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Garmin Bounce 2: One minute review
Most of the best smartwatches are designed for adults, but every so often a smartwatch brand will release a dedicated offering for children. There’s the Fitbit Ace LTE and the Xplora X6Play, but the newest kid on the block is the Garmin Bounce 2. With calling, text messaging, real-time location tracking features, and some fun games, the Bounce 2 is a device that keeps kids connected without needing a smartphone.
The Bounce 2 also includes a range of child-friendly features, such as activity tracking and games, although my son’s interest in the watch began to wane after a couple of months. He would still wear it if we asked him to, but he has ceased ‘pestering’ me to let him wear it. Beyond connectivity that is primarily for parents’ peace of mind, the watch doesn’t include a huge amount to keep the child glued to it.
If you’d like a smartwatch with more features at a similar price, then the Apple Watch SE 3 is our recommended option. With a full set of features, including health tracking and a robust ecosystem, the Watch SE 3 offers much more longevity. This watch can be set up under a family plan which enables parents to control access and functionality and ensures the child is only able to access appropriate content for their age.
But if you’re looking for a locked-down smartwatch for your pre-teen, then it doesn’t get much better than the Bounce 2. It’s easy to set up, enjoyable to use, and has onboard GPS. To help with testing, I enlisted my ten-year-old son. Much of this review features his observations and opinions.
Garmin Bounce 2: Specifications
|
Component |
Garmin Bounce 2 |
|
Price |
$299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS |
|
Dimensions |
43 x 43 x 12.4 mm |
|
Weight |
26.5g without strap |
|
Case/bezel |
Fiber-reinforced polymer |
|
Display |
1.2-inch AMOLED Screen |
|
GPS |
Multi-GNSS |
|
Battery life |
Up to 2 days |
|
Connection |
Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi, LTE (with subscription) |
|
Water resistance |
5 ATM |
Garmin Bounce 2: Price and availability
- $299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS
- Additional subscription required for access to all features
- The Apple Watch SE 3 offers more features at a similar price
At $299 USD / £259 UK / AUD$479, the Garmin Bounce 2 is at the pricey end of smartwatches for kids. It ships in Slate Grey, Light Purple, and Turquoise colorways.
It is priced similarly to the Apple Watch SE 3, which offers more features but is much more distracting for a younger child. It also doesn’t have the same functionality for chore management.
As well as the upfront hardware cost, the Bounce 2 requires an LTE subscription for access to two-way calling, messaging, and tracking. This costs $9.99 / £9.99 / AUD per month or $99 / £99 / AUD$17 per year, with the plan being managed through the Garmin Jr. app.
Garmin Bounce 2: Design
- Simple, kid-friendly and not too flashy
- A small but responsive AMOLED touchscreen
- Comfortable fit with silicon strap
The Bounce 2 is a basic smartwatch with a kid-friendly design. It’s nothing revolutionary, but my son wore the watch with pride and thought it looked like a fashionable accessory. Constructed of a fiber-reinforced polymer and at just over 40g with the strap, the Bounce 2 is light enough for all-day wear, even on the small wrist of a child. The silicone strap also has the benefit of being sweat resistant and easy to clean. It fits wrists between 115-180 mm.
From a parent’s point of view, one of the best things about the design is that it doesn’t particularly stand out. It’s therefore unlikely to attract any unwanted attention that could cause problems for your child.
The 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 390×390 pixels delivers clear graphics and vibrant colors. Swipes and taps are accurately detected, and the interface responds quickly and as expected. The screen is also chemically strengthened, which is ideal, as my child wasn’t the most careful with it! The downside to this, is that the screen seriously drains the battery with my son having to charge the watch most nights.
Other features include physical buttons and a 5ATM water resistance rating that enables the watch to withstand water from splashes, showers, and pool trips. It also has a proprietary charger rather than USB-C, which is far from ideal if your child is prone to losing cables!
Garmin Bounce 2: Features
- Location tracking and geofencing
- Two-way calling and messaging
- Basic activity tracking and chore management
With an LTE subscription, parents can view their child’s real-time location via the Garmin Jr. app. The child can also manually ping their location to their approved contacts if they’re in an emergency situation. My son loved pinging his location when he arrived at a friend’s house, and even though it wouldn’t constitute an emergency, I appreciated receiving the update.
The GPS hardware can also be used to geofence areas so that parents receive notifications when their child enters or leaves a designated area. This is ideal for the journeys that your child will most commonly make, such as between school and home.
The first Bounce smartwatch was limited to voice and text messages. The second iteration builds on this by including a built-in speaker and microphone for conducting phone calls with parent-approved contacts. For messages, the watch now supports voice-to-text transcription and a full QWERTY keyboard. My son took great pleasure in texting me funny jokes as well as humorous emojis and sound clips.
The Bounce 2 includes a range of sports profiles, including running, walking, cycling, and more niche activities such as racket sports and even motor sports. Children can unlock games by meeting daily activity goals, which acts as a motivation towards fitness.
Another feature for rewarding behavior is the chore tracking feature, which enables parents to assign chores and virtual coins through the app, which kids can redeem for agreed-upon rewards. These rewards might be screen time, a chocolate treat, or a new toy or game.
As the Bounce 2 is primarily a communication and safety tool, there’s no heart rate sensor for health tracking, something that my son was rather disappointed about.
Garmin Bounce 2: Performance
- Mixed results for GPS signal
- Fun and engaging games
- Very short battery life
We experienced variable results with the GPS signal, with a significant tail-off in signal within rural areas. Despite being able to successfully access signals in dense urban areas, the same wasn’t true when we were out in the country. There were a number of times when I couldn’t determine the location of my son, and even though it was never an emergency, it didn’t fill me with much confidence.
The GPS and LTE connectivity are always on, which means the battery drains very quickly. The advertised two-day battery life is definitely the maximum, with real-world experience being just over a day. My son said, “I didn’t like having to keep on top of charging and would have liked it to last at least a full school week.”
He spent a lot of time playing the simple games, with his favorite being the Tamagotchi-style digital pet that you have to keep alive. “I was surprised how much I found myself caring about the little thing.” In reality, I think the appeal was in the challenge of keeping it alive. Either way, they’re pretty addictive in the short term, but he lost interest after a few weeks.
The day-to-day operation of the smartwatch was considered smooth and enjoyable. “I loved using the voice commands to set an alarm or check the weather, although it was a little frustrating having to speak specific commands.” For example, “Tell me the weather” didn’t work, but “Show me the weather” did. Some AI help here would certainly improve the user experience.
Garmin Bounce 2: Scorecard
|
Category |
Comment |
Score |
|
Value |
More affordable alternatives exist, and the subscription makes it a high long-term cost. |
3.5/5 |
|
Design |
A kid-friendly design with basic materials. |
4/5 |
|
Features |
A fantastic set of communication and connectivity features. |
4.5/5 |
|
Performance |
Mixed GPS results and short battery life between charges. |
3.5/5 |
Garmin Bounce 2: Should I buy?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
How I tested
The Garmin Bounce 2 is targeted at 6-12-year-olds, so I thought it would be a little disingenuous if I, a 40+ year-old, were to carry out the lion’s share of testing. As soon as it arrived, I therefore handed it to my son, who spent a couple of months with it, testing it while out and about with his friends and at various midweek clubs. I’ve taken his experience and written the review, but most of the observations are his. I’m not entirely redundant, though; the Bounce 2 is designed to have parental oversight, so I’ve been proactive in that area of testing.
First reviewed: April 2026
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paulo.n.hatton@gmail.com (Paul Hatton)
