As a parent, it can be daunting to hand over a smart device to their tween when a myriad of online dangers exist. Pinwheel, a kid-friendly tech company, is introducing a new solution for parents who want to stay connected with their children without giving them a phone.
The Pinwheel Watch is a recently launched smartwatch designed specifically for kids aged 7 to 14, offering a child-safe alternative that prevents access to social media and the internet. It features parental management tools, GPS tracking, a camera, voice-to-text messaging, fun mini-games, and — here’s a surprise — an AI chatbot.
The smartwatch itself features a sleek black design and a screen that is slightly larger than that of an Apple Watch. It’s currently priced at $160, with a $15 monthly subscription. It became available for purchase on Pinwheel.com last week, and we’ve been testing it over the past few days.
In addition to a more standard set of parental controls, the feature some parents might be wary of is the watch’s AI assistant, “PinwheelGPT.”
PinwheelGPT is designed as a safer alternative to typical AI chatbots, enabling kids to ask questions about various topics, including everyday curiosities, social interactions, and homework-related questions, the company claims.
However, parents may already be cautious about AI chatbots, as they can produce misinformation. Parents could also argue that the friendly nature of chatbots can lead to unhealthy patterns, where children rely on these digital companions for interaction instead of engaging in face-to-face interactions with family and friends.
The company explained to us that safeguards are in place; the AI is trained to recognize topics that may be sensitive or inappropriate for children, opting out of these conversations and encouraging kids to discuss such matters with a trusted adult instead. During our limited testing, we confirmed that PinwheelGPT successfully avoided answering inappropriate or violent questions.
Additionally, parents have full visibility into all interactions with the chatbot, including both current and previously deleted chats, so they can step in if any red flags arise.
“We have not received any pushback from parents because it’s possible, if they are concerned, to remove the PinwheelGPT from the watch or turn it off via your own controls,” said founder Dane Witbeck, who is a father of four. “We do not use any personal data provided by any users, minors, or adults, in training AI models,” he noted.
Witbeck’s company launched its first child-safe phone in 2020 and, four years later, ranked No. 212 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America for 2024.
Entering the smartwatch market seems like a natural progression, allowing the company to better compete in the approximately $100 billio smart wearable market against major brands like Apple and Fitbit. Pinwheel believes it’s strategically positioning itself by focusing specifically on the kids category.
It also differentiates itself from other similar devices, such as Fitbit’s Ace LTE, which focuses more on tracking location and health metrics.
In addition to the AI feature, kids and tweens can make calls and send texts on the watch by using voice commands or a keyboard. There’s also a camera for video calls and selfies, along with a voice recorder app. Other apps include an alarm, calendar, calculator, and mini-games, such as a Tetris-like game.
The parent-monitoring features are available through the “Caregiver” app. This allows parents to create a “Safelist” of contacts that their children are permitted to talk to, as well as reject certain phone numbers from being added to the list.
Additionally, a Schedule tab lets parents set up different modes to ensure that kids stay off their devices during specific times, like when they’re at school or summer camp. For instance, they can choose to limit contacts to only emergency numbers during the day and switch to “All mode” later in the day, allowing their kids to access everything freely.
If desired, parents have the option to monitor text messages, which could be particularly useful for those with younger children. Here, an AI text summary feature offers parents concise overviews of kids’ text message threads.
The Pinwheel Watch is available now in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the U.K., with plans to expand into additional markets soon. It will be available on Amazon later this summer, though the company has not provided a specific date.