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Pinwheel’s New AI-Enabled Smartwatch Aims to Be the Smartphone Alternative for Kids — Without the Digital Chaos
July 3, 2025
Pinwheel, a company specializing in kid-safe technology, recently launched the Pinwheel Watch, a smartwatch designed specifically for children aged 7 to 14. This device offers a safe alternative to smartphones by blocking access to social media and the internet, while providing features like GPS tracking, voice-to-text messaging, a camera for selfies and video calls, and fun mini-games. The watch has a sleek black design with a screen slightly larger than an Apple Watch, priced at $160 with a $15 monthly subscription, and is currently available in the U.S.
One of the watch’s unique features is PinwheelGPT, an AI-powered chatbot created to answer children’s questions about everyday topics, schoolwork, and social interactions. PinwheelGPT is designed with safety in mind, trained to avoid inappropriate subjects and encourage kids to talk to trusted adults if sensitive issues arise. Parents can monitor all chatbot conversations — even deleted ones — through the “Caregiver” app, allowing them to stay involved and intervene if needed. The AI can also be turned off or removed from the watch entirely.
The accompanying Caregiver app gives parents full control, including the ability to approve or block contacts via a “Safelist,” restrict phone usage during school or other hours, and monitor text messages with AI-generated summaries. This level of oversight aims to ease parents’ concerns about online safety while allowing kids to communicate and explore in a controlled environment.
Pinwheel’s founder, Dane Witbeck, emphasizes privacy, noting that no personal data from users is used to train AI models. The company, which launched its first child-safe phone in 2020, ranked No. 212 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America. Expanding into the smartwatch market is a natural step, as Pinwheel aims to carve out a niche competing with major brands like Apple and Fitbit by focusing solely on children’s devices.
Unlike Fitbit’s Ace LTE, which centers more on health and location tracking, Pinwheel Watch prioritizes safe communication and parental oversight. Additional features include making calls and sending texts via voice or keyboard, a voice recorder app, alarm, calendar, and games like a Tetris-style puzzle.
The Pinwheel Watch is set to launch on Amazon later this summer and will expand to the U.K. market this fall. It offers parents a new way to stay connected with their tweens safely—without the risks associated with giving them a full smartphone.
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