Google announces Fitbit Ace LTE for kids with Wear OS, Pixel Watch 2 specs

The Fitbit Ace LTE is Google’s newest wearable powered by Wear OS and meant to encourage kids (ages 7+) to be healthy through games, while also serving as a parent-child communication and real-time location device. A monthly or annual Fitbit Ace Pass subscription is required for cellular connectivity, the Fitbit Arcade, and other capabilities.

Hands-on: The Fitbit Ace LTE is Google’s most complete launch in ages [Gallery]

Design + Hardware

Visually, the Ace LTE looks like a Sense 2 or Versa 4 with a rounded square OLED (333 PPI) protected by Gorilla Glass 3. In the box, you get a raised plastic bumper that snaps on to further protect the screen. The housing also consists of stainless steel and recycled plastic.

Battery life is rated at over 16 hours (328 mAh typical) with standalone LTE connectivity and a lot of gaming factored in, but no always-on display. The AOD can be enabled in the Settings app, which is identical to Wear OS. However, there’s no Play Store, third-party apps, or advertising.

Typical usage is based on a school day with 6 sessions of 5-minute gameplay, 10 messages, 3 one-minute voice calls, 5 location checks,  2 payments and 4 hours with Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Fitbit Ace LTE shares many of the same specs as the Pixel Watch 2, including the Snapdragon W5/Qualcomm 5100, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, microphone, 5 ATM (50 meters) water resistance, and the same circular pin-based charger with fast charging support.

Besides 4G LTE (courtesy of the existing Google Fi/T-Mobile partnership), there’s 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and GPS/GNSS. As a Fitbit device, it has a simplified version of the optical heart rate sensor on the Pixel Watch 2, accelerometer, gyroscope, altimeter, magnetometer, and ambient light sensor. Google removed health sensors that are not necessary for kids, like how the ECG app on the Pixel Watch already has a 22+ age requirement.

Gaming + Fitness

To play the games, which are accessed from the bottom “triangle” button on the right edge, kids have to move. For example, you might not be able to play the next level/chapter until getting more activity in, with Google cheekily calling this “interval-based gaming.”

Eejies are customizable creatures that feed off daily activity — the more kids reach their movement goals, the more healthy and happy their eejie gets.

As they progress and complete daily activities, kids earn arcade tickets to customize their eejie character with new outfits and stuff to decorate their “home in Bit Valley, the native home of the eejie” (yes, like “Animal Crossing”).

Titles in the Fitbit Arcade are powered by the Unity engine and take full advantage of the available hardware. For example, there’s a fishing game called “Smokey Lake” where your hand becomes a pole that vibrates when you catch something. You pull your hand up to reel it back in. Another title called “Pollo 11” involves moving your wrist to navigate a “chicken in a bathtub racing through Space.” In addition to gesture-based gameplay, there are also puzzle-esque challenges. New games will be added every few months.

Games can be limited by adults during set hours with “School Time.”

All the available watch faces feature a “Noodle” — which can be a snake, skeleton, or other themed character — activity ring to track their daily Move Goal, which takes into account intensity. For example, 90 points is about 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity.

Google Research developed a new movement algorithm “that better and more accurately measures kids physical activity throughout the day.” The experience takes into account overexertion, while goals aren’t all or nothing.

There’s a large speaker cutout on the left edge and the bottom is home to the sole band connector that will be familiar to Versa/Sense owners. A loop is permanently attached on the top edge. The Fitbit Ace LTE recognizes what bands are plugged in thanks to a patented connection mechanism inspired by Nintendo cartridges of old. This loads new content that can be used to customize their eejie.

There are currently six bands with fun names like Strange Arcade, Moovin’, Spooky Pubs, Glitterbomb Skate, Camp Nightmare, and Courtside. More will be coming.

Smartwatch Features + Mobile App

On the right edge, you’ll find the two buttons that take up that entire edge. The top one is marked by a circle that opens a screen to access communication features, alarm clock, activity stats, and other smartwatch-esque capabilities. Google Wallet tap-to-pay will be introduced in a “couple of months,” with parents able to set an allowance and get real-time spending notifications.

The Ace LTE lets a kid message, call, and send voice memos — using an IP-based backend — to their parents from their wrist. Parents receive and send messages, as well as see a month’s worth of Move Goal progress, using the Fitbit Ace app available on Android and iOS. A child can have up to 20 approved Contacts for calling/messaging on the watch.

Parents can view where their kids are in the Ace app, with this location data deleted after 24 hours. Privacy and data minimization are big tentpoles, with activity history in the Ace app “deleted after a maximum of 35 days.”

The $229.95 Fitbit Ace LTE is available for pre-order today on the Google Store and Amazon with general availability on June 5. More retailers will follow. It’s available in Spicy Pebble (green) with the Moovin’ Band or Mild Pebble (dark gray) with the Strange Arcade Band. 

At launch (until August 31), you can get a 50% discount on the Fitbit Ace Pass and a free band. It’s otherwise $119.99 per year or $9.99 every month for LTE services (messaging, calling, and location sharing), Bit Valley, and Fitbit Arcade games.