Fitbit Ace LTE vs Garmin Bounce: Which One is Superior?
By Naila Syifa
Updated June 2024
Looking for a kids smartwatch that can keep your child connected and safe? The Fitbit Ace LTE and Garmin Bounce are two great options to consider. But which one is a superior choice? Let's dive into the similarities and differences of both watches to help you make an informed decision.
Key Takeaways
While Fitbit Ace LTE supports on-watch calling, Garmin Bounce only supports texting and voice messaging. Fitbit Ace LTE also has many more games playable right from the watch, while many of Garmin Bounce's fun features require a smartphone. However, Garmin Bounce has more detailed and sport-specific activity tracking features compared to Fitbit Ace LTE. Garmin Bounce also offers a chore management feature that the Ace LTE lacks.
Fitbit Ace LTE
Connected Kids Smartwatch
✓ Phone-Free Calls & Messages
✓ Location Tracking
✓ Move Goal & Activity Tracking
✓ Games, Quests, Eejie Avatar
Garmin Bounce
Sporty Kids Smartwatch
✓ Sports & Activity Tracking
✓ LiveTrack & Assistance
✓ Sleep Tracking
✓ Games, Chores, Rewards
#1 Design & Display
Fitbit Ace LTE
Fitbit Ace LTE and Garmin Bounce share a similar rectangular design, but the Ace LTE has a superior OLED screen that offers more vivid colors and sharper text, compared to Garmin Bounce's LCD screen.
Fitbit Ace LTE also features Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which makes the screen more resistant to scratches and cracks. However, when it comes to water resistance, both watches are equally capable, with a 5 ATM rating for swimming and showering.
#2 Wellness Features
Garmin Bounce
Garmin Bounce has an advantage with its movement-based sleep tracking, allowing parents to monitor their child's sleep patterns and quality while motivating kids to develop healthy sleep habits. Fitbit Ace LTE, unfortunately, doesn't offer any sleep tracking capabilities as it encourages children to remove the device before bedtime for charging.
Both watches offer activity tracking, providing insights into your child's daily steps and active minutes for a fun and engaging way to promote a healthy lifestyle.
However, Garmin Bounce has more robust activity-tracking features with preloaded sports apps. While the Ace LTE only tracks the overall active minutes throughout the day, the Garmin Bounce supports tracking for specific activities, including running, cycling, and pool swimming. This results in more detailed and accurate activity data, providing more comprehensive metrics like speed, elevation, lap, distance, pace, and more.
However, the Fitbit Ace LTE allows kids to modify their move goal based on several options, making it more customizable and adaptable to their individual needs and preferences. Meanwhile, Garmin Bounce has been preset to a daily goal of 60 minutes of activity, as recommended for kids by a public health agency.
#3 Play Features
Fitbit Ace LTE
Both watches offer gaming features, but the Garmin Bounce only has 3 on-watch preloaded games, including math flashcards, a puzzle slider, and a Toe-to-Toe, a step challenge game that allows kids to compete with their friends.
Fitbit Ace LTE has a wider range of movement-based games, provided by Fitbit Arcade for a fun and interactive way to encourage physical activity. When kids complete their move goal and finish playing active games, they can complete daily quests and receive tickets as rewards.
Tickets can be redeemed for shopping at the Bit Valley store, where kids can purchase outfits and decoration items for their eejie avatar, adding an element of personalization and motivation to stay active. All of these can be enjoyed right on the watch, without the need for a smartphone.
Garmin Bounce
Garmin Bounce has a similar reward system, where kids can unlock Adventure Map and earn gems by completing activity goals. Adventure Map is like an interactive storybook about famous sites around the world, providing an educational element to the reward system. It also offers occasional pop quizzes and fitness cards to keep kids engaged.
However, these features can only be accessed via the Garmin Jr. app on the smartphone, so kids will need a smartphone to fully enjoy them. In addition, Adventure Map has a limited number of adventures available, so kids can quickly exhaust the content and lose interest over time.
#4 Connectivity Features
Fitbit Ace LTE
Fitbit Ace LTE and Garmin Bounce offer LTE connectivity, enabling kids to stay connected with their parents even without a smartphone. However, Fitbit Ace LTE's connectivity features are more comprehensive than Garmin Bounce.
While both watches support phone-free texting and voice messaging, the Ace LTE also supports phone-free calling, while the Garmin Bounce doesn't. In addition, Fitbit Ace LTE also offers an on-watch keyboard for typing custom messages, while Garmin Bounce relies solely on preset messages.
LTE connectivity on both smartwatches also supports location tracking, allowing parents to monitor their child's whereabouts in real-time for added peace of mind.
Garmin Bounce has an added Assistance feature, which allows kids to send an automated emergency message with their live location to pre-selected emergency contacts. Garmin Bounce also allows parents to set up geofencing alerts to be notified when their child enters or leaves a designated area. These two features are not available on the Fitbit Ace LTE.
#5 Parental Features
Garmin Bounce
Parents can manage and monitor their child's smartwatch experience using the companion app on their smartphone, the Fitbit Ace app for the Ace LTE and the Garmin Jr. app for the Garmin Bounce.
Parents can manage up to 20 contacts, set school mode for limiting access during school hours, and view their child's data and real-time location.
Garmin Bounce has an advantage with its Chores feature, enabling parents to assign tasks and reward kids for completing them, fostering responsibility and time management skills. Kids can check off finished chores right from the watch, and they will be regularly reminded to complete any unfinished tasks. Fitbit Ace LTE doesn't offer any chore management features.
#6 Battery Life
Fitbit Ace LTE
Garmin Bounce has a longer-lasting battery life compared to Fitbit Ace LTE, with up to 2 days depending on usage, while the Ace LTE only lasts up to 16 hours.
However, Fitbit Ace LTE supports quick charging, allowing the watch to gain 11 hours of battery life in just 30 minutes. A complete charge takes approximately 70 minutes, which is quite fast.
#7 Price & Availability
Garmin Bounce
Garmin Bounce was first announced in November 2022 and is still available for purchase today, with a retail price of US$149.99.
Fitbit Ace LTE, on the other hand, was released in June 2024 and is priced at US$229.95.
An $80 price gap can be quite significant, so it's important to consider whether the additional capabilities offered by the Fitbit Ace LTE are worth the extra cost.
Fitbit Ace LTE vs Garmin Bounce
Final Thoughts
Fitbit Ace LTE
Fitbit Ace LTE is newer and more expensive, but it isn't necessarily more advanced and feature-richer compared to Garmin Bounce. Both smartwatches have their own strengths and weaknesses, so the choice ultimately depends on your priorities and budget.
Fitbit Ace LTE has more advantages in terms of connectivity and games, supporting two-way calling and offering a wider variety of interactive games and rewards that can be accessed right from the watch face.
Garmin Bounce has more advanced activity tracking features, supporting sport-specific tracking and providing more detailed metrics. It also supports boundary entry & exit alerts and offers a chore management system to help kids develop responsibility.
If your kids are sporty and active, Garmin Bounce might be a better fit. However, for overall phone-free connectivity and entertainment, the Fitbit Ace LTE is the more well-rounded choice.
If you like to read more about kids smartwatch, check out our other relevant guides here:
First look at Google’s new kids smartwatch: Fitbit Ace LTE
Fitbit Ace LTE vs Fitbit Ace 3
Fitbit Ace LTE vs Garmin Vivofit Jr.
Garmin Bounce vs Vivofit Jr. 3
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