Fitbit Ace 3 Review - Worth it for your kid?

Fitbit released the Ace 3 earlier this year, a fitness band especially designed for kids so they can develop healthy habits.

Fitbit Ace 3

If you can notice, Filipino kids these days are spending more time playing indoors with their gadgets or watching TV shows. If this trend will continue, it's easy for them to be sedentary or be couch potatoes. This is the reason why companies developed fitness trackers, even for children. 

Fitbit Ace 3 is a pretty good example of trackers that can keep kids active since it rewards or praises them when they hit step counts and activity targets. This is already the third release from the Fitbit Ace series and it has notable improvements over its predecessor. 

The question here is, is the Ace 3 highly effective and user-friendly for your kids?

Let's find out here!

Unboxing/Accessories

Unboxed

The Fitbit Ace 3 is stored inside a compact, rectangular box in a bright blue color. There's a render of the wearable in front, with a note that this is suited for kids 6 years old and above. Inside the packaging, you'll find the tracker itself, charging cradle with cable and USB-A port, and the product manual.

Build Quality/Design

Backview of the tracker showing sensors and charging pins

Just like the previous wearables in the Ace series, this fitness tracker is made of plastic and rubber. To start with, it comes in two colors: Black with a Sport Red clasp and Cosmic Blue with an Astro Green clasp. Fitbit also released a Minion-themed Ace 3 in Despicable Blue and Mischief Black. 

The one we have is in Cosmic Blue Color with an Astro Green Clasp. It's good that the company offered this product in a variety of fun and vibrant colors. In general, kids want to choose the color of their accessories based on their moods or personalities.

Similar to the Ace 2, the Fitbit Ace 3 is a small, rectangular pebble enclosed in a silicone band that protects it from lumps and bumps. But the watch's face is rounded while the Ace 2 got edges. 

High-quality silicone strap

The Ace 3 itself is about 1.47 inches long, and the strap is slim and adjustable. The bands are made of a soft rubber material that bends and folds easily.

Although this is meant for kids, it can still fit slim adult wrists. It feels comfortable and lightweight that you can almost forget you're wearing it.

Everything is water-resistant so your child can wear it during showers, swimming, or water activities. It even has a water lock feature built-in that prevents accidental touches whenever water hits the screen.

Note that the sensor module or the tracker's body is removable from the strap housing it. The housing for the tracker has a cutout on each side. Basically, it allows the user's fingers to lightly touch the side of the sensor module. The screen will light up and a short vibration will follow, letting the wearer know the device is awake. 

This action will activate the buttons used to wake and control this wearable. You can explore the features and functions by swiping and tapping on the touchscreen. This tracker's display will also light up each time the kid raises his/her wrist like when checking the time.

Display Quality

A black and white display

In front, you can see a monochrome PMOLED display in a rectangular shape with a rounded top and bottom. The black and white screen is pretty responsive, but it appears to lack contrast and brightness. 

There are times that it's hard to view the details on the tracker when used outdoors but it's fine for indoor activities. This can be a disadvantage especially if the kid who's wearing it prefers to play outside. We hope that Fitbit will improve the screen's brightness.

Battery Life

We can say the battery life of Ace 3 is one of its strengths. While some wearables need to be charged every 3 or 5 days, this fitness band can last more than its claim of 8 days. Upon observation, Fitbit Ace 3's battery endured about 10 days on a single charge.

Battery life is mighty, impressive!

Even though we found it actually lasts longer, do note it varies depending on usage. Long battery life on a fitness band is advantageous, given that the Ace 3 is geared towards kids. In general, children won't be mindful of charging devices every now and then.

Performance

Basic steps count

The touchscreen has a reduced number of features compared to an adult's fitness band. Swiping between the settings and notification screens seems simple and intuitive. Perhaps, children age 7 years old and above can easily find their way through the menus without coaching.

The Fitbit 3 does everything you expect of a fitness tracker for kids. Basically, it can count steps and measures activity accurately with its 3-axis accelerometer. 

The watch's face also displays cute animation whenever a target was reached. This can be a simple way to motivate kids to move more and do more. 

Note that this wearable lacks sports modes like the traditional ones have. Clearly, it passively tracks activity levels throughout the day of your kids, whether they are running or playing.

Ace 3 also allows its users to see their key activity stats for the day on their wrist, as well as call alerts and short text messages if it's linked with their own phone.

Timers

Under the timer feature, there are stopwatch and countdown functionalities that can be useful for races and games. There's also an option for kid users to challenge their family members (must also be Fitbit users) on fun competitions. They can send each other messages or cheers in the Fitbit app.

Many parents believe that enough hours of sleep is vital for their children's well-being. Luckily, they can track it with Fitbit Ace 3 and they can even schedule bedtime hours. Again, there won't be a breakdown or analytics of sleeping patterns so it's just the number of hours of sleep.

Set an alarm for your kid

A quiet buzz on the wrist will act as a reminder that it's time to go to sleep. This can also serve as a gentle alarm in the morning, especially if your kid is having a hard time waking up on time regularly.

To give kids lots of options, Fitbit also included a nice selection of watch faces that can be changed through the app. There are cute characters like a bunny, cat, plant, Martian, and spaceship. 

Playful clock faces!

Each character has different animations that change as the child progresses through the day. For example, the spaceship will blast off when the child reaches a certain number of steps.

Water Lock

Lastly, Fitbit equipped this wearable with a water lock that simply locks the screen to prevent settings from being changed by accident. This is handy especially if your kid prefers to wear this band when swimming, taking a shower, or washing his/her hands with running water.

Parent's View and Kid's View

In the Fitbit app, parents can set up a family account to access privacy controls and protections. The Parent View lets them see their kid’s activity, manage what is shown on their kid’s app experience, and approve their kid’s friend requests.

A great way to monitor not only your kid's activities but their safety as well

On the other hand, kids experience Ace 3 via the app’s Kid View. There, they can view the activity and sleep stats, as well as parent-approved friends, clock faces, avatars, and badges.

We can say that the app is easy to understand for kids and even non-techie parents. It's also good that Fitbit had thought of the children's privacy and protection for parents' peace of mind.

Pros - Comfortable fit, IP68, water-resistance with a lock feature, long-lasting battery, fun color options, intuitive interface, cool animations

Cons - Dull monochrome display, no GPS, lacks Find Phone feature, no Water Reminder

Fitbit Ace 3 Specs

Display: 1.47" PMOLED  monochrome touchscreen of 240x240 pixel resolution

Battery: up to 8 days of use 

OS: Works with Android and iOS

Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2

Sensors: 3-axis accelerometer, vibration motors

Others: Water resistance up to 50 meters, Colors: Cosmic Blue + Astro Green, Black + Sports Red

Dimensions: 104.9 x 85.1 x 20.3 mm 

Weight: 70g

Price: PHP 4,790

Verdict

Honestly, adults may find this wearable too plain but simplicity is perhaps what kids really need. There's no need for extras like stress monitoring, heart rate tracking, or sleep pattern analytics since they won't be able to grasp those.

For our recommendation, it would be much better if Fitbit equipped Ace 3 with a Water Reminder, Find Phone Feature, and even an Event Reminder.

Though the Fitbit Ace 3 is not the most affordable band around, it is a great wearable to encourage your child to be more active. Sure, it has its shortcoming in terms of hardware and features but it has strong points in terms of build, battery life, and user-friendliness. 

If you're looking for a way to get your kid excited about getting up and moving around, the Fitbit Ace 3 is a clear winner. This may be a worthy splurge for your kid.

Build / Design - 4

Display - 3.5

Battery Life - 4.25

Performance - 4

Average - 3.938/5