Inside: A review of the Xplora X5 Play children’s smartwatch. Feat press sample.
My eldest is getting to an age where she wants a little more freedom, wants to walk home from school etc.. and honestly it worries me sick. We are so more aware of the dangers these days and so when I saw that the new Xplora X5 Play comes with tracking I had to give it a try.
The Xplora X5 Play children’s smartwatch motivates kids to be active with rewards on the Xplora Goplay Platform and keeps parents happy with the mobile phone and GPS tracking capabilities. Running on Android tech it is an easy to use, affordable, smartwatch for kids who want to have a little more freedom.
My daughter is almost 10 years old so I wanted to see if this would be a cool enough gadget for her as well as being reliable enough for me to feel that she is safe at all time. Let’s take a look at why Xplora is a great option for smartwatches.
Who are Xplora?
The company was co-founded by Sten Kirkbak, a father of four, who has worked with technology for almost 20 years, and first came up with the idea when he lost his four-year-old son in a shopping mall and couldn’t find him for more than 30 minutes.
Realising that technology could bridge the gap between not having to strap our kids to us 24/7 and having peace of mind at all times, he created the Xplora brand.
Xplora was also founded with the mission of giving children safe access to digital life and to encourage a better balance between screen time and physical activity.
Xplora X5 Play children’s smartwatch
The Xplora X5 Play comes in a variety of colours (pink, blue and black) and I like that they aren’t too bright, with the colour being more of an accent.
The screen is a decent size at 48.5 x 45 x 15 mm but isn’t too big for a child’s wrist as the design of the strap is such that it fits snuggly rather than feeling too bulky.
The watch screen is fully customisable, with kids being able to choose from a variety of digital faces or using a photo to personalise it further.
As well as a watch, kids can use it as a phone to make and receive calls from up to 50 approved contacts. They can also send messages to keep in contact with their loved ones at all times. This is possible due to the watch having a slot for a SIM card where you can add credit on a pay as you go basis or pay monthly, just as you’d do for a mobile phone. It even comes with a giffgaff SIM to get you started.
My favourite feature is the fact that the watch can be tracked by using the associated app. Up to two adults can have parent accounts and can have access to their whereabouts at all times. As my daughter is getting to the stage of wanting to walk to and from school on her own this is invaluable to me.
You can also set up ‘safe zones’ so that if your child go outside of those zone, you will get an alert and give them a call to check they are ok and remind them of the rules.
My daughter’s favourite feature is the fact that for every 1’000 steps she takes, she gets 1 coin towards prizes on the Xplora Goplay platform. This has meant she’s spent less time on the tablet or watching tv since wearing it as she wants to rack up the points. She is also loving knowing how many she steps she does compared to myself and her father, who also wear pedometers.
Another cool feature is the camera. Kids can take and store up to 1’000 pictures to then share and remember their adventures wherever they go.
School mode
I have to mention this within its own section as I think it is great. I know how easily my kids get absorbed into technology and so I would hate to think that having a smartwatch on at school could impact their concentration in any way.
The X5 Play has a ‘school mode’ which is set up through the app on your phone. You input the times that they will be in school and for that time period the watch becomes just that, a watch. They can’t access the camera, the phone, anything at all besides the time. So clever!
What is the Goplay platform?
The Goplay platform is where kids can use their coins to exchange them for prizes. Prizes start at around 100 coins, which translates into 100’000 steps so isn’t super easy for them to achieve straight off the bat. I like this, it means they have to persevere and keep active to build up their overall step count.
They can buy a range of movie and TV merchandise, toys, games and tech simply by moving their bodies – a great way to get them doing more.
Another element of the platform are the campaigns. Kids can sign up to campaigns and then if they manage to get a top 10 placement on the leaderboard they can get exclusive prize bundles. And of course, to get a top 10 placement they need to get moving to get those steps in. More steps, more chances to win!
Some of the campaigns have games to play too, which is really fun. With your steps count plus your score from playing the games you can go onto the leaderboard to get prizes. A really nice way to balance a love of gaming with getting active – not to mention appealing to those with a competitive side!
How is my child’s data protected?
Xplora and the X5 Play comply with the strictest security and transparency standards in Asia and Europe, including GDPR compliance, to ensure that all the data is well protected from misuse and exploitation. It is also CPRA and CE/FCC compliant.
Final thoughts
Grace has moved so much more since wearing the watch and that is a child who is fairly active anyway. So if you are looking for a way to get your child from sitting in front of the tv all the time I can definitely recommend appealing to their love of prizes to get them moving more.
Check out myxplora.co.uk/ to find out more.