Fitbit Ace LTE hands-on: the Apple Watch just got a competitor for kids
Tech
Speaker 1: Fitbit, ACE, LTE is a Google watch with phone and gaming for kids. Let's talk about it. So when are they going to make a good watch for kids? It's a question I've had for a number of years and I've looked at a number of options. I mean, I've used the Apple Watch with one of my kids and set it up for him to make phone calls, and a lot of people do that. And there are a bunch of other options too, and there have been Fitbits for kids too. But Google's new product looks like a really interesting attempt to blend the high end and the fitness thing and some [00:00:30] gaming as well. It's called the Fitbit ace, LTE. And the surprise device is going to be coming out in the next week. And what it is is basically a little risk gaming console with fitness for kids that also makes phone calls. Speaker 1: And the Fitbit based LTE looks kind of like the older Fitbit models, but inside the chip set looks to be pretty powerful. It's got the same chip as the Pixel Watch two, and the graphics and display look really sharp in my brief time with it so far. When I got to check it out, it was very [00:01:00] crisp and the animations were really fun to look at. They were much further along and interesting than anything that I expected from frankly, any of the previous Fitbit products. But of course, Fitbit is now part of Google. The Fitbit ace, LTE is also, you can tell from its name a phone, and that's a big part of how Google's pitching this. You can set up a phone account, you pay $10 a month and you get phone access and it works with both iOS and Android. You can set this up with a dedicated app that's say Fitbit ACE [00:01:30] app on the phone, and you can set up dedicated phone numbers to check in with your kids. Speaker 1: There's also location tracking services and you can also do management to shut down the gaming stuff if they're at school. Sorry kids, but that's good for the parents. The other thing is that these games will be released over time, so it looks like a kind of a subscription offering with all sorts of new interactive games and a bunch of different watch faces and things like that. There's a virtual companion that's on the watch as well that you can add little clothing and things [00:02:00] because activity is also currency. So the more you work out and Fitbit's got all these new algorithms worked out for this earns you points that can get new little bonuses for characters and some of the watch bands at $35 each. Also unlock new animations and extras on the watch. That's almost like DLC cartridges. We'll know more about this watch when we get to actually wear it and review it, or rather my kid does, but I think its price, which is $230 is more than budget watches, but it looks like a really nice package with 16 hours of battery [00:02:30] life and a lot of fun games. So stay tuned. We got a lot more. If you have good questions or comments, please leave them below. Thanks for watching.