Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 Review: Cartoon Themed Activity Tracker for Kids
Verdict
If you’re looking for a smartwatch to encourage your children to do more exercise then the Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 is the perfect choice. It’s got lots to keep them entertained and keep your mind at ease.
Pros
- Colorful and cartooned designs
- 100% swimproof and showerproof
- Long battery life (up to 1 year)
Cons
- Manual syncing
- No GPS/location service
User Review
( votes)Are you overwhelmed finding the right activity tracker for your kid? I wish you knew about the Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 earlier.
Products for small-aged kids should have some special qualities. They need to be durable and waterproof but be cleverly designed to encourage physical activities too.
A well-engineered interface is also essential. A kids’ activity tracker needs to have intuitive menus and be easy to use and understand.
Garmin has finally listened to parents and introduced the Vivofit Jr 2. It ticks all these boxes and doesn’t have an extortionate price tag like many Garmin smartwatches do.
Let’s dive into the details and discuss what you need to know before making up your mind.
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Table of Contents
Design & Build
The Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 features a small 11mm x 11mm, 8-color MIP (memory-in-pixel) display with a button underneath. This device is very lightweight (17.5 g) and the display is visible under direct sunlight with a resolution of 88 x 88 pixels.
Overall, this activity tracker is robust and is made to withstand the bumps and bashes that it will inevitably face. Your kid can take it anywhere from the playground to the pool without damaging it. It has a waterproof rating of up to 5 ATM or 50 meters of water.
It comes in 2 different band styles. One is the stretchy type for wrists measuring up to 147mm and intended for kids aging 4 to 7 years. The other is the adjustable type with traditional buckle for wrists measuring 130m – 170mm and intended for kids of ages 6 or more. Both are made of durable silicone.
The core tracking module of the Vivofit JR 2 is detachable and you can place it on Vivofit Jr and Vivofit 3 bands. You can also do the reverse if you want the new adventure-themed bands on your previous device.
In total, there are 6 different themes for this activity tracker having either an adjustable or stretchy band. These are the following (respective to the images) :
- The Resistance (Adjustable)
- Minnie Mouse (Stretchy)
- Captain America (Adjustable)
- BB-8 (Stretchy)
- Marvel Avengers (Stretchy)
- Minnie Mouse (Adjustable)
[Click on the images below to view the official product page on Amazon]
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Features
In-app Adventures: The kids’ version of the device app will allow your kid to get adventurous and have fun. The niche games are developed strategically so that your kid will have to perform some particular physical activities before completing each level. It’s great at encouraging your kids to be more active.
Activity Tracking: The Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 supports accelerometer-based activities such as counting steps and calculating active time. It includes a reminder for a daily 60-minutes mandatory activity.
Sleep Monitoring: This band can track deep sleep, light sleep and awake time, and can make an in-app detailed reporting to the parents. By checking all the metrics, especially the awake time, you can tell how well your kid slept at night.
Sedentary Reminder: Sitting idle for long periods is probably not good for health. The ‘Move Bar’ in this activity tracker will calculate the inactivity time and recommend a few minutes of walking to reset it.
Clock Features: Learning how to tell the time is important. Your kid will be able to tell the time and date using the device, and will also learn how to use other clock features such as an alarm, timer, and stopwatch.
Toe-to-Toe Challenge: Kids always love challenges. They can sync this device with their nearby friends and invite them for a one-on-one step challenge, or they can also set personal records and try to beat them on their next attempts.
In-app Rewards: There is a coin rewarding system that can be used to the parent’s advantage. Make deals with your kid such as earn 50 coins today and get a yummy ice-cream tomorrow.
Chores: Making habit of some daily works is a bit troublesome. Using this device, the parents can set up chores on a regular interval and the device will alert your kid to do that at the perfect time.
Battery & Compatibility
The Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 aces battery life. It uses a CR1632 non-rechargeable battery which can last up to 1 year. When it runs out, you simply have to replace it with a new one.
This device connects to the ‘Vivofit jr.’ app through Bluetooth which is available on Android, iOS and Amazon Fire devices. The internal memory of this device can store up to 4 weeks of data which has to be synced to the app manually.
This app features a good parental control system for the parents where they can monitor multiple kids’ data at a time and set up chores. There is a kid’s mode of the app where your kids can play themed adventure games or monitor their own activities without you interfering in the settings.
Is Vivofit Jr 2 Better than Vivofit Jr?
Yes, in our opinion it is. Here is a chart to help you decide for yourself.
Display Type
Display Size
Battery Life
Strap Type
Steps / Sleep / Active Time
Coin Rewards
Swimproof
Alarms
Reminders
Toe-to-Toe Challenge
VIVOFIT JR
Black and White
10mm x 10mm
Up to 1 year (non-recharable)
Adjustable/Stretchy
1
VIVOFIT JR 2
Color
11mm x 11mm
Up to 1 year (non-recharable)
Adjustable/Stretchy
Up to 2
Up to 8
Who Should Buy The Garmin Vivofit Jr 2?
Comparing the build quality, features and battery life side by side, the Vivofit Jr 2 clearly looks like a winning deal. It is swim-ready, works fine under rough usage and you can monitor kids activities right from your smartphone.
The only drawback of this product is that it doesn’t have a location service for finding your kids location. It might sound pricey in the first place but the overall features probably make it worthwhile.
Those who want a smart solution for motivating their young kids to do more physical activities will have a tough time finding a better alternative to this watch.
If you have the Vivofit Jr (1st version) or Vivofit 3 and want to upgrade to this one, here is what you should know:
The same spare Vivofit Jr 2 bands can be bought and replaced with your old one. So if you need just the attractive designs, buy only the spare bands and save some money. But if you want the color display with the added features, go for the upgrade.
Do you have experience with this smartwatch? We’d love to hear from you down in the comments section! Both good and bad news is valuable news!
