Fitbit has launched its first fitness band dedicated to kids – Fitbit Ace. Apart from the Fitibit Versa, a smartwatch which the company unveiled on Tuesday, Fitbit has introduced the Fitbit Ace for children aged above eight. Modelled after the Fitbit Alta, the new fitness tracker comes in two colour variants – Power Purple and Electric Blue. The Fitbit Ace is currently available for pre-order in the US and comes with a price tag of $99.95 (roughly Rs. 6,500). Notably, it will be available in stores worldwide in Q2 this year.
The company’s first wearable for kids comes with features like daily activity and sleep tracking, motivating challenges, up to 5-day battery life, and parental controls. The aim for Ace, Fitbit says, is to encourage kids to build habits around being physically active from an early age. Parents will be able to use Fitbit’s app to track their kids’ activity levels and sleep cycle. If kids hit their goals, parents can also send them messages and collectible badges, via the Fitbit app on smartphones. However, the Fitbit Ace does not have any GPS capabilities so parents won’t be able to track their children’s location.
With the Fitbit Ace, children will also be able to compete in step challenges with other family members, and send each other messages. Meanwhile, parents will be able to turn on Reminders, which will send on-screen messages on the tracker. Notably, all the information can be seen via the Fitbit app, which syncs with iOS and Android handsets. Additionally, parents can also set up family accounts, besides the child’s account. Using the ‘Parent’s View’, they can view their kid’s activity. However, the Kid’s view is more restricted. With it, they can view their stats, badges, and more, though it can be turned on and off by the parent.
As mentioned, the Fitbit Ace comes with a 5-day battery life and the shockproof band can withstand splashes and spills. Apart from the colour variants, the Fitbit Ace offers 10 clock face designs to choose from.
“As childhood obesity rates continue to rise, it’s more important than ever to empower the entire family to embrace a healthy and more active lifestyle,” said James Park, Fitbit CEO in a press statement. “It can be hard to start and stick to good habits, and we know from our community that network effects are key to getting and keeping people motivated. By bringing that experience to families, it can make healthier habits feel more achievable by making it fun and engaging. We are excited by the opportunity to enable parents to help set their kids on a path to building lifelong, healthy habits all while having fun together.”
[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]
