Gabb Watch 3 Review

Gabb Wireless, makers of the popular Gabb Z2 kids smartphone, definitely did their research when developing the Gabb Watch 3, which replaces the discontinued Gabb Watch 2 model. The newest watch offers upgrades like 100 parent-approved contacts (instead of 25), speech-to-text capabilities, a calculator, and more. 

Ultimately, they’ve managed to blend the best features of the Verizon GizmoWatch 3 and the Xplora X5 Play into one of the most affordable kids' smartwatches on the market. Our tester’s kids thought the Gabb Watch was easy to use, and many of its features—including a virtual pet—were a big hit with her 9-year-old in particular.

After comparing to other kids smartwatches, we picked the Gabb Watch 3 as the Best Overall Kids Smartwatch in our inagural Kids Safety Awards! 

The full retail price of the Gabb Watch is $149.99. The watch doesn't work without a Gabb Wireless plan, which costs anywhere from $12.99 to $17.99 a month depending on the plan you choose.

There's also a $25 one-time activation fee.

Optional Gabb Watch accessories include the following:

• Equipment warranty ($4.99/mo.)
• Screen protector ($12.99)
• Extra watch band ($12.99 to $29.99)

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Krystal, a mom of a 9-year-old boy, has tested several kids smartwatches for us. She had the smoothest set-up experience with the Gabb Watch. 

"Downloading the app and setting up profiles was quick and easy," she said, “It only took 5-10 minutes.”

Suzi also noted that texting and managing settings were equally easy, and the cellular connection was strong even when calling her son at a crowded event.

She said her son loves the digital pet and being able to get in touch with her when he is away from home. She likes being able to connect with him and send positive messages throughout the day.

The Gabb Watch includes an SOS button to quickly reach you (or whomever you designate as the emergency contact). But kids have to press it for a full 10 seconds, and that feels like an eternity in an emergency. In fact, it’s actually faster to just swipe the screen and start a call with a couple of taps.

In contrast, the Angel Watch starts calling emergency contacts after three seconds.

There’s no 911 option on the Gabb Watch, but this is typical of most kids smartwatches.

Safe zones and geofencing features in the Gabb Watch make it easy to keep track of your child if they’re playing outside or at the park. Common safe zones include school, home, friends’ houses, the cul-de-sac, or the library. The idea is that you can let your guard down a bit and not worry about your kid’s whereabouts until you get that “exiting safe zone” ping.

Here's an example of what that looks like in real life: When her kids left a safe zone unexpectedly, our tester called them through the watch to ask where they went and to remind them to play in the cul-de-sac. 

Our tester decided to make her kids responsible for sharing their locations—the modern version of "call me when you get there." It's as easy as pressing one button on the Gabb Watch. 

You can also set up “safe zones” and get notifications when your kid enters or leaves these areas. Common safe zones include school, home, friends’ houses, the cul-de-sac, or the library. The idea is that you can let your guard down a bit and not worry about your kid’s whereabouts until you get that “exiting safe zone” ping.

Here's an example of what that looks like in real-life: When her kids left a safe zone unexpectedly, our tester called them through the watch to ask where they went and to remind them to play in the cul-de-sac. 

Coins are earned by caring for their virtual pets or completing step goals and to-do lists, which you control and approve through the parent app. It’s a way to peel kids away from their screens and get them moving.

The Gabb Watch has no internet access whatsoever, so your kid can’t access social media or download potentially dangerous apps from the App Store. But the Gabb Watch comes preprogrammed with a few extra tools and features, including the following:

• Stopwatch
• Timer
• Alarm
• Calculator
• Gabb Move fitness tracker

Parents can also lock the watch from the MyGabb app so kids can’t use it at inappropriate times, such as during school.

The watch bands come in black and white, or other colorful bands can be purchased for $12.99.

There’s no camera on the Gabb Watch, which undoubtedly accounts for its affordability.

A camera’s nice for video calling or so that your kid can share snapshots of their day, but it’s also a distraction. Gabb Wireless’s mission is to keep kids off their screens as much as possible, so it makes sense that they’d leave a camera off this watch.

Here are some other features you can find in other kids smartwatches, but not in the Gabb Watch:

• 911 dialing
• Auto-answer for stealthy check-ins
• Health monitoring
• Waterproof vs. water-resistant construction

Those are all nice to have, but we don’t consider them total dealbreakers. You still get an incredible amount of features for less than $150 with the Gabb Watch, and no other kids smartwatch can compete with its value.

If you’ve been careful to keep your kid’s screen time to a minimum throughout their life and want to continue that trend, you’ll appreciate the bare-bones nature of the Gabb Watch. It offers the safety net of a phone without any internet access, stranger danger, or distracting social media apps and selfies.

If your kid is older and already has a smart device, the Gabb Watch might seem a little dull.

Overall, we’re impressed with the Gabb Watch’s balance of features and affordability.

Read answers to more Gabb Watch FAQs.

To test the Gabb Watch's appeal, user-friendliness, and location accuracy, we asked a mom to try it out with her elementary-aged son. Then we pitted the Gabb Watch’s specs and features against our lineup of the best kids smartwatches. We also browsed Gabb Wireless’s support portal to learn more about the ins and outs of this GPS watch. For more information about how we wrote our Gabb Watch review, check out the SafeWise methodology page

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