AT&T launches first smartwatch for kids, complete with SOS features, location tracking

Aug. 26, 2024 | Monday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Here is a look at Monday’s business headlines with Jane King, where she discusses AT&T launching its first smartwatch for kids and how Disney vacations are more expensive than ever.

Walmart recalls apple juice due to arsenic levels

Walmart is recalling apple juice in 25 states due to arsenic levels. The recalled apple juice was sold across the United States, including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

The impacted products are the “Great Value” brand 8 oz. apple juice sold in six packs.

Retailers use AI to determine how weather can impact shipping

Retailers are using artificial intelligence and predictive modeling to study how extreme weather events may impact key warehouse and delivery routes.

Stores, such as Target, are also becoming key delivery hubs, especially for pre-positioning inventory like food, water, batteries, and other essential items in areas where predicted storms will hit.

Extreme heat is a major issue for delivery workers, with Amazon and partners adjusting routes based on heat by more than 96.9 million minutes in 2023.

Disney family vacations can cost up to $15,000

It costs more than ever to take a Disney vacation – but that’s the calculation many parents are making as they go into debt to visit the company’s theme parks while their kids are still young, the New York Times reports.

For a family of four, it can cost $6,400 to more than $15,000, according to one analysis, as on-site expenses — such as previously free Fast Passes — add up.

AT&T launches first smartwatch for kids

AT&T launched its first smartwatch for kids last week, named the AT&T Amigo Jr. Watch.

It has features like approved contact lists, location tracking, and parental monitoring. For instance, parents can use their own devices to control whether the child can have access to the internet or whether the child can make calls.

The watches will also have emergency SOS capabilities, so a child can contact a pre-designated adult and emergency services with a long press of the SOS button.

48% of Americans say you need to be nice to robots

Forty-eight percent of Americans think you need to be nice to robots, and believe Gen Z is the kindest generation to artificial companions.

Manners may count for something because 4-in-10 Americans think one day our past behavior towards AI, Alexa, Siri, and all things robots will be taken into account somehow.

Conducted by Talker Research, the survey found just 7% described their approach to chatbots and automated encounters as sometimes ‘impolite’—admitting to swearing or being abrupt in manner.