Meet the World’s Safest Watch for Kids: The Gabb Watch
Meet the World’s Safest Watch for Kids: The Gabb Watch
At Gabb, we’re on a mission to save kids from today’s digital dangers by creating the safest tech products in the world.
Why Gabb?
Since the early 2000s, the internet, smartphones, and social media have completely changed the way we live and communicate, for better and worse.
Now, parents across the country are beginning to realize the dangers of giving their kids too much technology too soon, and are looking for safer ways to stay connected with their kids than traditional smartphones.
Since 2018, we’ve developed three different products to meet the growing demand of parents who are looking for safe tech for their kids:
The first product that we designed is the Gabb Z1*—the first phone designed to look just like a smartphone, but function like a cell phone: no internet, no app store, no video games, no social media, and no picture messages. *The Gabb Z1 was discontinued in October of 2020.
The Gabb Z2 is the second product that we released in September of 2020; it is a higher quality phone with one additional feature that is critical for kid safety—GPS tracking. With the Gabb Z2, parents also have the option to enable group texts and picture messaging for kids who are prepared to use those features appropriately.
In June of 2021, Gabb announced the third product in our lineup—the Gabb Watch. Because the Gabb Watch is a phone that kids can wear, parents can worry less about their kids’ device getting lost, stolen, or broken. The Gabb Watch provides all of the functionality of our smartphones, plus additional parental controls like safe zones, tasks, pre-set text messages, lock mode, emergency contacts, and more.
Gabb Watch: The Best Kids Smartwatch
The Gabb Watch is the gold standard in safe smartwatches for kids—tripling as a phone, GPS tracker, and interactive smartwatch.
How the Gabb Watch Protects Kids
Kids have the right to be protected and feel safe wherever they go. Parents have the right to peace of mind for their child’s safety. The Gabb Watch enables these rights with several key features:
Reliable GPS Tracking
With the Gabb Watch and the MyGabb app (available on both Android and iOS), parents have the ability to monitor their child’s real-time location 24/7.
Custom Safe Zones
Within the MyGabb app, parents are also able to set perimeters around safe zones —their home, their child’s school, the local park, etc.—and be notified whenever their child enters or leaves each safe zone.
Custom Contacts
The Gabb Watch allows up to 25 contacts that are pre-determined by parents in the MyGabb app. Any call or text that comes from a number other than these 25 contacts will be blocked.
SOS Button and Emergency Contact
Parents are also able to set 1 emergency contact in the MyGabb app. A child can make an emergency call at any time by holding down the SOS button for 10 seconds; the emergency contact will immediately be notified through the MyGabb app that the SOS button has been activated.
Long Battery Life
With a 500 mAh battery, parents don’t have to worry about losing connection with their child throughout the day. Depending on a child and parent’s usage, the Gabb Watch battery life can last up to 48 hours. If the device is being regularly used on a daily basis, it will last you throughout the day.
How the Gabb Watch Connects Families
Parents want to be able to connect with their kids through call and text, but don’t want their kids to be able to send or receive inappropriate content, or be contacted by strangers. Here is how the Gabb Watch connects families while keeping kids safe:
Calling
Kids are able to call their 25 preset contacts at any time (except when the watch is in Lock Mode). Parents and kids can work together to update the 25 custom contacts whenever necessary, helping parents stay in-the-know on the most important people in their child’s life. Any phone number that is not saved as one of your child’s preset contacts will not be able to call your child. And, because video calls are not supported on the Gabb Watch, parents don’t have to worry about their kids being exposed to inappropriate content.
Voice Messages and Texting
Kids can text 25 pre-chosen contacts at any time with voice messages (voice recordings up to 20 seconds), preset text messages (up to 15 custom messages configured in the MyGabb app), and emojis (🎉🎊🥳). Any phone number that is not saved as one of your child’s preset contacts will not be able to text your child. As with calling, messaging is also disabled during Lock Mode. Because kids cannot send or receive photos and videos on their Gabb Watch, parents don’t have to worry about their child being exposed to adult content.
How the Gabb Watch Empowers Parents
Parents are responsible for providing age-appropriate technology for their kids, and teaching their kids healthy tech habits that will set them up for success. Here is how the Gabb Watch can empower parents and encourage life outside of the screen:
Task Manager and Step Counter for Kids
Through the MyGabb app, parents can create custom tasks to help their kids stay on top of homework assignments and chores, and custom step goals that encourage their children to be active. After kids complete their tasks or reach their step goals, they can be awarded coins that unlock additional characters in the Gabb Go app.
Lock Mode/School Mode
Parents have the ability to lock the Gabb Watch any time in the MyGabb app. When the watch is in Lock Mode, kids will only be able to make or receive SOS/emergency calls and messages with their emergency contact and will not be able to access Gabb Go.
Kid-Proof: Water and Sweat Resistant
Water resistance is important for kids who love to play, rain or shine. Not only is the Gabb Watch sweat resistant, but parents can buy an additional screen protector or extended warranty to protect against accidental damage from drops and spills.
Note: The Gabb watch is water resistant, but not water-proof. It isn’t recommended to submerge the watch in water.
Other Gabb Watch Features Kids Love
Gabb Go: The Productivity and Activity Tracker
Pre-installed in the new Gabb Watch, Gabb Go is a fun digital pet that encourages kids to be productive and stay active. By completing custom tasks, caring for a digital pet, and reaching daily step goals, kids can earn coins to unlock additional Gabb Go characters. Because children can only perform three tasks each day for their digital pet, parents don’t need to worry about too much screen time.
Themed Watch Bands and Watch Faces
In partnership with MobyFox, Gabb has developed themed Star Wars watch bands and watch faces with several other themed watch bands and faces coming out soon. Parents can stay in-the-know on all future product releases by subscribing to the Gabb blog.
How Much Does the Gabb Watch Cost?
The best part is the Gabb Watch is only $149.99 with 3 different pricing options for unlimited talk and text: $9.99/month for 2 years; $12.99/month for 1 year; or $16.99/month for a month-to-month payment plan.
You can order the Gabb Watch today and choose the best plan for you.
Savannah on Dec 11, 2021 09:41 PM
First time ever buying it watch
Adam DeVizia on Jan 01, 2022 03:27 PM
Thanks for the update
Kirk Steele on Apr 12, 2022 12:22 PM
We bought a Gabb Watch to be able to track our elementary school-aged kids when they go to and from school so we know they're safe. It's been a complete disappointment. The "reliable GPS tracking" mentioned in the blog post is just not true. We'll often receive alerts that our kids have left the school boundaries and the map will show that they're 3 or 4 blocks away from the elementary school when they're actually at the school. It's concerning the first few times it happens because you think your kid has run off, but then it happens so often you get to the point that you can't trust the GPS location and geofencing on the watch at all and you ignore the false alarms (like the boy who cried wolf) - which completely defeats the purpose of knowing that your kids are safe and they're where they need to be. The same thing happens with the geofencing notifications to let me and my wife know when the kids have left the house to go to school in the mornings and when they're on their way home from school in the afternoons. The notifications are so delayed/laggy. We don't get the notifications that they even left the house until 20-25 minutes AFTER they got to school and it's the same for the notifications that they've arrived at the school. Once again, it defeats the entire purpose of getting the Gabb Watch to know that your kids are safe. The other way we've seen this manifest is the watch will be sitting on the charger in our kitchen and we'll literally get multiple notifications throughout the evening and the night that the watch has left our home and arrived at home - when it has been on the charger the entire time. The battery "long battery life" mentioned above is also just not true. Our kids don't use the watch that much during the day, yet the battery is mostly drained by the end of the day. If our kids forget to put the watch on the charger before they go to bed, there's so little battery life left that there's no way it will make it through the next day. Gabb Watch leadership - we hope you're listening. We love the premise and promise of the Gabb Watch - and it is so needed - but the current version of the watch is flawed and doesn't live up to the basic functionality that most parents are buying the watch for.
Gabb on Apr 20, 2022 10:07 AM
Hi Kirk, we appreciate you reaching out and letting us know about your experience. We apologize for any inconveniences that have been caused and we want to make it right. We stand by our products and we are constantly refining and perfecting our system processes. This GPS tracking bug came to the attention of our product team and they worked through solutions so these inaccurate notifications would no longer happen. We can say that this bug has been worked out and you should no longer receive inaccurate notifications. There will be another system update in the next week to further improve GPS capabilities. As for the battery life, if the watch is not being used very frequently, it could be an issue with the hardware--though this is not typical. We suggest you check to see how much the watch is being used and if you still experience issues, please reach out to our Customer Service team at support@gabbwireless.com. They will absolutely help you rectify any issues your device might be experiencing.
Steve Leasure on Jul 14, 2022 07:04 AM
We purchased 2 of these watches for our girls, and they have been a huge disappointment. The GPS is buggy, which is frustrating and defeats the point of the watch. The main issue I have, is getting constant notifications from the watches throughout the night. If my girls forget to plug in their watch for even one night, these notifications keep my wife and I up all night. Silencing my phone is not an option. Update your app to be able to Silence the power alerts during the night. They are excessive with such a short battery life. I got an alert at 2:30 ; 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, then it died at 6:42. For the love of all that is holy why??? We have lost countless hours of sleep over this.
Gabb on Jul 26, 2022 12:03 PM
Hi Steve, we are sorry to hear about your experience with the GPS tracking. We have since rolled out an update that should have fixed this issue. Additionally, you can set the GPS tracking to only notify you when they are out of their safe zones. If you put your home in the safe zone, you should not receive notifications when they are home.
Jody on Jan 04, 2023 07:30 PM
I was very excited for this watch for my kid. But the unreliable gps messages, the fact his father and I can’t both be the “primary” contact (we don’t live together and his father finds the “guardian” feature useless and I agree). The “long battery life” is less than 18hrs IF you barely use the watch at all. It’s nearly dead after 8hrs at school, even being in lock mode. The touch screen is very hard to get to work. You have to really bang on the screen to get it to register the contact. Some features are really wonderful…. This truly would be the perfect smart watch If they worked as advertised.
Gabb on Jan 05, 2023 03:57 PM
Hi Jody, we are sorry to hear that your watch is experiencing issues. These do not sound normal for our devices and we would love to help you troubleshoot, or, if there is a manufacturer error, we do have a 1-year manufacturer warranty. Please head to our website and chat in to our Customer Service team so we can get you taken care of.