Samsung is launching an all-new Galaxy Watch for Kids ‘experience’ at today’s (Jan 22) Samsung Galaxy Unpacked presentation – well actually, a little before its big keynote kicks off.
Rather than making a dedicated version of the Galaxy Watch, like the Fitbit Ace LTE, Samsung has created the Galaxy Watch for Kids experience, a new mode you can select on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 LTE – one of the best Samsung watches. This mode prevents the child from accessing certain features, allows parents to stay connected, offers safety features like SOS messages, and provides ‘self-expression and learning experiences.’
These experiences are launching with over 20 ‘teacher-approved’ apps, including some from a variety of recognizable IPs, such as Barbie, Crayola, PBS Kids, and Unicorn Academy.
However, it’s Marvel that takes front and center in the marketing. The Marvel HQ app offers watch faces inspired by characters like Captain America and Groot but kicks it into high gear by allowing kids to mix tunes on the app’s DJ interface and dance in real life to move with Groot.
By pairing the watch with a parent’s smartphone, the parent can select “set up for a child” on the Watch 7 LTE, using Google Family Link to create multiple accounts. After activating the eSim on the watch, a phone is no longer required for the child to use the watch and access the core functionality.
Safety tools for parents include location sharing, managing their child’s contacts, a ‘Do-Not-Disturb-like’ mode, and SOS Messages, which can be sent by pressing the watch’s side button five times.
Kids bands will be available to purchase for the watch, which acts as a protective silicone covering, although users buying a Galaxy Watch 7 LTE from Samsung.com will receive a free kids band.
Like the Fitbit Ace LTE, Galaxy Watch for Kids is only available in the US at present.
This mode is similar to Apple’s ‘Apple Watch For Your Kids’ experience, which also offers emergency SOS messages, child-orientated movement tracking, kid-friendly watch faces and educational apps, alongside Apple Cash, a way to send money through Apple devices to act like an allowance used with Apple Pay. Like the Samsung experience, you need an LTE watch to use the ‘Apple Watch for Kids’ feature.