Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

According to reports in the morning of November 9, Beijing time, Google is developing new wearable devices for children under the age of 13 before puberty, which Fitbit is responsible for, with the aim of nurturing young users.

Within Google, the wearable device, codenamed "Project Eleven", is designed to help children build healthy relationships with mobile phones and social media. A person familiar with the matter said that the device has a built-in security function so that parents can contact their children and know about their situation.

The Fitbit team of Google Australia is responsible for the development of Project Eleven. An employee said the wearable device would be launched sometime in 2024, but he also stressed that the plan was still a long way off and could change.

Google has actually become a laggard in the wear war. It was reported in October that Google recently shifted resources and teams to the second-generation Pixel Watch in an attempt to catch up with Apple. Apple won 30% of global shipments of wearable devices in 2021.

Apple has a first-mover advantage. In the United States, more and more parents are buying Apple Watch for their children, who are even as young as 5 years old. Smartphones are a shortcut to mobile phones, and Apple is laying the foundation. When Piper Sandler surveyed teenagers at the beginning of the year, 87 per cent of respondents owned iPhone,31% and Apple Watch.

If you can't capture children's hearts with Project Eleven, they may become loyal users of Apple in the future. An employee at Fitbit said: "Google wants to enter the youth market, and they have talked a lot about that."

Google has experimented with devices with and without screens, and is even considering giving users new watchbands every month as part of its subscription service, according to people familiar with Project Eleven.

The new wearable device may support GPS and cellular connections, meaning that users can contact and locate even if they don't have a mobile phone.

Functionally, Google Project Eleven is the equivalent of an upgraded version of Fitbit Ace 3, a smartwatch for children between the ages of 6 and 12. Parents can connect to the device through Ace 3 to learn about their child's sleep and activities, but they don't know where the child is.

Project Eleven may emphasize "physical activity", but Ace 3 also encourages children to be more active. If the child sits still for 50 minutes, it will remind the child to get up and exercise.

Fitbit has previously developed smartwatches aimed at children and the elderly, but the project was cut after it was acquired by Google, according to two people familiar with the matter. Google's new project will support cellular connectivity and built-in cameras, but it still faces numerous technical challenges and logistical problems.

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