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In recent years,
children’s smart watches with voice calling and positioning
functions have become popular among parents.
However, at the Waikai Central Primary School in Jiangmen, Guangdong,
a student’s smart watch has caused great concern for her parents…
On the morning of November 6,
in Class 4 (2) of Waikai Central Primary School,
students were excitedly preparing for
the upcoming study activity.
Suddenly, Xiaoxue (pseudonym), sitting at her desk, screamed.
It turned out that the
smart watch she was wearing on her right wrist suddenly emitted smoke and caught fire!
The rapidly increasing temperature burned Xiaoxue’s wrist.
△ The high temperature burned Xiaoxue’s wrist.
△ The smart watch that burned Xiaoxue’s wrist
The duty teacher immediately notified the parents, and accompanied by her parents,
Xiaoxue went to the hospital for treatment.
Subsequently, Mr. Huang, a parent, reminded other parents through the parent WeChat group
that unless necessary, do not let children wear smart watches.
When purchasing electronic products, always go to reputable merchants
and raise quality awareness!
As parents, we always want to provide the safest environment for our children, especially when they are young and lack self-protection awareness. We often wish we could be with them at all times, especially with the frequent news reports of child abduction incidents, which make parents constantly worry about their children’s safety.
Many parents buy children’s electronic watches because almost all of their children’s friends have them, and they can frequently communicate with good friends through these watches, especially regarding school matters, allowing classmates to communicate and help each other at any time.
Previous understanding of it
1. Real-time positioning, know where your child is at a glance
You can see your child’s current location in real-time. Even if you are far away, you can still locate your child. Parents can always know where their child is and maintain contact with them.
2. Too few friends around, worried about the child being too lonely
In friend mode, good friends can add each other, allowing children to call or voice chat.
3. Family group chat, parents and children become friends
A parent circle can be formed, allowing parents to initiate voice chats in real-time, bringing children closer to their parents.
Later understanding of it
Recently, negative news reports about children’s smart watches have attracted parents’ attention. The radiation mentioned in the news has caused great panic among parents. So, does the radiation from children’s smart watches pose a health risk to children? Is there any scientific basis for this claim?
Subsequent reports: Such convenient children’s smart watches have been completely banned in Germany and other EU countries.
a. Multifunctionality leads to safety hazards
Children’s watches can both locate and make calls. Although they are powerful, their structure is simple, and the security encryption is weak. During use, anyone in contact with or near the electronic watch can listen in and obtain information about the child, posing a significant threat to the child’s personal safety.
b. Parents’ actions infringe on children’s privacy
Parents can obtain information about their children through the smart watch without the child’s knowledge, which, from a Western perspective, infringes on the child’s right to privacy, making a ban inevitable.
c. Unconscious illegal behavior
Similarly, parents can use the smart watch’s functions to listen to teachers’ lectures without the teachers’ knowledge, which is viewed in Germany as “unauthorized transmission” and constitutes “infringement of intellectual property rights.”
In our country, the above behavior does not constitute “illegal” conduct, but the safety hazards of children’s smart watches cannot be ignored. So what should we do?
Unless necessary, please do not buy electronic watches for children. If you must buy one, I hope the experiment introduced by the editor can help parents.
Recently, the Shenzhen Consumer Council, in conjunction with the Futian District Consumer Council, commissioned the Shenzhen Quality Consumption Research Institute to conduct a comparative experiment on children’s smart watches in 2019.
▲ Samples for this comparative experiment
Summary of Results
This comparative experiment evaluated children’s smart watches based on safety, reliability, and performance. Samples were selected based on consumer interest and sales volume, with staff purchasing a total of 10 children’s smart watch products from online e-commerce platforms as ordinary consumers, involving brands such as Xiaotianqi, Huawei, 360, and Abatang.
2019 Children’s Smart Watch Comparative Experiment Grading Evaluation Table
Grade descriptions are as follows↓↓↓
Result Analysis
🔵 All 10 children’s smart watch materials meet safety requirements
Most children’s smart watches on the market are made of silicone and plastic. This comparative experiment specifically tested two indicators of harmful substances that may appear in these materials: phthalate plasticizers (6 items) and chemical carcinogens polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (18 items).
Results show that none of the 10 samples detected phthalate plasticizers or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, performing excellently.
🔵 The 360 children’s watch sample exhibited fire during overcharging tests, posing safety hazards
Battery safety issues have always been a hot topic of concern for consumers. This comparative experiment selected the high-risk project of overcharging for battery testing, in accordance with the safety requirements of the national mandatory standard GB 31241-2014 for lithium-ion batteries and battery packs used in portable electronic products.
Results show that the 360 children’s watch sample exhibited fire, posing serious safety hazards.
▲ Image from the internet
🔵 All 10 samples passed electromagnetic radiation tests, with radiation absorption rates far below the group standard limit.
Electromagnetic radiation remains a hot topic of concern for parents. This comparative experiment used the SAR value to measure the electromagnetic radiation levels of the watches.
Results show that the SAR values measured for the head, torso, and limbs of the 10 samples were all far below the group standard limit, performing excellently. Among them, the SAR value for the head and torso of Xiaotianqi was only 0.27w/kg; while the SAR value for the limbs of KIDO was only 0.29w/kg.
🔵 After drop tests, the Youxuepai sample could not power on, and the Yiqingteng sample exhibited a screen explosion.
The drop test was conducted according to the group standard requirement of “free fall tests on all six sides while the product is powered on, once each.” After the drop test, the product should not exhibit functional degradation or loss.
Results show that 8 samples did not exhibit functional degradation or loss after testing, while 2 samples did not meet group standard requirements: the Youxuepai children’s watch UW5 could not power on after testing; the Yiqingteng YQT had a cracked screen after testing.
▲ Image from the internet
🔵 Waterproof rating: 3 out of 10 samples did not meet requirements. KIDO and Yiqingteng samples did not meet their claimed waterproof ratings, and the Shishang Baobei sample did not meet the group standard waterproof rating.
This comparative experiment verified the waterproof ratings claimed on the product sales pages or packaging and instructions. For products claiming waterproof functionality without a clear waterproof rating, testing was conducted according to the group standard requirement of IPX5. IPX5 waterproof means it can eliminate harmful effects from water jets from all directions.
▲ Some brand sales pages
Results show that the KIDO, Yiqingteng, and Shishang Baobei samples did not meet requirements. Among them, KIDO did not meet its claimed IPX8 waterproof rating; Yiqingteng did not meet its claimed IPX7 waterproof rating; and Shishang Baobei did not meet the group standard requirement of IPX5 waterproof rating, which does not meet swimming standards.
🔵 4 out of 10 samples did not meet battery life requirements; battery life varied significantly: the longest battery life was achieved by Honor and Xiaomi at 7 days, while the shortest battery life was only less than 1 day for the 360 sample.
Results show that Xiaotianqi, Huawei, KIDO, Xiaomi, Honor, and Shishang Baobei all met group standard requirements, with Honor and Xiaomi performing excellently, achieving battery lives of 174.7 hours and 170.3 hours, respectively, exceeding 7 days. However, the battery lives of 360, Youxuepai, Yiqingteng, and Abatang did not meet the 72-hour requirement of the group standard, with 360’s battery life being only 20.7 hours, less than 1 day.
▲ Image from the internet
🔵 Static positioning: The positioning time and distance deviation of the 10 samples varied significantly, with the shortest and longest positioning times differing by nearly 13 times, and the smallest and largest positioning distance deviations differing by nearly 7 times.
According to the group standard requirements for children’s smart watches, static positioning tests should be conducted in 4 indoor and outdoor scenarios to test positioning time and distance deviation.
(1) Positioning time
Results show that Huawei and Xiaotianqi had the shortest average positioning times of 2.5 seconds and 2.9 seconds, respectively, while 360 and Youxuepai had the longest average positioning times of 29.9 seconds and 32.4 seconds, with the shortest and longest average positioning times differing by nearly 13 times.
(2) Positioning distance deviation
Results show that Xiaotianqi had the smallest average positioning distance deviation of only 23.8 meters, while Shishang Baobei had the largest average positioning distance deviation of 164.5 meters, with the smallest and largest average distance deviations differing by nearly 7 times.
🔵 The signal quality performance of the 10 samples varied significantly, with Honor and Youxuepai performing well among 2G products; among 4G products, some frequency bands performed generally poorly among 7 samples.
The signal quality tests in this comparative experiment were conducted using a hand model (i.e., wearing the samples on a hand model).
Results show that the TRP and TIS performances of the 10 samples varied greatly. Among the 3 2G products, Honor and Youxuepai performed excellently, receiving five stars. However, among the 7 4G products, some frequency bands such as GSM900 and GSM1800 exhibited poor signal performance; some samples like 360, KIDO, and Yiqingteng experienced unstable signals in certain frequency bands that could not be detected by devices.
Appendix: Overall Rating Table for 10 Children’s Smart Watches
▲ Click the image to enlarge
Note: Items that meet the requirements are marked with “√”, and those that do not meet the requirements are marked with “×”.
Friendly Reminder
Please purchase children’s smart watches through legitimate channels and keep the purchase receipts. If there are quality issues with the product, please contact customer service promptly;
Although children’s smart watches have many functions, consumers should not overlook the most basic functions of children’s watches, such as calling, positioning, and battery life;
Due to the rapid update of children’s smart watch products, the quality and craftsmanship are also improving. When choosing products, consumers can opt for the latest generation products for better safety and quality assurance.
What do you want to say about children’s smart watch products?
Feel free to share in the comments section~
Some materials sourced from: Straits Urban Daily, Shenzhen Consumer Council, Chunyangzi Diary
Editor: A Ray of Sunshine
Proofread by: Fisherman Scholar, Haoran Qingyin
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