A specially designed smartwatch for children, which is loaded with safety features and a “kid-safe” version of ChatGPT has been unveiled at CES in Las Vegas. The Pinwheel Watch is the first wearable from the child-friendly tech firm, after it launched its two smartphone options in the UK late last year.
Unlike the phones, which have Pinwheel software layered on top of existing Samsung and Google handsets, Watch is Pinwheel’s first original hardware and includes a vetted app store, remote location tracking for parents and allows them to monitor text messages.
The device also includes cameras and a special version of ChatGPT, which Pinwheel says is stripped back to only offer age-appropriate answers. All interactions between a child and the chatbot can be remotely monitored by a parent. Pinwheel founder and chief executive Dane Witbeck told the PA news agency the company had heard feedback from its customers that some did not want their children to have a phone, but rather a watch they could keep for longer and still get access to parts of the digital world, but without the obvious dangers of being online.
“There’s a lot of smartwatches that have come out recently, but this one is unique in a few ways,” Mr Witbeck told PA. “It’s got AI built into it from the get go for kids. “We’re all excited about generative AI and what it’s doing for adults, but like many technologies that are built for adults first, kids are an afterthought.
