KidsOClock GL50 Genius vs Spacetalk Adventurer 2:
Premium Kids Watches Compared
If you are shopping for a premium kids smart watch in Australia, two names keep coming up: the Spacetalk Adventurer 2 and the KidsOClock GL50 Genius. Both do video calls, GPS tracking and school mode. Both are proper 4G watches, not toys.
So which one should you actually buy? We put the two head to head on price, ongoing costs, hardware and features — using current 2026 pricing from both brands, not old numbers. Here is the honest breakdown.
The 30-Second Verdict
For most families, the GL50 Genius is the better value. It is slimmer, lighter, cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, and packed with features the Adventurer 2 simply does not have — an AI assistant, Spotify Kids, games and SMS reply. The Adventurer 2's genuine strengths are its rewards system and its bigger retail presence. If those matter more to you than $150–$250 in savings, it is a reasonable choice — but read the reviews section below first.
Price: What You Pay Upfront
KidsOClock GL50 Genius: $239.95 (RRP $299.95)
Spacetalk Adventurer 2: $349 RRP (bundle with first month from $366.99)
That is roughly $110 less for the GL50 before you have even turned either watch on.
Ongoing Costs: Where the Real Difference Hides
The watch price is only half the story. Both watches are locked to their own brand's SIM plan in Australia, so the plan cost is what you live with for years.
KidsOClock (Telstra Wholesale network)
- From $11.95/month for 1GB
- Data roaming available as an add-on — the watch keeps working while you are travelling overseas, so it stays connected on family holidays
- App free forever — no subscription, ever
- No lock-in contract — pause or cancel any time
Spacetalk
- 30-day plan: $17.99/month
- 180-day plan: $90.99 (about $15.16/month)
- 365-day plan: $164.99 upfront (about $13.75/month)
- The Spacetalk app is included with an active Spacetalk SIM plan — but if you ever use a third-party SIM, an app subscription of around $7.99/month applies on top
Two-year cost of ownership (Australia)
- GL50 Genius: $239.95 + 24 × $11.95 = $526.75
- Adventurer 2 (cheapest annual plans): $349 + 2 × $164.99 = $678.98
- Adventurer 2 (monthly plans): $349 + 24 × $17.99 = $780.76
You save between $152 and $254 over two years with the GL50 — enough to pay for the watch itself.
One honest note: in Australia, both watches require their own brand's SIM, so neither lets you shop around for a cheaper plan. Where the GL50 pulls ahead on flexibility is travel — you can add data roaming to its Telstra Wholesale plan to keep the watch connected overseas, and in New Zealand it works with any network provider.
Hardware: Slim vs Chunky
- Thickness: GL50 is just 13 mm — the slimmest 4G kids watch phone on the market. The Adventurer 2 is around 16 mm, and reviewers consistently note it looks big on smaller wrists.
- Weight: GL50 is only 48 grams including the strap. Kids notice heavy watches, and heavy watches get taken off and lost. (Spacetalk does not publish the Adventurer 2's weight.)
- Finish: The GL50 uses a premium high-gloss UV finish — a deep, polished shine that looks like an adult smartwatch. Next to the Adventurer 2's plain matte plastic body, it looks a class above.
- Screen: GL50 has an AMOLED display with 90% screen coverage under Gorilla Glass. The Adventurer 2 has a 1.41" AMOLED under Gorilla Glass — credit where due, both screens are good. The GL50 simply uses more of the watch face.
- Camera: Even at 5MP each.
- Water rating: Even at IP67 (splashproof, not for swimming) each.
- Storage: GL50 has 8GB for photos, messages and apps. Spacetalk does not publish a storage figure.
- Battery: Both claim around 36 hours. The important difference: independent reviews of the Adventurer 2 repeatedly report needing to charge it every night in real-world use, and it sits at 1.1 out of 5 stars on ProductReview.com.au at the time of writing, with battery and charging complaints a recurring theme.
Features the GL50 Has That the Adventurer 2 Doesn't
- NIO AI assistant — kids can ask questions and get age-appropriate answers
- Spotify Kids — music on the wrist
- Games
All three of those extras — NIO AI, Spotify Kids and games — can be locked or unlocked individually from the parent app, so you decide exactly when (or if) your child can use them. Fun on the weekend, locked down during school hours.
- SMS reply from the watch — not just app-to-app chat
- Removal detection — alerts you if the watch comes off your child's wrist
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Calculator, stopwatch, weather
Both watches cover health monitoring (heart rate and SpO2) and both let kids send emojis to parents, so there is no winner on either front there.
Features the Adventurer 2 Has That the GL50 Doesn't
Being fair, Spacetalk has one genuinely nice touch
- Rewards system — parents can attach rewards to tasks and reminders, turning chores into points
The Adventurer 2 also offers a dedicated feelings check-in — though in practice, GL50 kids can already send emojis to parents through chat, so this is closer than Spacetalk's marketing suggests.
The Support Question (Read This Before Deciding)
Hardware specs matter, but you are buying into a company for 2–3 years. This is where the gap is widest right now.
Spacetalk overhauled its app platform in late 2025 (the "Freedom Platform"), and the transition was rough — user reviews through 2025 and 2026 report pairing failures, lost contacts, video calls not connecting, phantom location alerts, and long waits for support responses. Their ProductReview rating for the Adventurer 2 currently sits at 1.1 stars.
KidsOClock, by comparison, is the ProductReview.com.au Award Winner for four consecutive years — 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 — an award based on verified customer reviews. Add the 2026 Power Retail Rising Star Award and a Sydney SFXW 2024 finalist spot for innovation and design, and the picture is clear: the smaller brand is currently the better-reviewed one, by a wide margin.
Who Should Buy Which
Choose the GL50 Genius if: you want the slimmest, lightest premium watch; you want AI, music and games on top of the core safety features; you want the lowest total cost; or you are in New Zealand and want freedom to choose any network.
Choose the Adventurer 2 if: the rewards system is a must-have, you prefer buying in a big retail store, and you are comfortable with the current review landscape and higher running costs.
The Bottom Line
Two years ago this was a closer fight. In 2026, the GL50 Genius is cheaper upfront, up to $254 cheaper over two years, slimmer, lighter, feature-richer — and backed by four straight years of Australia's most trusted customer review award, while its bigger competitor works through a difficult app transition.
Pricing checked July 2026 from kidsoclock.com.au and spacetalk.co. Competitor plan pricing from Spacetalk's published 2026 plans. ProductReview ratings as displayed at time of writing.
