As parents, it is difficult to hand over smart devices to their tweens when countless online dangers exist. Pinwheel, a high-tech company for children, is introducing new solutions for parents who want to continue connecting with their children without having to call.
Pinwheel Watch is a recently launched smartwatch designed specifically for children aged 7-14, offering a safe alternative to children who prevent access to social media and the internet. It features parent management tools, GPS tracking, cameras, audio to text messaging, and fun mini-games, which is a surprise. It’s an AI chatbot.
The smartwatch itself features a sophisticated black design and a screen slightly larger than that of the Apple Watch. Currently, there is a $15 subscription per month, priced at $160. It was available for purchase at Pinwheel.com last week and has been testing it over the past few days.
In addition to the more standard set of parental controls, a feature that some parents may be wary of is the watch’s AI assistant, “Pinwheelgpt.”
Pinwheelgpt is designed as a safer alternative to the typical AI chatbot, allowing children to ask questions on a variety of topics, including daily curiosity, social interactions, and homework-related questions, the company claims.
However, parents may already be wary of AI chatbots, as they can generate misinformation. Parents can also argue that the friendly nature of chatbots can lead to unhealthy patterns. There, children rely on these digital peers for interaction rather than engage in face-to-face interactions with family and friends.
The company explained to us that it has safeguards in place. AI is trained to recognize topics that are sensitive or inappropriate for children, and encourages them to opt out of these conversations and discuss such issues with trustworthy adults instead. During limited testing, we confirmed that Pinwheelgpt avoided answering inappropriate or violent questions.
Additionally, parents can intervene in the event of a red flag, as they provide full visualization of all interactions with chatbots, including both current and previously deleted chats.
“The father of four is a great time,” said founder Dane Witbeck. “The training of AI models does not use personal data provided by users, minors or adults,” he said.
Witbeck’s company launched its first child safe phone in 2020, and in 2024 it ranked 212th in the list of 5,000 people in America’s fastest-growing companies.
Entering the smartwatch market seems like a natural progression. This will allow you to compete better in the smart wearables market of around $100 billion against major brands such as Apple and Fitbit. Pinwheel believes he is strategically positioning himself by focusing on the child’s categories.
It also distinguishes itself from other similar devices, such as Fitbit’s ACE LTE.
In addition to AI capabilities, children and tweens can use voice commands or keyboards to make calls or text to the watch. There is also a camera for video calls and selfies, and an audio recorder app. Other apps include mini-games such as alarms, calendars, calculators, and games like Tetris.
Parent monitoring is available through the Caregiver app. This allows parents to create a “safe list” of contacts their children are allowed to speak to, and refuse to add a specific phone number to the list.
Additionally, the Schedule tab allows parents to set up different modes to help children avoid devices during certain times, like when they are in school or summer camp. For example, they can choose to limit contacts to emergency numbers only during the day and switch to “All Modes” later in the day.
Parents have the option to monitor text messages if necessary. This can be particularly useful for people with younger children. Here, the AI Text Overview feature provides parents with a concise overview of their child’s text message thread.
The Pinwheel Watch is currently available in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK and has plans to expand to additional markets soon. The company does not provide a specific date, but will be available on Amazon later this summer.
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