The Pinwheel Watch is a kid-safe Apple Watch Extre...

The Pinwheel Watch doesn’t scream “this can be a youngsters’ machine.” The brand new smartwatch, unveiled at Pepcom throughout CES 2025, doesn’t have a chunky, brightly coloured casing or super-thick bezels. It’s truly fairly smooth, with a construct like a barely bigger Apple Watch — plus somewhat digital camera bump — and swappable straps of various types. To tech-aware youngsters who’ve begun bugging their dad and mom for a smartwatch identical to they’ve, it could simply go as an analogue for an grownup wearable. But it surely’s additionally filled with security options meant to supply solely the quantity of connectedness that oldsters really feel comfy with. And an AI chatbot, as a result of, in fact.

Pinwheel already has a smartphone platform that enables for parent-approved communications, however the watch is a standalone 4G LTE mobile machine with its personal cellular plan (about $15 in response to the corporate) and the power to make calls, ship texts and, down the road, do video chats. Dad and mom can decide the extent of intervention they suppose is suitable for his or her youngsters, and alter these settings within the Pinwheel app as they see match.

For a youthful child, they may set it so all contacts must be permitted, whereas a 14-year-old might be granted the liberty so as to add no matter mates they need with out approval. Dad and mom can remotely monitor textual content and name historical past, and switch off sure options — like picture sending — individually for contacts. It additionally provides GPS location monitoring so dad and mom can hold tabs on their youngsters’ whereabouts.

Past primary communication, there are a bunch of options which can be simply meant for enjoyable. There are built-in video games, like a helicopter sport I actually loved enjoying that includes tapping the display screen on the proper time to gather gems and hold it within the air, and a kid-friendly model of ChatGPT referred to as PinwheelGPT. The corporate says the chatbot has been examined for all of the widespread workarounds used to trick these items into doing what they shouldn’t, so it received’t produce inappropriate responses when prompted to. And fogeys can see these chats, together with deleted ones. “You may definitely ask it no matter, but it surely will not reply,” stated Pinwheel co-founder Dane Witbeck. “It shortly backs out and says, ‘hey, that is one thing it is best to discuss to a trusted grownup about.’” The abysmal hotel-casino Wi-Fi on the crowded occasion prevented me from truly placing that to the take a look at, although.

The Pinwheel Watch will go on sale later this yr for $160 (plus the month-to-month mobile subscription). It’s rated IP67, so it ought to be fairly sturdy towards spills, grime and different child messes. For fogeys concerned with a safer technique to let their youngsters begin utilizing good units to speak to their family and friends, Pinwheel’s watch may very well be a reasonably first rate possibility, particularly for youths in tween territory that will not need a particularly restricted, immature-looking wearable.