G-mee Play Pro – a safe kids ‘non-phone’ (review)

28/11/2024
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The G-mee Play Pro is the fourth generation of this kids’ safe phone, although it is not a phone. It is an Android 12 kids’ audio/video content player that integrates the G-mee App to help kids safely use smart technology.

G-mee is the brainchild of Charlie and Rachael Brown. You may know him from Channel 9 Cybershack TV, Life and Technology Radio and the owner of this website. All reviews are 100% independent, as Charlie knows well.

Charlie said, “Mate, it is a phone without a phone or a camera, so kids can’t abuse it. It focuses on 6-13-year-olds and takes out the things they get in trouble with.”

We responded, “Won’t the kids get a little miffed?” He answered, “What would you rather have—miffed or safe?”

The G-mee Play Pro is the most fully featured yet. It uses full 64-bit Android 12 and is built to take the knocks, as we can attest from our now four-year-old grandson. G-Mee has saved his dad’s expensive phone from an early demise.

One thing we want to make clear upfront is that this is not a smartphone review. The design decisions are based on getting the maximum bang for buck from an Android glass slab.

G-mee adds Connect Pro

In response to parents’ and older Australians’ career requests (who need guardian controls), G-mee has added a Connect Pro ($199 but on sale for $159) that adds a 4G phone, fingerprint scanner, and NFC. It does not have a camera and has all the new Co-Pilot parental controls. Read Australia will ban social media for children under 16 – yeah, nah! For Co-Pilot details.

Australian Review: G-mee Pay Pro 4/64GB

Website	G-mee Product Page
Price 28/11/24	$149 but on sale at $109
From	Online
Warranty	1-year ACL
Made in	China but designed in Australia.
About	G-mee creator Charlie Brown is an accomplished technology expert and broadcaster who has tried and tested almost every popular smart device on the market. Charlie developed G-mee to protect kids while making smart devices accessible for safe exploration and content consumption.
More	CyberShack G-mee news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

Design cred – Full marks

G-Mee Play Pro is a full 64-bit Android 12 device without a camera (selfie or rear), earpiece speaker, mic, and phone, meaning it cannot make or receive calls, video calls or SMS.

No camera – because kids can take inappropriate photos.
No Microphone, but you can use the cabled earphones (4-pole 3.5mm) or BT earphones/mic for voice control and input.
No phone/SMS – because kids can share inappropriate content, bullying, sexting, etc. It also means no notifications.

It has a G-mee App that allows parents to control age-inappropriate:

Apps (like Facebook or TikTok)
Websites
Screen time
Parental control

Charlie says this app is constantly updated based on user feedback on what they want.

Co-Pilot parental controls

The additional features are here.

Call blocking (Connect)
SMS blocking (Connect)
Video blocking
App Limits
Internet access
Location tracking
Blue light manager
Remote Pin reset
Remote real-time use from a parent’s iOS or Android phone)
Spotify video player blocking

These are all part of the g-mee co-pilot system and cannot be circumvented.

Guardians and adult carers use this to provide basic secure comms to elderly Australians.

First Impressions – A glass slab

The glass slab is still the best way to deliver maximum specifications for the lowest price. At $149, Charlie believes it represents excellent value as a 64-bit, Android 12, 4/64GB, multimedia device.

So, we asked Charlie what the kids use it for.

Audio Streaming Apps like Spotify. It has an internal speaker, but for the best music fidelity, use cabled earphones (supplied) or Bluetooth to connect to earbuds and speakers.
Video Streaming Apps. For example, you can allow Netflix and YouTube to use the kids’ profiles to restrict them to age-appropriate content.
Google TV also allows for Australian digital TV channels (9Now, 7Plus, iView, 10Play, SBS) and Chromecast to compatible TV screens.
Smart home controller allows family sharing of smart controllers for lights, switches, security systems, etc.
GPS chip to allow for precise location, eCompass and Google Maps, etc.
Voice-over-IP apps like Google Duo, WhatsApp and more can be restricted to a range of approved numbers.
Email via Gmail or other email clients
In fact, any Google Play App that does not explicitly need the camera or phone.

Screen – Pass

It is a HD+, 1440 x 720p, 247ppi, 18:9 ratio, 60Hz, IPS LCD screen.

Maximum brightness is 202 nits, which is fine for 720p HD.
Contrast is 1000:1 – ditto. There is a contrast enhancer that changes the colour temperature from standard to warm or cool.
The 18:9 ratio is slightly wider than the typical 16:9, but most content fills the screen.
Colour accuracy is adequate – we settled on 75% brightness during video playback.
DRM info states L3 for HD Standard Dynamic Range viewing.

Summary: For the price, it is all you can ask. It has a pre-fitted screen protector, which is a fingerprint magnet.

Engine – Pass

Remember that this only needs a little horsepower. The 28nm, full 64-bit Unisoc SC9863A is fit for purpose. It is an eight-core, 4 x 1.6GHz (power) and 4 x 1.2GHz (economy) Big/Little SoC with Power VR Rogue GE8322 GPU.

Geekbench 5 single/multicore scores are 196/807.

To put it in perspective, it

is equivalent to a Qualcomm SD450. It is acceptable for standard 720p up to 60Hz games and video replay. You will notice some lag when swapping windows, etc., but that is to be expected.

Other brands using this SoC include Samsung A03/A04, Nokia C01/21/30/31, Alcatel 1-series, Realme 11, Motorola E6i, and about 80 others. As this does not need to power a phone and camera, it has more usable power.

RAM/Storage – Pass

It has 4GB, meaning that it runs full 64-bit Android.

64GB eMMC (46GB free) is adequate as it is mainly used to download HD video. Maximum sustained sequential read/write speed is 182/125MBps. You cannot mount up to a 256GB external flash drive for active storage (not that you would want to). You can transfer files to and from a PC over micro-USB.

Micro-USB 2.0 – Passable

While we all would like USB-C, that does not fit the price window. It can use OTG (On the Go) to access external storage.

Throttle – none – Pass+

You don’t have to worry about it getting hot and losing power under load.

Potential for Malware and viruses – limited

Most Malware and viruses come from websites, social media, and SMS. Like all Android devices, we advise you to access suspect sites carefully. Running AV Apps on this processor will result in slower performance, so an occasional scan with Malwarebytes free scanner may suffice.

Battery – Pass

It has a 3000mAh Lithium Polymer battery that uses a solid electrolyte compared to Lithium-ion batteries’ liquid electrolyte. Thus, it should be somewhat safer.

Our tests show:

720p, video loop, 50% volume/brightness, aeroplane mode: 9 hours, although we feel 75% brightness is better for daylight viewing.
MP3 from internal storage: 24+ hours
PC Mark Battery Tests (consistent typical use): 7 hours
GFX Bench T-rex Game: 5 hours and 1500 frames
100-0% discharge under load: 4 hours
Charge time 5V/1A/5W (minimum): 5 hours 48 minutes
5V/2A/10W (maximum): Just under 3 hours
Idle discharge: 400-450mA
Battery saver mode will extend the life.

Summary: The battery life is as expected for the price.

Comms – Pass

Wi-Fi 4 N 2.4Ghz, which means a maximum link speed of around 150Mbps half-duplex (75/75Mbps). It achieves this within 2 metres of our reference router.
BT: 4.0 allows single-point SBC and AAC codec connections of earphones, speakers and more. Left/right stereo separation is good and provides reasonable volume for amplified devices.
NFC: No and not expected.
GPS: L1 single band and most unexpected
USB: micro-USB 2.0
Sensors: combo accelerometer and gyroscope.

Summary: all necessary comms, but adding a GPS for precise location is a bonus.

Sound – passable

It has a rear-ported mono speaker. Maximum volume is 80dB (good), but it is not for ‘audiophile’ use.

As expected, it has no low, mid or high bass, building mids and strong treble. It is called Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted) – for vocal tracks and string instruments, and kids will love it as Dorothy or the Wiggles jiggle.

Bluetooth earphones offer good stereo separation and a much better listening experience, and they are affordable at less than $50.

Android

It is pure 64-bit Google Android 12, but there will not be an Operating System Upgrade. Charlie promises necessary over-the-air security patch updates. It comes with all Google Apps and Play Store access.

Build and in the box

It has a plastic unibody with a glass front (and screen protector). It also has a micro-USB to USB-A cable, a clear bumper cover, and a 4-pole, 3.5mm earphone/mic. Size/Weight is 165.5 x 77.6 x 9.4mm x 160g.

Support

There is a stack of help videos on YouTube and the support page. All help is via a G-mee support form.

Cybershack’s view – G-mee Play Pro is a kids-safe audio/video content consumption device with benefits

In interviewing Charlie, I could tell he would have loved a higher specification device, but it all comes back to fit for purpose and price.

The key USP is keeping kids safe by removing the camera and phone. At the same time, it allows parents to limit and/or lock down the suite of Google Play apps, making it much more useful than previous G-mee devices.

G-mee started back before COVID. The fact that this is Gen 4 shows a demand for precisely this type of device from precisely this type of company. Charlie and Rachael are to be congratulated for taking the risk for our kids.

Rating Explanation

We will not formally rate it to avoid any suggestion of bias, and because it is a unique device/concept, we have no baseline for it. This is quite a leap forward compared to the previous Gen 3 Play.

Features: Think Android 12 minus camera and phone. The G-mee App allows for various lockdowns and constantly evolves to meet user needs.
Value: At $149, it costs less than the Nokia C01 Plus, which has the same processor, 2/16GB RAM/storage, and only runs 32-bit Android. Charlie has done an excellent job on pricing, although his direct sales model allows him to cut middleman profit.
Ease of Use: Parents will love the device, and it has sufficient performance from Android 64-bit. You may notice some lag, but it will play video, audio and web-based games quite well.
Design: Basic black is not what kids want. Previous generations have chosen coloured bumper covers and 9H anti-scratch screen protectors.

Pro

Pure 64-bit, Google Android 12, Google Play access, and security patches as needed.
No throttling under load
Battery life is longer than any other 3000mAh smartphone
Kid safe – no camera, phone, and a G-mee App
Should withstand kids’ treatment, although a glass screen protector would be nice

Con