Written by 
Samsung Unpacked 2025 is serving us plenty of new products to be excited about, but where does it leave parents of kids who might not be ready for their first smartphone? The answer comes in the form of the Galaxy Watch for Kids setup, making it possible for parents to share the smartwatch experience with their kids without throwing them into the deep end.
You Can Now Program a Galaxy Watch to Stay Connected With Your Kids
Announced in connection to Samsung Unpacked 2025, Google and Samsung have announced what they’re calling the Galaxy Watch for Kids “experience.” According to a report in Google’s The Keyword, parents will now be able to set up a Galaxy Watch with “guardrails,” for kids who may not be old enough for a smartphone—or even the full functionality of a smartwatch. As a result, you’ve got kids “using their cell-enabled smartwatches responsibly to build positive digital habits.”
To be clear, this is not a release of a new, separate, smartwatch like the kid-friendly Fitbit Ace LTE; rather, it’s a plug-and-play way of customizing a Galaxy Watch uniquely for kids. The setup is only compatible with Samsung’s Galaxy Watch7 LTE, which you’ll be able to regulate using the Family Link app. The app manages watch settings, allowing you to curate the ground rules for your family.
Your Galaxy Watch7 LTE must have the latest Wear OS installed and be paired with a Galaxy smartphone running One UI 5.1 or later. With Samsung announcing the drop of One UI 7 today, most Galaxy users will meet this OS minimum without issue.
What Actually Comes With the Galaxy Watch for Kids “Experience”
According to Google, the Family Link app lets parents easily adapt a Galaxy Watch to be suitable for kids. Here are the features that you can then tailor:
|
Feature |
Kid-Friendly Setting |
|---|---|
|
Contacts |
Regulate an approved list of contacts that your kids can call or text via their watch. |
|
Apps |
Regulate an approved list of apps that your kids can download to their watch. |
|
Schedule |
Identify a daily school or focus schedule, reducing functionality at different times of day. |
|
Location |
Track your kids’ location or find lost watches via your map. |
On your list of approved apps, you might want to consider some of the 20 new watch faces and interactive apps that Google just dropped, available on Google Play. According to Google, apps with a “Teacher Approved” badge have been reviewed by educators and rated for “age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment and delight.”
Some examples of Teacher Approved interactive apps you can add to your kids’ watches include Marvel HQ: Super Hero Fun and Barbie™ Color Creations, which offer fun beat-making and coloring projects, respectively.
There’s no doubt that our technology-heavy culture has positive and negative effects on our kids. Smart tech like phones and watches can make families feel safer with location tracking, while simultaneously opening up a portal to a vast, unruly internet. It’s easy to see how a regulated smartwatch could be a happy medium for many parents.
Besides, the fact that Samsung has figured out a way to adapt existing hardware means less e-waste and less consumer cost. Instead of buying a kid-specific product and having to replace it down the line, you can purchase one Galaxy Watch for the long run—assuming that the hardware will actually hold up for years to come.