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Garmin Bounce 2: One minute review
Most of the best smartwatches are designed for adults, but often a smartwatch brand will release a dedicated offering for kids. There’s the Fitbit Ace LTE and the Xplora X6Play, but the new kid on the block is the Garmin Bounce 2. With calling, text messaging, real-time location tracking features, and some fun games, the Bounce 2 is a device that keeps kids connected without the need for a smartphone.
The Bounce 2 also includes a range of kid-friendly features, such as activity and game tracking, although my son’s interest in the watch began to wane after a few months. He would still wear it if we asked him to, but he stopped ‘bothering’ me to let him wear it. Apart from the communication that is primarily intended for the peace of mind of the parents, the watch does not add much value to keep the child attached to it.
If you want a smartwatch with more features for the same price, the Apple Watch SE 3 is our recommended option. With a full set of features, including health tracking and a robust ecosystem, the Watch SE 3 offers great longevity. This watch can be set under a family plan that allows parents to control access and functionality and ensure that the child has access to age-appropriate content.
But if you’re looking for a pre-teen smartwatch, then it doesn’t get much better than the Bounce 2. It’s easy to set up, fun to use, and has built-in GPS. To help with the testing, I signed up my ten-year-old son. Many of these reviews include his views and opinions.
Garmin Bounce 2: Details
|
Element |
Garmin Bounce 2 |
|
Price |
$299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS |
|
Size |
43 x 43 x 12.4 mm |
|
Weight |
26.5g without strap |
|
Case/bezel |
Fiber reinforced polymer |
|
Show |
1.2-inch AMOLED screen |
|
GPS |
Multi-GNSS |
|
Battery life |
Up to 2 days |
|
Communication |
Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi, LTE (with subscription) |
|
Water resistance |
5 ATMs |
Garmin Bounce 2: Price and Availability
- $299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS
- Additional registration is required to access all features
- The Apple Watch SE 3 offers more features for the same price
At $299 USD / £259 UK / AUD$479, the Garmin Bounce 2 is at the lower end of the smartwatch range for kids. It ships in Slate Grey, Light Purple, and Turquoise colors.
It’s about the same price as the Apple Watch SE 3, which offers a lot of features but is too distracting for a toddler. It also doesn’t have the same functionality for task management.
Along with the upfront hardware costs, the Bounce 2 requires an LTE subscription to access dual calling, texting, and tracking. This costs $9.99 / £9.99 / AUD per month or $99 / £99 / AUD$17 per year, managed by the Garmin Jr. app.
Garmin Bounce 2: Design
- It’s easy, kid-friendly and not too fast
- Small but responsive AMOLED touchscreen
- Fits perfectly with the silicon band
The Bounce 2 is a basic smartwatch with a kid-friendly design. It’s not revolutionary, but my son wore the watch proudly and thought it looked like a fashion accessory. Constructed of fiber-reinforced polymer and weighing just over 40g per strap, the Bounce 2 is light enough for all-day wear, even on a child’s small wrist. The silicone strap also has the advantage of being sweat-resistant and easy to clean. Fits wrists between 115-180 mm.
From a parent’s perspective, one of the best things about the design is that it’s not too flashy. So you are less likely to attract unwanted attention that could cause problems for your child.
The 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 390×390 pixels delivers clear images and vibrant colors. Swipes and touches are detected accurately, and the interface responds quickly and as expected. The screen is also chemically hardened, which is good, as my baby wasn’t too careful about it! The downside, is that the screen drains the battery and my son has to charge the watch most nights.
Other features include practical buttons and a 5ATM water resistance rating that makes the watch resistant to water from splashes, showers, and swimming trips. It also has a proprietary charger rather than USB-C, which isn’t great if your child tends to lose cables!
Garmin Bounce 2: Features
- Location tracking and geofencing
- Calling and texting in two ways
- Basic job tracking and job management
With an LTE subscription, parents can view their child’s real-time location through the Garmin Jr. app. The child can also manually enter their location to authorized contacts in case of an emergency. My son loved reading his location when he arrived at my friend’s house, and even if it wasn’t an emergency, I was happy to get an update.
GPS hardware can also be used in cell phones so that parents receive notifications when their child enters or leaves a designated area. This is perfect for the journeys your child often takes, such as between school and home.
The first Bounce smartwatch was limited to voice and text messages. The second iteration builds on this by adding a built-in speaker and microphone to make calls through parent-approved contacts. In Messages, the watch now supports voice-to-text transcription and a full QWERTY keyboard. My son really enjoyed texting me funny jokes and funny emojis and sound clips.
Bounce 2 includes various sports profiles, including running, walking, cycling, and many other activities such as racket sports and motor sports. Children can unlock games by meeting daily activity goals, which act as a fitness incentive.
Another rewarding behavior feature is the chore tracking feature, which allows parents to assign chores and virtual coins through the app, which kids can use to earn agreed-upon rewards. These rewards could be screen time, chocolate, or a new toy or game.
Since the Bounce 2 is primarily a communication and safety device, there is no heart rate sensor for health tracking, something my son was disappointed about.
Garmin Bounce 2: Performance
- Combined GPS signal results
- Fun and engaging games
- Very short battery life
We experienced variable results with the GPS signal, with a significant signal tail in rural areas. Despite being able to successfully access signals in dense urban areas, the same was not true when we were out in the country. There were several times when I couldn’t determine my son’s location, and while it was by no means an emergency, it didn’t fill me with much confidence.
GPS and LTE connections are always on, which means the battery drains very quickly. Advertised two-day battery life is the limit, real-world experience is more than a day. My son said, “I didn’t want to keep charging and I would have liked it to last at least the whole school week.”
He spent a lot of time playing simple games, his favorite being a Tamagotchi-style digital pet that you have to keep alive. “It surprised me how much I found myself worrying about the smallest thing.” In fact, I think the appeal was in the challenge of keeping it alive. Either way, they are very addictive in the short term, but he lost interest after a few weeks.
The daily operation of the smartwatch was considered smooth and enjoyable. “I loved using voice commands to set the alarm or check the weather, even though it was frustrating to speak certain commands.” For example, “Tell me the weather” didn’t work, but “Show me the weather” didn’t. Some AI help here will improve the user experience.
Garmin Bounce 2: Scorecard
|
Section |
Comment |
The result |
|
Price |
More affordable alternatives exist, and subscriptions make it a high long-term cost. |
3.5/5 |
|
Design |
Kid-friendly design with basics. |
4/5 |
|
Features |
A good set of communication and communication features. |
4.5/5 |
|
Working |
Integrated GPS results in shorter battery life between charges. |
3.5/5 |
Garmin Bounce 2: Should I buy?
Buy if…
Don’t buy if…
Think again
How did I check?
The Garmin Bounce 2 is aimed at 6-12 year olds, so I thought it would be remiss if I, a 40+ year old, did the lion’s share of the testing. So when it arrived, I gave it to my son, who spent a few months with it, testing it out with his friends and in various weekday groups. I took his experience and wrote a review, but most of the comments are his own. However, I am completely empty; Bounce 2 is designed to have parental controls, so I’ve been busy in that area of testing.
First updated: April 2026