Smartwatches can be a difficult thing to buy for kids. Can you find something small enough, something sturdy enough to make it through their day? What about stuff like privacy concerns, and parental controls? As such, Garmin has announced a new kid-friendly smartwatch: the Garmin Vivofit Jr 3.
Now, Garmin has equipped its latest kid-friendly tracker with a new colour MIP watch face (0.56″x0.56″), unlike the fitness band form-factor of the Vivofit Jr 2. In addition to three standard colours (Digi Camo, Blue Stars, and Lilac Floral), you’ll also be able to choose Marvel-themed versions (Iron Man, Black Panther) or Disney options (Disney Princess, The Little Mermaid).
The Vivofit Jr 3 smartwatch aims to add an element of fun to exercise and chores for kids, with a variety of features that gamify—and reward—good behaviour. Parents can also use the Garmin Jr app to monitor their child’s activity, sleep data, chores completed, and set the aforementioned rewards with virtual coins (to be redeemed in person, later).
There is also something called the Garmin World Tour App Adventure, where kids can unlock new locations, take pop quizzes, and fill a virtual scrapbook. To progress through the World Tour, they will have to achieve daily 60-minute activity goals, and the more they do this, the more of the story they’ll unlock. Meanwhile, Fitness Cards that are unlocked will offer exercise instructions—so that your kids will keep moving as they play.
It’s worth noting that a lot of these features will work in tandem with a paired smartphone, so it appears that the Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 is a device that will require attention from kids and parents. Additionally, Garmin’s kid-friendly wearable is still a fitness tracker—junior design or otherwise. You get 5ATM water resistance, along with a replaceable 1-year battery.
Step and sleep tracking, daily recommended activity minutes are available, while kids should enjoy the variety of downloadable watch faces and character step icons. If you want to challenge your child to a “step” contest, you can get the whole family involved via Toe-to-Toe step challenges. What’s also interesting is the Vivofit Jr 3’s “in case of emergency” widget—although this does not actually call the ICE contact. Instead, ICE information will be displayed on the watch’s display.
Now, this may be a smartwatch for kids, but it’s certainly a price tag for adults. The Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 has a retail price of USD 79.99 (~RM331), with additional bands sold at USD 29.99 (~RM124). At the time of writing, we haven’t received any official word on Malaysian availability, but you can be sure that we’ll share the latest developments when available.
