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Garmin Bounce 2: One minute assessment
A lot of the finest smartwatches are designed for adults, however once in a while a smartwatch model will launch a devoted providing for kids. There’s the Fitbit Ace LTE and the Xplora X6Play, however the latest child on the block is the Garmin Bounce 2. With calling, textual content messaging, real-time location monitoring options, and a few enjoyable video games, the Bounce 2 is a tool that retains children linked with no need a smartphone.
The Bounce 2 additionally features a vary of child-friendly options, reminiscent of exercise monitoring and video games, though my son’s curiosity within the watch started to wane after a few months. He would nonetheless put on it if we requested him to, however he has ceased ‘pestering’ me to let him put on it. Past connectivity that’s primarily for folks’ peace of thoughts, the watch doesn’t embody an enormous quantity to maintain the kid glued to it.
In case you’d like a smartwatch with extra options at the same value, then the Apple Watch SE 3 is our advisable choice. With a full set of options, together with well being monitoring and a sturdy ecosystem, the Watch SE 3 provides way more longevity. This watch may be arrange underneath a household plan which permits mother and father to regulate entry and performance and ensures the kid is simply in a position to entry acceptable content material for his or her age.
However for those who’re in search of a locked-down smartwatch in your pre-teen, then it doesn’t get a lot better than the Bounce 2. It’s simple to arrange, satisfying to make use of, and has onboard GPS. To assist with testing, I enlisted my ten-year-old son. A lot of this assessment options his observations and opinions.
(Picture credit score: Future / Paul Hatton)
- Garmin Bounce 2 (Turquoise) at Amazon for $287.79
Garmin Bounce 2: Specs
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Element
Garmin Bounce 2
Value
$299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS
Dimensions
43 x 43 x 12.4 mm
Weight
26.5g with out strap
Case/bezel
Fiber-reinforced polymer
Show
1.2-inch AMOLED Display
GPS
Multi-GNSS
Battery life
As much as 2 days
Connection
Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi, LTE (with subscription)
Water resistance
5 ATM
Garmin Bounce 2: Value and availability
- $299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS
- Extra subscription required for entry to all options
- The Apple Watch SE 3 provides extra options at the same value
At $299 USD / £259 UK / AUD$479, the Garmin Bounce 2 is on the expensive finish of smartwatches for teenagers. It ships in Slate Gray, Gentle Purple, and Turquoise colorways.
It’s priced equally to the Apple Watch SE 3, which provides extra options however is way more distracting for a youthful baby. It additionally would not have the identical performance for chore administration.
In addition to the upfront {hardware} value, the Bounce 2 requires an LTE subscription for entry to two-way calling, messaging, and monitoring. This prices $9.99 / £9.99 / AUD monthly or $99 / £99 / AUD$17 per 12 months, with the plan being managed by way of the Garmin Jr. app.
(Picture credit score: Future / Paul Hatton)
Garmin Bounce 2: Design
- Easy, kid-friendly and never too flashy
- A small however responsive AMOLED touchscreen
- Comfy match with silicon strap
The Bounce 2 is a fundamental smartwatch with a kid-friendly design. It’s nothing revolutionary, however my son wore the watch with pleasure and thought it appeared like a modern accent. Constructed of a fiber-reinforced polymer and at simply over 40g with the strap, the Bounce 2 is gentle sufficient for all-day put on, even on the small wrist of a kid. The silicone strap additionally has the good thing about being sweat resistant and straightforward to wash. It suits wrists between 115-180 mm.
From a guardian’s standpoint, among the finest issues concerning the design is that it doesn’t significantly stand out. It’s due to this fact unlikely to draw any undesirable consideration that would trigger issues in your baby.
(Picture credit score: Future / Paul Hatton)
The 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a decision of 390×390 pixels delivers clear graphics and vibrant colours. Swipes and faucets are precisely detected, and the interface responds rapidly and as anticipated. The display screen can be chemically strengthened, which is good, as my baby wasn’t probably the most cautious with it! The draw back to this, is that the display screen critically drains the battery with my son having to cost the watch most nights.
Different options embody bodily buttons and a 5ATM water resistance ranking that permits the watch to resist water from splashes, showers, and pool journeys. It additionally has a proprietary charger relatively than USB-C, which is way from excellent in case your baby is liable to shedding cables!
Garmin Bounce 2: Options
- Location monitoring and geofencing
- Two-way calling and messaging
- Fundamental exercise monitoring and chore administration
With an LTE subscription, mother and father can view their kid’s real-time location through the Garmin Jr. app. The kid also can manually ping their location to their accredited contacts in the event that they’re in an emergency state of affairs. My son cherished pinging his location when he arrived at a pal’s home, and although it wouldn’t represent an emergency, I appreciated receiving the replace.
The GPS {hardware} will also be used to geofence areas so that folks obtain notifications when their baby enters or leaves a chosen space. That is excellent for the journeys that your baby will mostly make, reminiscent of between faculty and residential.
The primary Bounce smartwatch was restricted to voice and textual content messages. The second iteration builds on this by together with a built-in speaker and microphone for conducting cellphone calls with parent-approved contacts. For messages, the watch now helps voice-to-text transcription and a full QWERTY keyboard. My son took nice pleasure in texting me humorous jokes in addition to humorous emojis and sound clips.
(Picture credit score: Future / Paul Hatton)
The Bounce 2 features a vary of sports activities profiles, together with operating, strolling, biking, and extra area of interest actions reminiscent of racket sports activities and even motor sports activities. Youngsters can unlock video games by assembly each day exercise targets, which acts as a motivation in the direction of health.
One other characteristic for rewarding conduct is the chore monitoring characteristic, which permits mother and father to assign chores and digital cash by way of the app, which children can redeem for agreed-upon rewards. These rewards is perhaps display screen time, a chocolate deal with, or a brand new toy or recreation.
Because the Bounce 2 is primarily a communication and security instrument, there isn’t any coronary heart fee sensor for well being monitoring, one thing that my son was relatively upset about.
Garmin Bounce 2: Efficiency
- Combined outcomes for GPS sign
- Enjoyable and fascinating video games
- Very quick battery life
We skilled variable outcomes with the GPS sign, with a big tail-off in sign inside rural areas. Regardless of having the ability to efficiently entry alerts in dense city areas, the identical wasn’t true after we had been out within the nation. There have been quite a lot of occasions after I couldn’t decide the placement of my son, and although it was by no means an emergency, it didn’t fill me with a lot confidence.
The GPS and LTE connectivity are all the time on, which implies the battery drains in a short time. The marketed two-day battery life is certainly the utmost, with real-world expertise being simply over a day. My son mentioned, “I didn’t like having to maintain on prime of charging and would have preferred it to final a minimum of a full faculty week.”
(Picture credit score: Future / Paul Hatton)
He spent a number of time enjoying the easy video games, along with his favourite being the Tamagotchi-style digital pet that you must preserve alive. “I used to be shocked how a lot I discovered myself caring concerning the little factor.” In actuality, I believe the attraction was within the problem of retaining it alive. Both means, they’re fairly addictive within the quick time period, however he misplaced curiosity after a couple of weeks.
The day-to-day operation of the smartwatch was thought-about easy and satisfying. “I cherished utilizing the voice instructions to set an alarm or examine the climate, though it was a bit of irritating having to talk particular instructions.” For instance, “Inform me the climate” didn’t work, however “Present me the climate” did. Some AI assist right here will surely enhance the consumer expertise.
(Picture credit score: Future / Paul Hatton)
Garmin Bounce 2: Scorecard
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Class
Remark
Rating
Worth
Extra reasonably priced options exist, and the subscription makes it a excessive long-term value.
3.5/5
Design
A child-friendly design with fundamental supplies.
4/5
Options
A improbable set of communication and connectivity options.
4.5/5
Efficiency
Combined GPS outcomes and quick battery life between expenses.
3.5/5
(Picture credit score: Future / Paul Hatton)
Garmin Bounce 2: Ought to I purchase?
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Additionally take into account
How I examined
The Garmin Bounce 2 is focused at 6-12-year-olds, so I assumed it might be a bit of disingenuous if I, a 40+ year-old, had been to hold out the lion’s share of testing. As quickly because it arrived, I due to this fact handed it to my son, who spent a few months with it, testing it whereas out and about along with his associates and at numerous midweek golf equipment. I’ve taken his expertise and written the assessment, however a lot of the observations are his. I’m not fully redundant, although; the Bounce 2 is designed to have parental oversight, so I’ve been proactive in that space of testing.
First reviewed: April 2026
Garmin Bounce 2: Value Comparability
