Apple Watch For Your Kids Feature Now Available in India: Eligibility and How to Use

Apple launches the much-useful Apple Watch “For Your Kids” functionality in India for select Apple Watch models. It’s a security and safety-focused feature for kids and other family members who don’t own a phone. This allows parents to set up Apple Watch with cellular connectivity for their kids, even if they don’t have an iPhone. It’s a super useful feature for parents who don’t want to give smartphones to their kids and still want to keep track of where they are. Kids can make/receive calls and exchange messages right from their Apple Watch.

Apple Watch ‘For Your Kids’ Features

The Apple Watch “For Your Kids” feature allows a kid to make calls and send messages to contacts approved by their parents. Children can share their location with guardians through the Find People app on Apple Watch and they can also use Emergency SOS to use emergency services. Parents will be notified if they are listed as an emergency contact. With this feature, kids can play songs on Apple Music, use Maps for navigation, and invoke Siri for any queries. There’s also a dedicated Schooltime Mode that enables Do Not Disturb and restricts app access to reduce distractions during school hours. Parents can also schedule the Schooltime mode beforehand.

Apple said that workout modes like Outdoor Run, Outdoor Walk, and Outdoor Cycle have been specifically optimized for kids. Also, the Apple Watch has been tuned to track Move minutes instead of kilojoules burned and provide personalized Activity goals for an active lifestyle.

The new functionality comes with the following parental controls:

• Contact Approval: Since parents will set up the Apple Watch for their kids, they will have full control over the contacts their kids can communicate with.
• Content Restrictions: Parents can set app limits and manage app downloads using Content Restrictions and Ask to Buy features.
• Health Data Sharing: With permission, parents can track their kid’s health and fitness via the Health app on their iPhone.

Apple Watch ‘For Your Kids: Eligibility and Set Up

The Apple Watch “For Your Kids” functionality is available in India on Cellular models of Apple Watch SE or Apple Series 4 & later models, paired with iPhone 8 or later. Parents can set up Apple Watch through their iPhones, and kids will have their own phone number with a cellular plan. Kids can also have their own Apple ID to access Calendar, Photo albums, Reminders, and more synced from the parent’s iPhone. Currently, a cellular plan will be available through Reliance Jio for this feature.

Undoubtedly, it’s an excellent Apple Watch feature that enables parents to stay connected with their kids while granting them a degree of independence.