As parents of two school-aged children, my husband and I have decided to hold off on buying them smartphones for as long as possible. So when I started looking for ways to keep them connected without a phone, I found myself locking onto kids’ smartwatches and other alternatives. That’s where this myFirst Fone S4 review comes in.
My kids’ school doesn’t allow smartphones anyway, and I’d rather not introduce them to endless scrolling at a young age. Instead, I’ve been looking for products that put a digital spin on the old landline phone—a way for kids to contact friends and family without borrowing my phone.
This week, the myFirst Fone S4 landed in my lap, so I put it through my usual evaluations. Could it be a viable smartphone alternative for elementary school kids?
TLDR? Here’s the quick verdict
Parents are busy, so I’ll save you some time. The myFirst Fone S4 is a well-made, comfortable smartwatch for kids, with a vivid 1.65-inch AMOLED display. The GPS and geofencing features are accurate, and my daughter loved the call and camera features.
Overall, I recommend it mostly for kids ages 6–10, whose parents want to give more independence while keeping an eye.
What is the myFirst Fone S4?
myFirst Fone S4 is the latest kids’ smartwatch from global kids-tech company myFirst. Founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs G-Jay Yong and Brian Tan, the company has years of experience creating tech products for kids like cameras, earbuds, and e-sketchbooks.
Fone S4 is a GPS smartwatch for kids that helps parents see where their kids are. It also lets kids connect with pre-screened contacts like grandparents or a few close friends.
It currently costs $179 (marked down from $199.99) and is subscription-based, with the first month free. Then it’s $12/month or $9.90/month billed annually. You can buy it on the company’s official website and the myFirst Amazon Store.
Feature Deep Dives: myFirst Fone S4
Let’s take a close look at Fone S4’s main features and my family’s experience using the device.
myFirst Fone S4: Display
One of the Fone S4’s most popular features is its 1.65″ AMOLED, 348 x 443 resolution display. It’s the largest, brightest screen in myFirst’s lineup. We found it easy for small fingers and beginner readers to navigate.
Personally, I think a big, bright screen is essential for a kids’ smartwatch. Kids need to easily read the screen so they can use it independently. Parents, too, who struggle to decipher small, digitized text will appreciate the Fone S4’s display.
myFirst Fone S4: GPS & Location Tracking
myFirst Fone S4 can help you keep tabs on your child’s location. With dual-band GPS (L1+L5) plus Wi-Fi and cellular positioning, the tech is solid. But how did it work for us in the real world?
We found the tracking quite accurate—it pinpointed my daughter’s approximate location on a busy city street. Things got wonkier when my husband took her to a subway station—the watch showed her last recorded position instead. But that’s to be expected, given that even my phone doesn’t work underground.
I especially liked the geofencing features. We used it to set the backyard as a safe area where our daughter could play. If she left the yard to walk to a friend’s house, we received an alert.
Overall, I think myFirst Fone S4’s GPS tracking gives parents peace of mind. It’s perfect if you want to give your kids more freedom—like letting them walk home from the bus stop—while keeping a (remote) eye on them.
myFirst Fone S4: Battery Life
It feels like my kids’ devices are always out of battery—and I’m constantly charging them. So when I buy a device for the kids, I want it to last at least a day, but preferably longer. The myFirst Fone S4 has a 605mAh cell, which the brand claims covers “a school day” of moderate use.
How does that translate to actual use? My daughter wore it for a school day, with some video calls, and the end-of-day battery life was under 20%. That met my basic requirements, but I would have appreciated about 48 hours for a kids’ device.
myFirst Fone S4: magiCode
This is a fun one. The Fone S4 debuts a new feature called magiCode, which lets parents send preset messages like “I love you” or “time for dinner” with a custom vibration pattern that kids learn to identify. I like this idea because I could send my child an “I love you” message during a test, just for a confidence boost, or let them know it’s time to eat while they’re playing at a neighborhood friend’s house.
We enjoyed this feature, but since our school requires kids to keep their devices offline, we didn’t use it a lot. Interestingly, the Fone S4 has a Class Mode for school, which disables all features except SOS messaging. My daughter kept it in that mode throughout the day.
myFirst Fone S4: Camera and Video Calling
myFirst Fone S4 has a camera for selfies, group photos, and video calls with up to 8 approved contacts. This was my daughter’s favorite feature. She could easily snap selfies right on her wrist at friends’ birthday parties and family outings—it was like a wearable camera. The 5MP sensor shot pretty good images.
She also liked the video call feature. Since her grandparents live far away, being able to talk with them on the go was a convenient way to stay in touch. The call quality was good, and I liked that my husband and I could set her contacts. We knew who she could speak to, but she could choose when to call.
myFirst Fone S4: Gamification
Another unique feature of the Fone S4 is its habit-training features. Basically, they are customized tasks that parents can set (reading for 20 minutes, brushing teeth for 2 minutes, tidying up, etc.) in the myFirst Circle app. Kids have to complete them to earn “carrots”—a virtual currency they can redeem for rewards like stickers or real-world rewards parents set themselves.
And it actually worked for my kids. I’ve always been surprised by how committed they are to a task when it’s a game. While wearing the watch, my kids remembered to brush their teeth and tidy their toys.
Then there are the health features: an activity tracker and a heart rate tracker. I found that it actually got my daughter thinking about exercising daily because it turned movement into a challenge.
myFirst Fone S4: Child Safety
This is a big one for me. Beyond location tracking, the Fone S4 has additional safety features that give kids more freedom without opening the door to the wider internet. The device blocks third-party social media, web browsing, and other apps, limiting kids’ exposure to strangers and inappropriate content. Parents also have to approve contacts before kids can communicate with them.
That makes it a device I feel comfortable handing to my daughter. She can take pictures, make video calls, and stay connected with the people she knows.
Who Should Buy/Who Should Skip
I think this GPS kids smartwatch is a great fit for young-ish children, around ages 6–9. It’s marketed for ages 5–12, but if a child is still learning to read, the text might be tricky to navigate. Meanwhile, older kids and preteens may want a more grown-up design.
Final Thoughts
So, is the myFirst Fone S4 worth it? After my family’s hands-on experience, I found it a thoughtfully built, capable kids’ smartwatch. I loved the display and accurate GPS tracking—true game changers for busy parents who’d like to give their kids more independence with fewer worries.
My daughter liked the camera call feature. She felt like a grown-up, calling her friends and grandparents for a chat. And the “wearable camera” let her capture special moments whenever they happened.
If you’re looking for a nice bridge to device ownership—without handing your kid a real phone just yet—this one’s worth a serious look.