The Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, 2023) works seamlessly with your Apple devices and services, with all the essentials to help you be motivated and active, keep connected, track your health and stay safe.
Although it's not specifically designed to be a GPS tracker, the Apple Watch has some easy-to-use tracking features. It's more suited to older children due to the other features and settings that can be accessed, although you can use Apple's Family Setup feature to remotely control the device for someone else.
Pros
- It is water resistant and swimproof, making it suitable for water-related activities without the risk of damage
- The straps are customisable, allowing you to change them to your preferred design
- The Apple Watch offers reliable location tracking through its built-in GPS and Find My app
- There is a family setup option allowing you to set up and manage their watch, ensuring safety
- Besides GPS tracking, the watch offers other features like health and fitness, communication and safety tools
- It also includes an emergency SOS feature, alerting you if it was activated
- The watch itself comes in different screen sizes to suit your wrist
Cons
- The watch requires an iPhone to connect to for setup and use
- It costs more than other alternatives
| Subscription required: | Yes |
| Dimensions: | 40mm |
| Weight: | 36.20g |
| Operation system: | IOS |
- Emergency SOS
- Fall and crash detection
- 18 hour battery life
- Bluetooth
Testing the Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, 2023)
I own this watch myself - I bought it as a fitness tracker but I’ve recently seen the benefit in letting my 10-year old son use it when he wants to go out. He’s reaching the age where he wants more freedom, for instance to be allowed to go to the park with his friends, but I still feel anxious letting him go too far. I’m also trying to hold out on giving him a smartphone so a GPS tracker is a good compromise, letting me know where he is, but him have the taste of freedom he wants.
As you’d expect, the Apple Watch SE is an impressive piece of kit, even for an entry level Apple Watch. It’s powerful, the graphics are superb, and the general look and feel is cool- something that certainly made my son more willing to wear it than any of the other GPS trackers for kids that I tried.
Although it's not specifically designed to be a GPS tracker, the Apple Watch has some easy-to-use tracking features but it’s arguably more suited to older children as it’s an expensive and breakable item. I’d also say that the many other features and settings that can be accessed make it better for older kids, although you can use the Apple's Family Setup feature to remotely control the device for someone else.
I have the 40mm watch and S/M strap which was fine for my 10 year old but would be quite large on a younger child's wrist so this is something to consider. You can get replacement straps so may be able to find one that’s smaller for a smaller child’s wrist, but the size of the screen may still be quite large for them.
While it needs to be paired with an iPhone for full capability, it can easily be used as a GPS tracker without this and allows him to track his activity/steps etc without having access to social media or any of the elements of a smartphone. It also allows me to track him and see his location using the Apple Watch app on your phone, you can easily and accurately use 'Find my Watch' to locate it and the child.
If being able to call or send messages is needed, the Apple Watch SE (2023) GPS + Cellular might be a better option but this will then require a monthly charge.
When it comes to battery life, we all know that Apple aren’t known for long-lasting batteries and the watch is no exception so I had to charge this every other night but as long as you get into the routine of charging it, you shouldn't find it dies when your child is out and about.
Final verdict
While it's undoubtedly an expensive product for a child, for older children and teens, it's an understated and subtle way of being able to locate them if needed, without making it obvious that this is the intention. It’s accurate and there’s also the option of allowing ‘Find my Phone’ to pinpoint the last known location even if the watch is off or runs out of battery.
FAQs
What are some of the key things I can do with the Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, 2023)?
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Text and call with your iPhone nearby.
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Workout types and measuring metrics for when you are active and you can also track lengths in the pool as it is swim proof.
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Practice mindfulness and better your mental health by reflecting and logging your daily mood.
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It detects car crashes so you can connect to emergency services with the SOS and safety functions.
How do I control the watch?
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Through the microphone, activating the on-device Siri.
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Digital crown has haptic feedback.
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By using the side button.