Smartwatch for an 11yr Old

JuryWheel on 27/06/2023 - 08:36

HI All

We have an 11yr old boy whos after a smartwatch - he has had the Garmin vivofit jnrs in the past, but the screen is just a little bit too small and dull.

He doesnt have a phone or anything, and really the main use case is telling the time, counting steps, maybe have an option to track a run/bike ride type fitness, set some simple alarms, maybe change the watch face/look of it, and ideally tell the weather. Im assuming some of these (mainly weather) would need my phone to be synced to it which isnt a big drama, but are there some that just use home wifi to get its info like weather?

Ideally battery life would be a number of days (otherwise he probably wont use it…)

Doesnt need to be able to make calls/track him etc.

Budget up to $150 max id suggest.

Would something like the another Garmin, or a Mi Band 7/8? Basic apple watch is a bit out of the budget and use case atm….

Any good options out there?

Cheers

Electrical & Electronics Smartwatch

Comments

  • Lucille Bluth on 27/06/2023 - 08:53

    Budget up to $150 max id suggest.

    Would something like the another Garmin

    For $150 max for Garmin you may struggle. Venu Sq is $198 on Amazon right now. If you double the budget you can get a Garmin Instinct Solar for $350ish via Amazon UK

    • JuryWheel on 27/06/2023 - 09:04

      I saw that deal for the Mi Band 7 - only thing i wasnt sure about was how it works when its not synced/connected to the phone - i dont want him constantly coming to me to sync on the phone.
      Also wasnt sure if Mi Band 8 was worth the extra money? It has an always on display and brighter display, but cant see much else…

      • Lordsina on 27/06/2023 - 09:13

        You can see all important info on Mi Band itself, like health metrics, weather, time, etc. One big thing with Mi Band 8 is 60hz display ( 7 has 30 ) which makes it much more smoother than 7. 7 can be very laggy some times. 8 also has some watch faces that has basic games which could be fun for a kid.

        • JuryWheel on 27/06/2023 - 09:17

          I think the 7 may have the watch faces with the games too…? Not sure if there are faces that only work on the 8

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFDH8W4BcJE

          • CrispyChrispy on 27/06/2023 - 09:37

            @JuryWheel: They work on the Mi Band 7, but'll work a lot better on the 8. Night and day difference in smoothness between the models. Would highly advise going for the 8, as can be had for not much more than the Band 7.

            • JuryWheel on 27/06/2023 - 09:44

              @CrispyChrispy: Looks like you cant buy the 8 in a "global" version yet - on CN version. Bit of a bummer

          • pinkybrain on 27/06/2023 - 09:39

            @JuryWheel: these miband's battery will die in about 1 year..

            Also nowadays the bigger screen are better e.g Amazefit band or the huamei band

            btw these are consider fitness bands rather than smart watch

            Smart watch is more like the Samsung and Apple smartwatch which can actually install more apps.

            • JuryWheel on 27/06/2023 - 09:44

              @pinkybrain: True

            • CrispyChrispy on 27/06/2023 - 09:45

              @pinkybrain:

              these miband's battery will die in about 1 year..

              Have an old Mi Band 4 that even after a solid few years of every day use still holds up with my current Mi Band 7. Yes, it's a lower res, smaller screen on the 4, but the battery life is still more than usable, easily enough battery to last a week or two depending on usage/brightness.

              Smart watch is more like the Samsung and Apple smartwatch which can actually install more apps.

              True, though the Mi Band will achieve all of OP's son's use case of:

              telling the time, counting steps, maybe have an option to track a run/bike ride type fitness, set some simple alarms, maybe change the watch face/look of it, and ideally tell the weather.

              Not to mention an Apple/Samsung Watch will be dead after a day's use and is far out of OP's price range.

              • pinkybrain on 27/06/2023 - 10:09

                @CrispyChrispy: you must be lucky..
                Most batteries of miband don't last after a year..
                I got 2 and they don't hold any charge.
                Consider these bands throwaway after a year.

                also the health tracking features are questionable..
                and even with the data you track, most people just don't do anything with that data or just ignore it..

                even doctor in medical field says the medical field has no idea what to do with that data etc
                https://youtu.be/B_CSzCer1-4?t=696

                True, though the Mi Band will achieve all of OP's son's use case of:

                Not just about use case, but should also consider financial saving (especially cost of living and inflation nowadays)
                and long term what the child will want.

                Eventually the kid will desire a phone..
                Surprising that he doesn't have a phone already.

                OP could spend - Budget up to $150 max on some fitness band or smart watch etc
                but the kid is gonna ask for a phone not too long after this…

                • JuryWheel on 27/06/2023 - 10:16
                  +1

                  @pinkybrain: Do you have kids? Personally, my kids wont be getting a phone until they are at least 13, if not older. If they want something thats locked down to use for calling/messaging us, taking photos and listening to music, thats ok - eventually - but imo, kids have no need for a phone at 11.

      • CrispyChrispy on 27/06/2023 - 09:17
        +1

        The Mi Band 7 requires a phone to setup, but after that it doesn't need to be connected to your phone thru Bluetooth or anything to work (though if you disconnect/forget the Mi Band through the app then the Mi Band will stop working; if you uninstall the app without forgetting the Mi Band it will still work). Should be a set-and-forget kind of thing unless he somehow resets the watch or something.

  • ssx on 27/06/2023 - 10:35

    I just went through the same thing. Upgraded the kids' watches from the garmin kids watches to Mi Band 6 and both kids are very happy with it (ages 11 & 9).

    Haven't had any lag issues and it syncs much better than the Garmin did. Plus the bands are cheap on aliexpress, so they can change them up when they get bored.

    • JuryWheel on 27/06/2023 - 10:48

      thanks for the tip - how does it go with 2 bands syncing data to 1 phone? Can you look at their steps/activities/sleep etc pretty easily?

      • ssx on 27/06/2023 - 10:54
        +2

        Ah, I should have mentioned that they have an old Xiaomi phone each, so we haven't had the issue of syncing to a single phone.

  • tekisei on 27/06/2023 - 13:46

    Have you considered hybrid smartwatches (e.g. with physical hands, bluetooth, step tracker, alarm and so on - some have screens but some do not). Battery life would be 1 month (rechargable) up to 2 years (button battery).

    E.g. Skagen/Fossil, Withings (Withings Steel HR has been less than $140 before), Kronaby (new for about $220 on eBay), maybe even used Garmin Vivomove.

    I have to admit choices are slim though.

  • ShortyX on 27/06/2023 - 14:44
    +1

    Another suggestion - Amazfit Bip 3 Pro or Xiaomi Band 7 Pro

    We've used previous versions of the Amazfit Bip for our kids and they've been great value. Key notes:

    • Inbuilt GPS for better sports tracking
    • HR monitoring (Bip 3 Pro has SPO2)
    • Phone usually not required but I set up separate profiles in the Zepp app to sync workout data & update GPS data
    • Waterproof
    • Watch faces
    • Good battery life (about a month) - Bip 3 Pro is about 2 weeks
    • Alarm / stopwatch / timer
    • No notifications from phone
  • sumyungguy on 27/06/2023 - 20:10

    There are a few fake/clone Apple Watches around, some have been reviewed on line; e.g. Hk8 Pro Max Ultra

    • neil aus on 03/10/2023 - 10:52

      Anyone know where to best buy the HK8 from?

      • sumyungguy on 03/10/2023 - 10:55
        +1

        A$35 via AliExpress:
        From $68.90 via Amazon

        • neil aus on 08/10/2023 - 11:01

          I looked at this last week, and now it’s gone :(

          Any idea why the AliExpress listing has vanished?

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