential in the direction that Google is exploring that entails thinking of the smartwatch as more than just a tiny screen on your wrist, but also a new type of game controller. 

Bands that unlock different functionality

The reason you'd want to switch out your watch band today likely comes down to style and comfort. But with the Fitbit Ace LTE, there's another motivation to collect new bands. Different straps unlock new types of functionality, such as characters or different themes for the watch's "noodle," which is the Activity Ring-like progress meter found on the main watch face. The watch recognizes when a different band has been connected for the first time and reacts accordingly. 

Unlockable content matches the band's theme, with the Courtside strap giving the watch basketball-oriented flair and the Camp Nightmare one introducing spooky summer camp-themed extras to the watch. 

It's easy to imagine how this could translate to a more mature, general-purpose smartwatch. What if buying a specific watch band unlocked a specific watch face, for example, or extra fitness metrics? It reminds me a bit of when Apple and Nike introduced exclusive watch faces for the Nike Plus edition of the Apple Watch. 

Flexible activity goals

With the Fitbit Ace LTE, Google is trying to strike a balance of encouraging kids to move without pushing them to overexercise. Activity rewards hit a limit each day to prevent kids from exercising too much just to unlock new content. 

Overall, I think smartwatches could do a better job of encouraging you to rest and recover instead of pushing yourself when it comes to exercise. Limiting the credit you get once you reach a certain goal could be an effective way to help those who overexercise find the right limit. It almost reminds me of Oura's Rest Mode, which disables activity progress when you need to prioritize rest and recovery.     

Only time will tell whether the Fitbit Ace LTE proves to be a hit with kids. At about $230, it's a relatively expensive bet for parents who are on the fence about buying a smartwatch for their child for the first time. I'd love to see some of the ideas Google has explored in the Ace LTE arrive in other smartwatches, perhaps the Pixel Watch 3, in some form.

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Correction, 12:31 p.m: An earlier version of this story got the name of the Fitbit Ace LTE wrong in one spot. That's been fixed.Â