With the release of watchOS 7, Apple at last turned the Apple Watch into the GPS-based kid tracker parents have wanted, albeit at a price point that requires careful consideration. As someone in the target demographic for such a device \u2014 a parent of a \u201ctween\u201d who\u2019s allowed to freely roam the neighborhood (but not without some sort of communication device) \u2014 I put the new Family Setup system for the Apple Watch through its paces over the past couple of months.
\nThe result? To be frank, I\u2019m conflicted as to whether I\u2019d recommend the Apple Watch to a fellow parent, as opposed to just suggesting that it\u2019s time to get the child a phone.
\nThis has to do, in part, with the advantages offered by a dedicated family-tracking solution \u2014 like Life360, for example \u2014 as well as how a child may respond to the Apple Watch itself, and the quirks of using a solution that wasn\u2019t initially designed with the needs of family tracking in mind.<\/p>\n
As a parent of a busy and active tween (nearly 11), I can see the initial appeal of an Apple Watch as a family tracker. It has everything you need for that purpose: GPS tracking, the ability to call and text, alerts and access to emergency assistance. It\u2019s easy to keep up with, theoretically, and it\u2019s not as pricey as a new iPhone. (The new Apple Watch SE cellular models start at $329. The feature also works on older Apple Watch Series 4 or later models with cellular. Adding the Apple Watch to your phone plan is usually around $10 per month more.)
\nI think the Apple Watch as a kid tracker mainly appeals to a specific type of parent: one who\u2019s worried about the dangers of giving a younger child a phone and thereby giving them access to the world of addictive apps and the wider internet. I understand that concern, but I personally disagree with the idea that you should wait until a child is \u201colder,\u201d then hand them a phone and say \u201cok, good luck with that!\u201d They need a transition period and the \u201ctween\u201d age range is an ideal time frame to get started.<\/p>\n
Apple\u2019s new \u2018Family Setup\u2019 aims to make Apple Watch a kid tracker<\/p>\n
The reality is that smartphones and technology are unavoidable. As a parent, I believe it\u2019s my job to introduce these things in small measures \u2014 with parental controls and screen time limits, for example. And then I need to monitor their usage. I may make mistakes, and so will my daughter, but we both need these extra years to figure out how to balance parenting and the use of digital tools. With a phone, I know I will have to have the hard conversations about the problems we run into. I understand, too, why parents want to put that off, and just buy a watch instead.<\/p>\n
Image Credits: TechCrunch<\/p>\n
After my experience, I feel the only cases where I\u2019d fully endorse the Apple Watch would be for those tech-free or tech-light families where kids will not be given phones at any point, households where kids\u2019 phone usage is highly restricted (like those with Wi-Fi-only phones) or those where kids don\u2019t get phones until their later teenage years. I am not here to convince them of my alternative, perhaps more progressive view on when to give a kid a phone. The Apple Watch may make sense for these families, and that\u2019s their prerogative.
\nHowever, a number of people may be wondering if the Apple Watch can be a temporary solution for perhaps a year or two before they buy the child a smartphone. To them, I have to say this feels like an expensive way to delay the inevitable, unavoidable task of having to parent your child through the digital age.
\nGiven my position on the matter, my one big caveat to this review is that my daughter does, in fact, have a smartphone. Also, let\u2019s be clear: this is not meant to be a thorough review of the Apple Watch itself, or a detailed report of its various \u201ctech specs.\u201d It\u2019s a subjective report as to how things went for us, from which, hopefully, you can learn.<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Apple<\/p>\n
To begin, the process of configuring the new Apple Watch with Family Setup was easy. \u201cSet Up for a Family Member\u201d is one of two setup options to tap on as you get started. Apple offers a simple user interface that walks you through pairing the Watch with your phone and all the choices that have to be made, like enabling cellular, turning on \u201cAsk to Buy\u201d for app purchases, enabling Schooltime and Activity features and more.
\nWhat was harder was actually using the Apple Watch as intended after it was configured. I found it far easier to launch an iPhone app (like Life360, which we use) where everything you need is in one place. That turned out not to be true for the Apple Watch Family Setup system.
\nFor the purpose of testing the Apple Watch with Family Setup, my daughter would leave her iPhone behind when she went out biking or when meeting up with friends for outdoor activities.
\nAs a child who worked her way up to an iPhone over a couple of years, I have to admit I was surprised at how irresponsible she was with the watch in the early weeks.
\nShe didn\u2019t at all respect the multi-hundred-dollar device it was, at first, but rather treated it like her junk jewelry or her wrist-worn scrunchies. The Apple Watch was tossed on a dresser, a bathroom counter, a kitchen table, on a beanbag chair and so on.
\nThankfully, the \u201cFind My\u201d app can locate the Apple Watch, if it has battery and a signal. But I\u2019m not going to lie \u2014 there were some scary moments where a dead watch was later found on the back of a toilet (!!), on the top of the piano and, once, abandoned at a friend\u2019s house.
\nAnd this, from a child who always knows where her iPhone is!
\nThe problem is that her iPhone is something she learned to be responsible for after years of practice. This fooled me into thinking she actually was responsible for expensive devices. For two years, we painfully went through a few low-end Android phones while she got the hang of keeping up with and caring for such a device. Despite wrapping those starter phones in protective cases, we still lost one to a screen-destroying crash on a tile floor and another to being run over by a car. (How it flew out of a pocket and into the middle of the road, I\u2019ll never understand!)
\nBut, eventually, she did earn access to a hand-me-down iPhone. And after initially only being allowed to use it in the house on Wi-Fi, that phone now goes outdoors and has its own phone number. And she has been careful with it in the months since. (Ahem, knocks on wood.)
\nThe Apple Watch, however, held no such elevated status for her. It was not an earned privilege. It was not fun. It was not filled with favorite apps and games. It was, instead, thrust upon her.
\nWhile the iPhone is used often for enjoyable and addictive activities like Roblox, TikTok, Disney+ and Netflix, the Apple Watch was boring by comparison. Sure, there are a few things you can do on the device \u2014 it has an App Store! You can make a Memoji! You can customize different watch faces! But unless this is your child\u2019s first-ever access to technology, these features may have limited appeal.
\n\u201cDo you want to download this game? This looks fun,\u201d I suggested, pointing to a coloring game, as we looked at her Watch together one night.
\n\u201cNo thanks,\u201d she replied.
\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d
\n\u201cI just don\u2019t think it would be good on the little screen.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe a different game?\u201d
\n\u201cNah.\u201d
\nAnd that was that. I could not convince her to give a single Apple Watch app a try in the days that followed.
\nShe didn\u2019t even want to stream music on the Apple Watch \u2014 she has Alexa for that, she pointed out. She didn\u2019t want to play a game on the watch \u2014 she has Roblox on the bigger screen of her hand-me-down laptop. She also has a handheld Nintendo Switch.<\/p>\n
Image Credits: TechCrunch<\/p>\n
Initially, she picked an Apple Watch face that matched her current \u201caesthetic\u201d \u2014 simple and neutral \u2014 and that was the extent of her interest in personalizing the device in the first several weeks.
\nHaving already burned herself out on Memoji by borrowing my phone to play with the feature when it launched, there wasn\u2019t as much interest in doing more with the customized avatar creation process, despite my suggestions to try it. (She had already made a Memoji her Profile photo for her contact card on iPhone.)
\nHowever, I later showed her the Memoji Watch Face option after I set it up, and asked her if she liked it. She responded \u201cYESSSS. I love it,\u201d and snatched the watch from my hand to play some more.
\nDemo\u2019ing features is important, it seems.
\nBut largely, the Apple Watch was strapped on only at my request as she walked out the door.
\nSoon, this became a routine.
\n\u201cCan I go outside and play?\u201d
\n\u201cYes. Wear the watch!\u201d I\u2019d reply.
\n\u201cI knowwww.\u201d
\nIt took over a month to get to the point that she would remember the watch on her own.
\nI have to admit that I didn\u2019t fully demo the Apple Watch to her or explain how to use it in detail, beyond a few basics in those beginning weeks. While I could have made her an expert, I suppose, I think it\u2019s important to realize that many parents are less tech-savvy than their kids. The children are often left to fend for themselves when it comes to devices, and this particular kid has had several devices. For that reason, I was curious how a fairly tech-literate child who has moved from iPad to Android to now iPhone, and who hops from Windows to Mac to Chromebook, would now adapt to an Apple Watch.
\nAs it turned out, she found it a little confusing.
\n\u201cWhat do you think about the Watch?\u201d I asked one evening, feeling her out for an opinion.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s fun\u2026but sometimes I don\u2019t really understand it,\u201d she replied.
\n\u201cWhat don\u2019t you understand?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. Just\u2026almost everything,\u201d she said, dramatically, as tweens tend to do. \u201cLike, sometimes I don\u2019t know how to turn up and down the volume.\u201d
\nUpon prodding, I realize she meant this: she was confused about how to adjust the alert volume for messages and notifications, as well as how to change the Watch from phone calls to a vibration or to silence calls altogether with Do Not Disturb. (It was her only real complaint, but annoying enough to be \u201calmost everything,\u201d I guess!)
\nI\u2019ll translate now from kid language what I learned here.
\nFirst, given that the \u201cDo Not Disturb\u201d option is accessible from a swipe gesture, it\u2019s clear my daughter hadn\u2019t fully explored the watch\u2019s user interface. It didn\u2019t occur to her that the swipe gestures of the iPhone would have their own Apple Watch counterparts. (And also, why would you swipe up from the bottom of the screen for the Control Center when that doesn\u2019t work on the iPhone anymore? On iPhone, you now swipe down from the top-right\u00a0to get to Control Center functions.)
\nAnd she definitely hadn\u2019t discovered the tiny \u201cSettings\u201d app (the gear icon) on the Apple Watch\u2019s Home Screen to make further changes.
\nInstead, her expectation was that you should be able to use either a button on the side for managing volume \u2014 you know, like on a phone \u2014 or maybe the digital crown, since that\u2019s available here. But these physical features of the device \u2014 confusingly \u2014 took her to that \u201cunimportant stuff\u201d like the Home Screen and an app switcher, when in actuality, it was calls, notifications and alerts that were the app\u2019s main function, in her opinion.
\nAnd why do you need to zoom into the Home Screen with a turn of the digital crown? She wasn\u2019t even using the apps at this point. There weren\u2019t that many on the screen.
\nCurious, since she didn\u2019t care for the current lineup of apps, I asked for feedback.
\n\u201cWhat kind of apps do you want?,\u201d I asked.
\n\u201cRoblox and TikTok.\u201d
\n\u201cRoblox?!,\u201d I said, laughing. \u201cHow would that even work?\u201d
\nAs it turned out, she didn\u2019t want to play Roblox on her watch. She wanted to respond to her incoming messages and participate in her group chats from her watch.
\nOh. That\u2019s actually a reasonable idea. The Apple Watch is, after all, a messaging device.
\nAnd since many kids her age don\u2019t have a phone or the ability to use a messaging app like Snapchat or Instagram, they trade Roblox usernames and friend each other in the game as a way to work around this restriction. They then message each other to arrange virtual playdates or even real-life ones if they live nearby.
\nBut the iOS version of the Roblox mobile app doesn\u2019t have an Apple Watch counterpart.
\n\u201cAnd TikTok?\u201d I also found this hilarious.
\nBut the fact that Apple Watch is not exactly an ideal video player is lost on her. It\u2019s a device with a screen, connected to the internet. So why isn\u2019t that enough, she wondered?
\n\u201cYou could look through popular TikToks,\u201d she suggested. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t need to make an account or anything,\u201d she clarified, as if these details would fix the only problems she saw with her suggestion.
\nEven if the technology was there, a TikTok experience on the small screen would never be a great one. But this goes to show how much interest in technology is directly tied to what apps and games are available, compared with the technology platform itself.
\nOther built-in features had even less appeal than the app lineup.<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Apple<\/p>\n
Though I had set up some basic Activity features during the setup process, like a \u201cMove Goal,\u201d she had no idea what any of that was. So I showed her the \u201crings\u201d and how they worked, and she thought it was kind of neat that the Apple Watch could track her standing. However, there was no genuine interest or excitement in being able to quantify her daily movement \u2014 at least, not until one day many weeks later when were hiking and she heard my watch ding as my rings closed and wanted to do the same on hers. She became interested in recording her steps for that hike, but the interest wasn\u2019t sustained afterwards.
\nApple said it built in the Activity features so kids could track their move goal and exercise progress. But I would guess many kids won\u2019t care about this, even if they\u2019re active. After all, kids play \u2014 they don\u2019t think \u201chow much did I play? Did I move enough today?\u201d And nor should they, really.
\nAs a parent, I can see her data in the Health app on my iPhone, which is the device I use to manage her Apple Watch. It\u2019s interesting, perhaps, to see things like her steps walked or flights climbed. But it\u2019s not entirely useful, as her Apple Watch is not continually worn throughout the day. (She finds the bands uncomfortable \u2014 we tried Sport Band and Sport Loop and she still fiddles with them constantly, trying to readjust them for comfort.)
\nIn addition, if I did want to change her Activity goals later on for some reason, I\u2019d have to do so from her Watch directly.
\nOf course, a parent doesn\u2019t buy a child an Apple Watch to track their exercise. It\u2019s for the location-tracking features. That is the only real reason a parent would consider this device for a younger child.
\nOn that front, I did like that the watch was a GPS tracker that was looped into our household Apple ecosystem as its own device with its own phone number. I liked that I could ping the Watch with \u201cFind My\u201d when it\u2019s lost \u2014 and it was lost a lot, as I noted. I liked that I could manage the Watch from my iPhone, since it\u2019s very difficult to reacquire a device to make changes once it\u2019s handed over to someone else.
\nI also liked that the Apple Watch was always available for use. This may have been one of its biggest perks, in fact. Unlike my daughter\u2019s iPhone, which is almost constantly at 10-20% battery (or much less), the watch was consistently charged and ready when it was time for outdoor play.
\nI liked that it was easier for her to answer a call on the Apple Watch compared with digging her phone out of her bike basket or bag. I liked that she didn\u2019t have to worry about constantly holding onto her phone while out and about.
\nI also appreciated that I could create geofenced alerts \u2014 like when she reached the park or a friend\u2019s house, for example, or when she left. But I didn\u2019t like that the ability to do so is buried in the \u201cFind My\u201d app. (You tap on the child\u2019s name in the \u201cPeople\u201d tab. Tap \u201cAdd\u201d under \u201cNotifications.\u201d Tap \u201cNotify Me.\u201d Tap \u201cNew Location.\u201d Do a search for an address or venue. Tap \u201cDone.\u201d)<\/p>\n
Image Credits: TechCrunch<\/p>\n
I also didn\u2019t like that when I created a recurring geofence, my daughter would be notified. Yes, privacy. I know! But who\u2019s in charge here? My daughter is a child, not a teen. She knows the Apple Watch is a GPS tracker \u2014 we had that conversation. She knows it allows me to see where she is. She\u2019s young, and, for now, doesn\u2019t feel like this a privacy violation. We\u2019ll have that discussion later, I\u2019m sure. But at the present, she likes the feel of this electronic tether to home as she experiments with expanding the boundaries of her world.
\nWhen I tweak and update recurring alerts for geofenced locations, such alerts can be confusing or even concerning. I appreciate that Apple is being transparent and trying to give kids the ability to understand they\u2019re being tracked \u2014 but I\u2019d also argue that most parents who suddenly gift an expensive watch to their child will explain why they\u2019re doing so. This is a tool, not a toy.
\nAlso, the interface for configuring geofences is cumbersome. By comparison, the family-tracking app Life360 which we normally use has a screen where you simply tap add, search to find the location and you\u2019re done. One tap on a bell icon next to the location turns on or off its alerts. (You can get all granular about it: recurring, one time, arrives, leaves, etc. \u2014 but you don\u2019t have to. Just tap and be alerted. It\u2019s more straightforward.)<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Apple<\/p>\n
One feature I did like on the Apple Watch, but sadly couldn\u2019t really use, was its Schooltime mode \u2014 a sort of remotely-enabled, scheduled version of Do Not Disturb. This feature blocks apps and complications and turns on the Do Not Disturb setting for the kids, while letting emergency calls and notifications break through. (Make sure to set up Shared Contacts, so you can manage that aspect.)
\nCurrently, we have no use for Schooltime, thanks to this pandemic. My daughter is attending school remotely this year. I could imagine how this may be helpful one day when she returns to class.
\nBut I also worry that if I sent her to class with the Apple Watch, other kids will judge her for her expensive device. I worry that teachers (who don\u2019t know about Schooltime) will judge me for having her wear it. I worry kids will covet it and ask to try it on. I worry a kid running off with it, causing additional disciplinary headaches for teachers. I worry it will get smashed on the playground or during PE, or somehow fall off because she meddled with the band for the umpteenth time. I worry she\u2019ll take it off because \u201cthe strap is so annoying\u201d (as I was told), then leave it in her desk.
\nI don\u2019t worry as much about the iPhone at school, because it stays in her backpack the whole time due to school policy. It doesn\u2019t sit on her arm as a constant temptation, \u201cSchooltime\u201d mode or otherwise.
\nThe Apple Watch Family Setup is also not a solution that adapts as the child ages to the expanding needs of teen monitoring, compared with other family-tracking solutions.
\nTo continue the Life360 comparison, the app today offers features for teen drivers, and its new privacy-sensitive location \u201cbubbles\u201d for teens now give them more autonomy. Apple\u2019s family-tracking solution, meanwhile, becomes more limited as the child ages up.<\/p>\n
Family-tracking app Life360 launches \u2018Bubbles,\u2019 a location-sharing feature inspired by teens on TikTok<\/p>\n
For instance, Schooltime doesn\u2019t work on an iPhone. Once the child upgrades to an iPhone, you are meant to use parental controls and Screen Time features to manage which apps are allowed and when she can use her device. It seems a good transitional step to the phone would be a way to maintain Schooltime mode on the child\u2019s next device, too.
\nInstead, by buying into Apple Watch for its Family Setup features, what you\u2019ll soon end up with is a child who now owns both an Apple Watch and a smartphone. (Sure, you could regift it or take it back, I suppose\u2026I certainly do wish you luck if you try that!)
\nBeyond the overboard embrace of consumerism that is buying an Apple Watch for a child, the biggest complaint I had was that there were three different apps for me to use to manage and view data associated with my daughter\u2019s Apple Watch. I could view her tracked activity was tracked in my Health app. Location-tracking and geofence configuration was in the Find My app. And remotely configuring the Apple Watch itself, including Schooltime, was found in my Watch mobile app.
\nI understand that Apple built the Watch to be a personal device designed for use with one person and it had to stretch to turn it into a family-tracking system. But what Apple is doing here is really just pairing the child\u2019s watch with the parent\u2019s iPhone and then tacking on extra features, like Schooltime. It hasn\u2019t approached this as a whole new system designed from the ground-up for families or for their expanding needs as the child grows.
\nAs a result, the whole system feels underdeveloped compared with existing family-tracking solutions. And given the numerous features to configure, adjust and monitor, Family Setup deserves its own app, or at the very least, its own tab in a parent\u2019s Watch app to simplify its use.
\nAt the end of the day, if you are letting your child out in the world \u2014 beyond school and supervised playdates \u2014 the Apple Watch is a solution, but it may not be the best solution for your needs. If you have specific reasons why your child will not get their own phone now or anytime soon, the Apple Watch may certainly work. But if you don\u2019t have those reasons, it may be time to try a smartphone.
\nBoth Apple and Google now offer robust parental control solutions for their smartphone platforms that can mitigate many parents\u2019 concerns over content and app addiction. And considering the cost of a new Apple Watch, the savings just aren\u2019t there \u2014 especially when considering entry-level Android phones or other hand-me-down phones as the alternative.
\n[Apple provided a loaner device for the purposes of this review. My daughter was cited and quoted with permission but asked for her name to not be used.]
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