Gabb Z2 Review

The Gabb Z2 phone (now known simply as the Gabb Phone) offers kids a safe introduction to smartphones without exposing them to social media or the internet at large. But the Gabb Phone lacks a few features like contact monitoring or full-text message monitoring, and there’s no way to download parental control software to fill in the gaps.

If those features don’t top your list of concerns, you’ll like the Gabb Z2’s low price, quality display, decent battery life, and balance of fun and function for ages 8 to 13.

The Gabb Phone retails for $149.99 and requires a $24.99/mo. service plan through Gabb Wireless. There's also a $25 activation fee.

You can tack on a few perks:

• Image texts and group texts ($2.00/mo.)
• Gabb Music ($4.99/mo.)
• Warranty ($4.99/mo.)
• Screen protector ($12.99)
• Phone case ($12.99 or $14.99)
• Gabb Cloud storage ($0.99/mo. per 10 GB)

Shipping is free, and there's a 15-day money-back period.

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Mom Suzi tested the Gabb Z2 phone with her kids, ages 5 and 8. She described it as a "pretty basic phone" that takes "OK-quality photos." 

"It's the size of a normal phone, so it's not convenient to carry around," Suzi said, noting that both of her kids eventually preferred the Gabb Watch after the Z2's novelty wore off.

That said, the phone had a better battery life than the watch.

If your kid has the older Gabb Z1, it’s worth upgrading. Here are the major improvements released with the latest version of the Gabb Phone:

• Fingerprint reader
• Bluetooth compatibility
• Radio
• Music player
• Twice as much storage (32 GB vs. 16 GB)
• Improved battery life (2,650 mAh vs. 2,200 mAh)
• Slightly larger and clearer display (5.45 inches vs. 5 inches; 720p vs. 480p; 196 ppi vs. 295 ppi)
• Different processor (2.00 gHz MediaTek Helio vs. 1.10 gHz Qualcomm Snapdragon)

There's a new kid phone on the block—the Gabb Phone Plus. Made by Samsung, the Gabb Phone Plus automatically comes with image and group texting but lacks a fingerprint scanner.

The biggest difference in the Gabb Phone Plus was the addition of third-party apps—all of which have been carefully selected by Gabb and deemed kid-friendly. But it looks like the apps are now available on the Z2 with a software upgrade.

The next-biggest difference is that the new-and-improved Gabb Music Plus subscription (which hasn't hit the market yet) will only work with the Gabb Phone Plus.

Other than that, there are some minor spec differences, like a larger display and better battery life in the Gabb Phone Plus.

The Gabb Phone Plus retails for about $200 and its service plan starts at about $30 a month. 

For our Gabb Z2 review, we gave the phone to a mom and her two kids for hands-on testing. We also read the user manual and even got a copy of the original Z1 manual. We compared its features to similar products, like kids smartwatches and parental control apps, to determine the Z2’s contribution to the industry.

We also poked around on the Gabb Wireless website and YouTube channel. To learn more about how we review products, read the SafeWise methodology page.

Being ready for a cell phone isn’t the same as being ready for the internet. The Gabb Z2 is a great stepping stone between a too-basic flip phone and a too-chaotic smartphone.

If you’re not sure it fits your child’s needs, check out our roundup of other phones for kids.