dark

The New Vivofit Jr. 2 vs Vivofit Jr. What’s Changed

What Can you do with the Vivofit Jr. 2

These fitness trackers are seriously cool, Garmin has jumped on the Disney bandwagon and has introduced the new Vivofit Jr. 2 range with a bunch of new features and new skins. I’ll stop you now because it will probably upset a lot of you but these Vivofit Jr. 2 fitness bands are only available for kids; unless you have seriously small wrists.

These activity trackers have been designed for kids and have some fun features that are unique to this band. Firstly, they have introduced bands with Marvel, Star Wars, Minnie Mouse and friends. Parents can encourage children to get a healthy dose of activity by allocating rewards for 60 minutes of activity and set scheduling reminders.

Parents can also allocate rewards (coins) for chores and other activities. These coins can be used in with the app for the ‘vivofit jr. App’. Each branded Vivofit band has a different ‘Adventure’ Marvel, Disney and Star Wars all have their adventures there’s dance parties, birthday celebrations, X-wings and Captain America Shield throwing – which honestly sounds like a lot of fun. 

The fitness band is waterproof (swim friendly) and has a 1+ year battery life on a single charge. The band can be worn all day and can track sleep, steps and activity which can also be monitored by parents. If your child has friends or siblings with the Vivofit Jr. 2 bands, they can set up step challenges with them to help make staying fit, fun.

vivofit jr app chores and rewards

What’s Changed Vivofit Jr. vs Vivofit Jr. 2

vivofit-jr. 2 range

The biggest changes from the original Vivofit Jr are firstly the coloured screens on the vivofit Jr. 2 and the different styled bands. The Vivofit Jr. 2 also has new bands with a clasp instead of the solid stretchy bands. The solid bands are still available but targeted towards an age range of 4-7 while the clasp bands are aimed at 6+ kids. Another change is that the branded bands have two styles available for each of the brands (Disney, Star Wars and Marvel). Each of these sets comes with their themed adventures. The original vivofit Jr. had a jungle themed adventure which while cool is not Star Wars cool…

The vivofit Jr. 2 bands are compatible with the vivofit Jr. 1 bands and also the vivofit 3 bands.

Price and Availability in Australia

The vivofit Jr. 2 range is currently set to release in early December in Australia at this stage. The vivofit jr. 2 will have an Australian RRP of $129

FAQ

Changing the Band Icons

I've been asked the question a lot so I've added it in you can change the step icons but the options available will only be for the same brand, so if you buy a Marvel band you will have access to the Captain America Shield, The Avengers A and the Hulk. The Disney and Star Wars have there own set of three icons to choose from. 

Adult Size bands

 No there doesn’t seem to be any plans to make these bands in adult size.

How can I get the other themed Adventures?

There are three themed adventures in total out now and when you buy any one of these bands you will get access to the corresponding themed adventure (Star Wars, Marvel or Disney), to be able to play the other themed adventures you will need to buy another 'replacement band for $45 RRP' which will contain the code needed to access the other adventures on the vivofit jr app. 

If you're looking for more information or to see a hands-on video with the bands check out our vivofit jr. 2 review here

20 comments
  1. Hello. It looks like the chores for the Vivofit Jr. 2 are a little more customizable compared to the Vivofit Jr. chores – is that true? For example, it looks like you can set the frequency to daily or weekly, etc. Is that just a newer version of the app and I could set up weekly and daily chores on either the Vivofit Jr. or Vivofit Jr. 2? Thanks.

    1. Hi Nik,

      No both of the vivofit jr watches have fully customisable chores. It’s actually just part of the new app feature if you have a vivofit Jr 1 you can set the chores to be daily or weekly. You can also duplicate that task across multiple accounts and across both the vivofit Jr. 1 and vivofit Jr. 2.

      The significant differences between the two versions are the vivofit jr 2 comes with the following: colour screen, slightly larger screen and display, reminder alerts, unlock new step icons, toe-to-toe challenges, newly themed adventures and band types (stretchy and adjustable)

      Hope this helps

      1. There is a ~$35 CAD Price difference between versions 1 and 2 in my area. Would you say its worth it to go for the newer one for my 9 year old? TIA!

        1. Hi Christine,

          In my opinion, yes, having actual reminder alerts and a bit more functionality is worth it. Though the biggest factor is that your 9 year old might have a little trouble with the version 1 only having stretchy bands (designed on average for about 4-7 ages). The version 2 comes with adjustable bands for ages 6+.

  2. Hi can you get plain colour bands as my 9 year old isn’t into the 3 themed ones on offer?

    1. Hi Tonia, unfortunately, there are no plain coloured bands that come with the vivofit jr 2 at this stage. One option would be to purchase a replacement band that is plain coloured(black, purple, maroon, white). Another alternative would be to buy a vivofit jr 1 in either purple, black or lava red.

      To find compatible replacement bands for the vivofit jr 2 just click the accessories tab on this page and it will list all available compatible bands (depending on the size of your child’s wrist you can even get some of the vivofit 3 plain bands – https://www.ja-gps.com.au/Garmin/vivofit-jr-2-star-wars-resistance/

      Hope this helps

  3. Is there a time setting on this? I just bought one thinking it was also a watch..bit disappointed if there is no time.

    1. Hi Kylie, there is a time setting for the vivofit jr bands. It’s the main page of the watch it will display the time and your child’s name or nickname underneath it.

  4. Hey hoping someone can advise on how to increase the screen brightness on a vivofitjr2 please.

    1. Hi Grahame, as of right now there is no option to change the screen brightness on the watch. If you press and hold the button for about half a second the backlight will activate though to brighten the screen.

    1. Hi Karen, unfortunately, there is no way to change the activity goal time at this stage. Unless Garmin updates the software in the future.

  5. My son has a vivofit jnr. He desperately
    wants the Capt America band. I’m pretty sure he can get that. But more importantly, will he be able to use the app that comes with that band, and even MORE importantly, will he see the Capt America icons on his watch screen – he really wants to see the footprints and shield 😁 Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Ngaire, I did exactly this for my niece. She had a vivofit jnr and wanted the new Minnie mouse band. I swapped the watch pod into the band and then used the activation code that comes with the new band you buy. You can enter the activation code when you go to your child’s main page on the app -> Then click settings -> then click ‘Register Accessory Band’. Once you do that you will be able to access the Captain America adventure and all the icons for his screen.

      Hope that helps!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Post
top 5 garmin fitness watches

Top 5 Garmin watches for 2017 – In 5 minutes

Next Post

Garmin Device FAQ

Related Posts