Fitbit launches new Ace 3 activity and sleep tracker for kids

Now that Winter is transitioning into Spring and COVID19 stay at home orders are beginning to ease up across the country, we can hopefully convince our kids (and ourselves) to keep moving and get outside. Fitbit today announced Fitbit Ace 3, the brand’s next generation activity and sleep tracker that makes it fun and easy for kids ages 6+ to get active and build healthy habits with the entire family. Expanding on the features kids love most about the Ace family of trackers, Ace 3 introduces more animated clock faces and new accessories to motivate kids and show off their personal style. With up to 8 days of battery life in a swimproof design, Ace 3 can keep up all week long. Yes, now we're talking!

A study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity showed that only 11.3 percent of Canadian children and youth were meeting screen time guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. To offset this, parents are challenged to find new ways to help kids stay active -- Ace 3 inspires kids to get moving regardless of circumstance and helps them build healthy habits to last a lifetime.

“As families continue to navigate remote learning and social distancing guidelines, it is a constant challenge to keep kids moving, motivated and happy, while trying to balance the time they spend on screens for school as well as free time,” said James Park, VP, GM & Co-founder of Fitbit. “We’ve infused Ace 3 with experiences that bring more fun into kids’ day-to-day lives to help them, and their parents, reconnect with the joy of movement, helping instill important, foundational healthy habits that can last a lifetime.”

Ace 3 helps kids develop healthy habits by encouraging them to get active and get the sleep their growing bodies need. The device helps motivate kids to get moving to reach the 60 daily active minutes with reminders to take at least 250 steps per hour, with an option to customize during school time. Plus, kids can easily set personalized goals and track their activity by reviewing their stats on the bright, easy- to-use touchscreen, setting timers and racing against the stopwatch. Sleep tracking, bedtime reminders and silent alarms help parents and kids work together to develop a consistent sleep schedule that gives kids enough time to rest and energize for another day of staying active and building healthy habits. In the Fitbit app, kids can connect with parent-approved friends and family, engage in friendly competition via Family Face Off challenges, and celebrate milestones with virtual badges and trophies.

Fitbit Ace 3 makes activity fun with animated clock face characters that change and grow as kids make progress toward their goal throughout the day. With new bunny, cat, martian and spaceship animated clockfaces, and more than 20 clocks to choose from, kids now have more options to personalize their device and express themselves in a fun and engaging way. Kids can also match Ace 3 to their individual style with different accessory band options and, coming soon, Ace 3 will be the first wearable to bringone of the most beloved characters to kids’ wrists: MinionsTM. With two accessory bands in Despicable Blue and Mischief Black, and more engaging Minions features and offerings coming soon, the iconic Minion characters from one of the world’s most successful animated franchises will soon be on-wrist to motivate kids to stay active.

While kids focus on getting active, parents can be assured their child’s privacy is protected. To do so, Parents can set up a family account to access privacy controls and protections, which is strongly suggested for children ages 12 and under and required for using Ace 3. Through a Fitbit Family account in-app, parents are able to access Parent View where they can easily see their kid’s activity, manage what is shown on their kid’s app experience, and approve their kid’s friend requests. Meanwhile, kids can experience Ace 3 in-app via Kid View, a focused view that promotes the development of healthy habits by showing the data that matters most, like activity and sleep stats, as well as parent-approved friends, clock faces, avatars and badges. The Ace 3 experience is designed to meet the child privacy standards outlined by law where available, including COPPA in the United States and GDPR in Europe.

With an easy setup process using a parents Fitbit Family account, families can work together to pair Ace 3 with Android and iOS devices so kids can get moving quickly. Kids with their own smartphones will be able to receive call notifications directly on-wrist to stay connected to their parents, family and friends. Once set up and fully charged, Ace 3 allows kids to spend less time charging and more time moving with the confidence of Ace 3’s day battery life of more than a week.

Fitbit Ace 3 is available for pre-order today at Fitbit.com and major retailers, with worldwide availability starting March 15, 2021. Ace 3 retails for $99.95 (CAD) with classic, comfortable and secure silicone bands, featuring a bumper design to withstand spills and tumbles, in Black with a Sport Red clasp or Cosmic Blue with an Astro Green clasp. Coming soon, the Minions embossed silicone accessory bands will be available for $39.95 (CAD).