2024-07-13 18:19:58
The big debate in parenting circles is when and what technology is appropriate for our children as they grow up. This is especially true for phones.
Apple believes that in an effort to sell more watches, parents should choose a smartwatch like the Apple Watch SE (2022) instead of a phone.
The company has released a new webpage that extols the virtues of the Apple Watch and how it can benefit a child and its parent (as shared with 9to5 Mac). The program is simply called Apple Watch for Your Kids, and it highlights the family setting feature that emerged in 2020 with the original Apple Watch SE and watchOS 7 software.
The new page is now live, and it also promotes a dozen reasons why an Apple Watch can benefit a child. Features listed include calls, text, Find My, music streaming, Apple Cash and more.
One interesting feature is School Time, which parents can control from their connected iPhone. The feature acts as a kind of ‘do not disturb’ mode, so that the clock does not disturb children when they need to pay attention in class.
Other advantages of the watch that Apple highlighted are its durability – which makes sense, as children can be quite rough with devices – and fitness tracking, which seems like too much trouble for children .
Apple Watch does not require LTE iPhone connectivity to perform any of the features mentioned, beyond the initial setup process. An iPhone can be used to manage the paired watch, you don’t need to have a phone to use the LTE Apple Watch on a daily basis.
To set up the watch your child needs to have an account in Apple’s iCloud Family Sharing system, which sets up a child’s ID on the iPhone and iPad. In the iCloud family, you can choose and set watches for family members. The system will guide you from there.
Apple’s web page highlights the Apple Watch SE 2, a less expensive model in the company’s line of smartwatches. It’s like a “starter” smartwatch that offers most of the features of mainstream Apple watches at a lower price. Apple Watch SE with LTE connectivity starts at $299, and Apple Watch deals will drop that price from time to time. (In fact, we could see some Apple Watch sales this week during the Amazon Prime Day event.)
The webpage says that any Apple Watch Series 4 or later can be used with the Apple Watch for Your Kids program, as long as it has a cellular connection. This includes recent devices such as the Watch Ultra 2 and Watch Series 9.
Apple is rumored to release a new SE model this year, which we may hear about during Apple’s fall event when the company launches the iPhone 16 lineup.
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