Wednesday 12 May 2021

Xplora XGO2 children’s smartwatch review

GIFTED

A couple of years ago we bought our eldest son a basic, budget kids fitness tracker watch. He loved keeping track of his steps, challenging himself to beat his personal best, and it supported his learning of time thanks to being a standard watch too. However it has always been a little temperamental, being very awkward to charge and over the past few months the battery life and step counter has been unreliable and inaccurate. As we have been looking for a replacement for him we were keen to try out the Xplora XGO2 children’s smartwatch.

The XGO2 is an android smartwatch from renowned Norwegian smartwatch company Xplora. This multifunctional children’s smartwatch is a feature rich gadget and boasts a myriad of functions that are fun for children whilst also providing parents with peace of mind.  

XGO2 features

*4G,3G,2G and WiFi connectivity                         *Android 4.4 OS

*0.3MP front facing camera                                   *GPS and security zones

*SOS button                                                           *Make and receive calls

*Make and receive voice messages & texts            *Waterproof IP67

*Step counter                                                         *Torch, calculator & voice recorder

*Calendar & alarm                                                  *#GOPLAY compatible


XGO2 specs

The watch runs on Android 4.4 operating system.  It is easy to use and is incredibly responsive thanks to its 1.2 GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex A7 frequency, 512MB RAM and Spreadtrum SC9820E chipset.


The smartwatch has a 1.4” capacitive touch colour LCD screen and a resolution of 240 x 240. Using 4G, 3G and 2G connectivity, along with being compatible with WiFi, the watch provides reliable connectivity. As it has IP67 water resistance the watch can survive rainy days and water play sessions as well as withstanding splashes of water from frequent hand washing. It uses a 700Ah battery which provides 72 hours of standby battery. Charging the smartwatch is quick and simple with the Pogo Pin magnetic charger.

Stylish smartwatch

The XGO2 smartwatch is available in 4 different colours - black, blue, green and pink. The lightweight watch has a generous display without being overly bulky. The bright blue strap is a soft rubber and the watch is comfortable to wear all day long. 


The Xplora XGO2 has a touchscreen interface that is user friendly and easy to navigate by a swipe of a finger and touch of an icon. T intuitively found his way around the watch with ease.


T loves the front facing camera and has already amassed a number of selfies with friends which can be stored on the watch’s 4GB storage or sent to trusted contacts via chat. He also loves using the stopwatch, voice recorder, and torch.

Let’s go with the XGO2

The XGO2 smartwatch arrived with a giffgaff SIM card (other SIM card providers can be used; the only requirement is that it is a nano SIM card, the pin code is deactivated and data is available). Setting up the smartwatch and SIM card with a data plan was quick and easy. The only fiddly thing was opening up the SIM slot thanks to the tiny screws but I like that it is safely secured by screws and not a plastic flap that could snap.


To activate the watch you simply need to download the useful Xplora app, create a guardian account and then add the device by scanning the QR code. It was quick, easy and uncomplicated.


We did have a slight issue with the watch not displaying the correct time but the friendly Xplora customer service team helped us with this issue and now the watch is working perfectly and our son can no longer blame the watch showing the incorrect time for bad time keeping.

Stay safe

As the brand name Xplora suggests the watch is designed to spark exploration. As Xplora know that parents strive to keep their kids protected but that there comes a time when children naturally develop independence and take small steps outside the home alone or with friends such as when they start to walk to school without parents or go to extra-curricular classes they have designed the watch with helpful safety features.


The smartwatch provides GPS tracking and guardian’s can view the location of the watch via the app. Guardian’s can also set up security zones in key locations such as home and school, and if the smartwatch leaves the area an alert is sent to the guardian on the app.  Useful for emergency  situations, the smartwatch also features an SOS button that the child can press to notify their emergency contacts of their location. 


As T has started walking to school alone I feel reassured that I know that he has reached school safely thanks to being able to see his location using the GPS tracking. This feature helps us allow him to spread his wings and gain a little more independence whilst also helping us worry a little less. The security zone feature is also useful to set reasonable freedom limits so both child and parent are happy. I also love the SOS button and having tested it out I was impressed with how swiftly I was notified of his location.

Chat time

Offering children a way to communicate with others in a safe way, the XGO2 smartwatch can make and receive calls, text messages, voice messages, photos and emojis to and from pre-approved contacts. It helps children to gain independence as they can communicate with friends and family whilst allowing parents to control who they can communicate with and not have the worry of them receiving unsolicited communication from strangers. 


T loves to talk with loved ones using the watch and finds it fun to send and receive messages with friends and family. It has also allowed us to keep in touch with him when previously we would not be able to and has enabled us to give him a little more freedom with the peace of mind that contact can be made if needed.

Stay active and get rewarded

Using in-built G Sensors, the XGO2 accurately tracks children’s steps. Inspiring children to get active, Xplora rewards children for moving - steps earn Xplora coins. For every 1000 steps children earn 1 Xplora coin which can be used in the innovative and award winning Xplora Goplay platform. The groundbreaking platform has partnered with renowned brands such as Sony Playstation, Dr Who and most recently with Tom & Jerry, with all collaborations specifically designed to keep kids motivated, engaged, and moving. In fact, children who wear Xplora smartwatches and engage with the Goplay platform typically take up to 300% more steps a day than regular users!

Ideal for children with a competitive streak and for motivating them to keep moving and challenging themselves, the unique Goplay platform offers the opportunity to win large prizes such as Amazon Fire Kids tablets and RYZE Tello drones by topping the activity leader board. Rewarding children for physical activity offline the platform offers fun virtual rewards of online game time on games such as an entertaining Tom & Jerry pinball game. 


Xplora coins can be used on the Goplay store to purchase products with items such as GoPro cameras, trampoline, Xplora speaker, camping hammock, jump ropes, water bottles and much more.


T loves tracking his steps and is excited when he gets a new personal best of step activity for a day. Step activity can be viewed on the Xplora app where you can see the history of step activity and unlock annual step badges. He also thinks the Goplay platform is great fun and is saving up his Xplora coins to buy himself a treat. It is great to instill a hard work ethic, get active and get rewarded, as well as teaching children about saving up their coins for rewards they want.

Xplora app

The free Xplora app allows parents to monitor and manage the watch. As well as being able to track the smartwatch’s location the app allows guardian’s to add or remove contacts so that parents can be sure that their child is only talking to trusted contacts. It is via the app that contacts can make and receive messages.


The app showcases children’s step activity, Xplora coins and annual medal badges for total steps. It is also on the app that alarms can be set for the watch, where SOS alerts and low watch battery notifications come through and guardian’s can also remotely shut down the watch. 

No distractions

The watch also features School Mode. This nifty feature which can be activated via the app ensures that the smartwatch will not cause any distractions in class. When School Mode is on only the watch clock is accessible with all incoming and outgoing messages disabled. Even though the phone is locked down, guardians are still able to track the watch location and the SOS function is still active. When activating the School Mode feature a schedule can be set so that the mode is activated and deactivated at set times so the calls and messages can be enabled again for when the child is walking home from school. 


T is a little disappointed that he cannot see his steps in real time when School Mode is active but they are still counted and he loves to check out how many he has clocked up when he is home from school. School Mode is a great way to overcome the concern of a child taking a phone to school which could cause distractions but needing a way for them to communicate with parents if needed on the journey to and from school.


Unlike smartphones where the internet can be accessed at a touch of a button and the devices can be a gateway to the world of social media, the watch has no facility to search the internet and does not feature social media. The lack of social media makes the watch suitable for younger children.

Superb smartwatch

This is a fantastic watch that combines fantastic tech with getting kids active in a fun way. T loves his watch, he adores being able to communicate with friends and family on his own device and finds it fun to see how many steps he can achieve a day. I love that it inspires exploration, independence and increases children’s freedom in a safe and fun way. The watch gives us parents peace of mind whilst helping T spread his wings as he gets to that age of wanting to communicate with friends and go places independently. 


The Xplora XGO2 is available directly on the Xplora website now for £99.99.

9 comments:

  1. This looks like a great option for children to have a smart watch at a decent price too. I loved that it can be silenced at school so as it to distract.

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  2. It's so cool how much tech is available now for such a good price for kids to use. Tech is going to be part of their everyday life so getting used to it through something like a smartwatch is such a good idea x

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  3. How cool is this, and what a great price for a smart watch. I bet this is going to be very popular as know all of mine would have loved this

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  4. This looks like a great option for kids to have smart watches, lots of great features and a fab price.

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  5. This looks a great piece of kit for children. I like the way you can pre-approve their contacts so your child can't be contacted by strangers. The distraction-free School Mode is good as well. A lot of thought has clearly been put into designing this smart watch.

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  6. This looks like a brilliant smartwatch and I love that it doesn't have the facility to search the internet so I can be in control of my child's internet usage.

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  7. I love how this is inspiring him to be so active! Great it helps him stay in touch with friend and family too.

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  8. It does look great. I like the idea of the SOS button and it's reassuring to hear that it worked so well.

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  9. This is super cool for kids to have, looks nice and robust but still really functional

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