The Fitbit Ace, a fitness tracker designed for kids, is now available for $100, with motion, step, and sleep trackers, activity reminders, and waterproofing
Ryan Whitwam / Android Police :
Context & Ripple Effects
The Ace began shipping today after Fitbit put it up for preorder in March alongside its second mainstream smartwatch, the $200 Versa — a two-product launch that gave the company both an adult smartwatch and its first kids-specific wearable in one season. At $100 it slots next to the swim-proof Flex 2, making water resistance standard across Fitbit's entry price tier.
The kids line proved durable enough to outlast Fitbit's independence: six years on, Google turned the Ace into the $230 Ace LTE smartwatch with games, messaging, and location sharing for parents, then kept expanding it with family group chats and sibling messaging. This 2018 tracker is the origin point of that arc.
First-order effects
- Parents buying for kids aged roughly elementary-school age now have a purpose-built option instead of sizing down adult bands — motion, step, sleep tracking, activity reminders, and waterproofing in one $100 device aimed at children rather than adults.
Second-order effects
- Rival wearable makers face pressure to field their own kids SKUs or cede a segment where the buyer (parent) differs from the wearer (child), demanding parental controls and durability that adult trackers don't need.
- Waterproofing at $100 — already proven with the Flex 2 — becomes table stakes for budget trackers, squeezing competitors whose cheapest swim-proof models sit above that line.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, kids' wearables migrate from passive activity trackers to connected communication devices — the Ace LTE's games, messaging, and location sharing show the end state — turning a one-time hardware sale into an ongoing service relationship, now under Google's ownership.
The trend: Kids' fitness wearables are evolving from standalone step counters into parent-managed communication platforms, with Google's post-acquisition Ace LTE marking the shift this original $100 tracker set in motion.