Health and fitness are of course just as important for children as it is for adults, which is why Fitbit has an activity tracker specially designed for young people, the new Fitbit Ace 3, aimed at boys and girls. girls aged 6 to 12. .
The Ace 3 is one way to motivate kids to be more active, but it could also inspire the whole family to get in shape (as long as they each have a Fitbit to wear).
We took a look at Fitbit’s kid-centric tracker to see if it was best suited for younger users to track their activity.
You might also want to know which are the best activity trackers available for adults.
What is included in the package?
The tracker is housed in a durable silicone strap in one of two color combinations: black / sport red or cosmic blue / astro green.
Unlike other Fitbits, there is only one strap that fits most children’s wrists.
There’s also a proprietary USB charger that magnetically clips onto the back of the Ace 3’s body, and best of all, you don’t have to remove the tracker from the band to charge.
Once unboxed, all you have to do is set up the tracker using the free Fitbit mobile app (available on Android and iOS).
Design and build
While it looks less stylish than any of the “adult” Fitbits in the company’s lineup, the Ace 3 isn’t overtly childish, like many activity trackers for boys and girls. .
It is clearly designed to withstand a child’s most awkward and loudest lifestyle, compared to trackers and smart watches the adult-oriented business; with the body of the tracker protected by a wraparound silicone bumper which is integrated into the strap.
The silicone strap has a watch-shaped buckle which is much less likely to come off than the clip clasps on watches. smart watches from Fitbit.
However, it is quite easy to push the tracker part out of the strap, so it should be noted that restless boys and girls could detach it and possibly lose it, if they are not taught how to take good care of their new one. gadget.
The Ace 3 is waterproof up to 50 meters, so it can be worn in the shower, the bath, the swimming pool and even the sea. La mayoría de las empresas renuncian a sugerir que sus productos resistentes al agua pueden sumergirse en el agua salada, pero Fitbit menciona activamente the posibilidad of llevar el Ace 3 al oceano, where the extra da puntos en términos de resistencia, según las palabras of the company.
That said, unlike other Fitbit trackers, it doesn’t specifically offer swim tracking, although the app manual does have a picture of it. This may become a feature that will roll out in a future firmware update, but as of now it’s technically off the table.
Screen
The Ace 3’s screen has more than doubled in size, compared to the 0.7-inch offering on the locked-down Fitbit Ace 2 plus of 2019.
A 1.47-inch monochrome PMOLED touchscreen lets you swipe up and down to see different stats, such as steps and active minutes, but further customization of the data displayed would have been nice. The step counter is small on the first face of the watch, and you need to go through another time and date screen before accessing the rest of the stats.
Kids can set their own avatars, and the Ace 3 comes with a range of watch faces to further personalize their Fitbit experience. There are 20 faces in total, some of which are animated, for example a rabbit, a cat, a monster, a martian and a spaceship.
The similarly priced Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 has a basic color display, but it doesn’t offer much more in terms of features in comparison, just an aesthetic advantage.
Software and tools
The Ace 3 offers a reduced range of fitness features and notifications, compared to Fitbit’s “adult” trackers. It counts steps, records active minutes, and monitors basic sleep patterns, but doesn’t have heart rate tracking.
It’s a little-known fact that the Fitbit Ace 3 includes sensors for heart rate tracking, but they are turned off and cannot be turned on. Indeed, it’s essentially a trimmed adult tracker, much like the entry-level Fitbit Inspire 2, but with a more rugged body for boys and girls.
That said, it’s more than just a pedometer, as the Fitbit app features fun motivational challenges, a timer, and a stopwatch. And there are onscreen call and text alerts for boys and girls with a smartphone.
Fitbit purposely excludes calorie counting as a function, so as not to help fixate around calories or weight for younger users. Exercise and general activity are the driving forces behind the Ace 3.
Motivate children to be more active
It will not be very interesting for many children to just show how many steps have been taken in a day.
A motion reminder feature prompts the user to get up from the chair if they haven’t done much in the past 50 minutes and the goal is to take at least 250 steps per hour (you set the hourly).
Best of all, Fitbit’s great mobile app awards virtual badges as a reward for meeting activity milestones, and the whole family (plus logged in friends) can participate in competitions (like Family Faceoff), challenges, and more. adventures, depending on their activity; again, as long as everyone else is wearing a Fitbit, of course.
There is a much wider range of Fitbits for adults and we’ve tested them all, so you can choose the best Fitbit for you, based on features, style and price.
Fitb it Kids View and Parents View
The Ace 3 must be associated with a family Fitbit account, with a parent settling first, followed by the child the Ace 3 is intended for.
Boys and girls up to 13 (and 16 in some countries) can’t officially have their own Fitbit account, so the Ace line is the only current Fitbit series that supports a kids view and a parent view. Separated.
Once you’ve entered data such as your child’s date of birth, gender, and height – which Fitbit uses to personalize the child’s experience – through Parental View, you’ll be able to see your child’s activity. child and approve any connection if other people are invited to participate.
The child wearing the Fitbit Ace 3 will then have access to their own child view, where they can see their stats, virtual badges and choose their preferred watch face.
Sleep tracking
The Ace 3 also measures baseline sleep patterns, showing how long your child is asleep, awake, and restless.
Sleep is an incredibly important part of all of our lives, but especially so for growing children. If Ace 3’s bedtime reminders help kids get to bed a little earlier, it’s worth the investment for this feature alone.
The more sophisticated Fitbits go much further, using heart rate and other factors to show how long users are in light, deep, and REM sleep, but for children, this basic level of measurement seems correct; after all, most parents are happy that their little ones are in bed.
Parents can use the Fitbit app to set bedtime reminders, as well as silent alarms that wake their kids up with gentle ringing sounds on their wrists.
Drums
The Ace 3 boasts an impressive eight days of battery life (the Ace 2 only had five days) which is a lot, but as to who is responsible for recharging the tracker when the battery dies, it depends. from you (and it will probably be you).
I’m amazed that it doesn’t match the Inspire 2’s ten days of battery life, and honestly, I hope it does if you don’t go overboard with clock face animations too often. .
The Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 has a replaceable, rather than rechargeable, battery that lasts for about a year.
Pricing and availability
The Fitbit Ace 3 costs $ 79.95, making it the cheapest Fitbit in the current lineup, and you can often find discounts online if you keep looking or just take a look at our article on the best deals. Fitbit.
As we have already mentioned, it is available in Cosmic Blue with accents of Astro Green or in Black with Sport Red. The additional bracelets cost £ 19.99 / US $ 24.95 / $ 24.95, but only the aforementioned two color combinations are available at launch.
The older Ace 2 had more accessory options than the Ace 3, although there were promises of Ace 3 models and bracelets based on the Minions (Despicable Blue and Mischief Black) on the way.
The Vivofit Jr 3 offers more color options, as well as Marvel and Disney princess themes, while older boys and girls (say 10 and up) might be less enamored with the voluminous and colorful aesthetic of the Ace 3 directly.
If so, one option that keeps you (or rather your child) in the Fitbit infrastructure is to simply install the Inspire 2 bands on the Ace 3 tracker, although you sacrifice some of that all-important resistance in the process. .
Verdict
The Fitbit Ace 3 is specially designed for boys and girls (made all the more evident by its sturdy design and fun animated dials) and comes with views for parents and kids from the Fitbit app.
However, it lacks a ton of features found on slightly more expensive Fitbit trackers, which is a bit frustrating.
Older kids may prefer a more “adult” tracker (like the Inspire 2, although they should be lying about their age when setting up the account), but for kids up to 10 years old, the Ace 3 is a great tracker. younger family members in the Fitbit experience and motivate them to get moving with fun challenges and rewards.
.
Table of Contents
