With the launch of watchOS 7, Apple has announced a new feature called Family Setup which will allow Apple Watch to be setup and configured for kids and older adults without an iPhone. Parents will be able to setup restrictions on who their kids can communicate with, access their location, and even setup Activity goals for them to keep them motivated.
The purpose behind Family Setup is to help users without an iPhone to take full advantage of the features that an Apple Watch offers such as health and activity tracking, communication, maps, Apple Pay, and emergency SOS. Using their iPhone, parents will be able to pair and configure the Apple Watch for various family members.
Family Setup Features for Apple Watch
When an Apple Watch is configured using Family Setup, every watch will have the following features:
- A unique number
- A unique Apple ID
- Access to personal and shared calendar and reminders
- Access to photo albums synced from the parent or guardian’s iPhone
- Apple Pay Cash support to use for Apple Pay
- Apple Music support
- Siri access
- Maps and location sharing with family
- Find My app support
- Activity app and activity sharing support for tracking various workouts tuned for kids or older adults
- Emergency SOS
- Medical ID for health emergencies
- App Store access and support for third-party apps. App Store purchases will be approved by parent/guardian.
- A Schooltime mode to reduce distractions and enable kids fo focus on their studies. A Schooltime watch face will appear during the duration of the mode, and access to apps and other Apple Watch features will be restricted.
- For older adults, watch faces with larger fonts and complications, customized activity goals, accessibility features, and fall detection will be available.
Family Setup Availability and Support
Family Setup will work on cellular Apple Watch Series 4 and later, running watchOS 7 paired with iPhone 6s or later. The new low-cost Apple Watch SE will also be supported, which might be the ideal model to give to kids. The feature will be available to just 18 carriers in the following countries at launch:
- United States
- China
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Poland
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- United Kingdom
About the author: Imran Hussain has been covering tech since 2008. His passion in technology started from beta testing Windows Longhorn and other Microsoft services and apps, and later expanded to smartphones and other platforms. He currently covers mobile tech, and still prefers beta releases over stable software updates. When not writing, buying or discussing tech, Imran enjoys gaming, movies, news and spending time with his family.
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