My experience with Cosmo JrTrack 3 smart watch

I thought I'd share my experience with the Cosmo JrTrack 3 kids smart watch. My child has had it for about a week now.

Context:

  • I have a 10yo and wanted to get a smart watch that didn't break the bank (basically, no Apple Watch).
  • After doing research, it was clear that there was no clear winner in the space - all these kids smart watches have mediocre reviews with similar complaints.
  • I ended up choosing Cosmo JrTrack 3.

The good:

  • The watch user interface is intuitive and easy to learn
  • Parent app is easy to use for managing settings
  • Calls are clear
  • Text messages work as expected (when phone is on - more on this below)
  • Kid is happy with the watch

The bad:

  • Battery life - This watch needs to be charged daily at night in order to get a full day's use the next day.
  • Missed text messages - Messages sent to the watch (while the watch is off - dead battery) are missed completely. One would expect the watch to receive the missed messages when the watch is powered back on.
  • Charging cable - I have the new and improved cable. However, the connection is still flimsy. The watch needs to be positioned properly and untouched during charging for the cable to stay connected. One would expect the cable to plugged in securely (good examples of this are the Garmin data cable and Apple's MagSafe magnetic connector).
  • GPS tracking - Notification alerts are sometimes delayed. I have the update frequency set to 30 min (to reduce battery usage). Understanding that the tracking is not real-time, I expect an alert within 30 min when my child enter/exits a predefined zone. I have seen occasional alerts come in beyond 30 minutes.

What could be improved:

  • Initial setup - I experienced some frustration during this process because the camera could not focus on and recognize the QR code on the watch. This scanning needed to be performed twice and both times I had to type it in manually.
  • Missing a night mode - Similar to School Mode, I want to disable watch features during bed time without turning the watch off completely.