I just tried the world’s first smartphone for pets — and I can’t wait to call my dog

Ring-a-ding-aling. Pick up the line, it’s Fido calling! He misses you and demands tummy rubs.

You’ve heard of pet trackers, like the Fi Smart Collar, but what if your dog or cat could drop you a line to check in for a chat whenever they’re feeling lonely (and Vice versa)? With the PetPhone, a device from the brand uCloudLink, you can do exactly that.

I just got my hands on this light-weight, palm-sized device at Mobile World Congress, Europe’s largest tech show, and I’m obsessed. As a frequent traveler and loving caretaker of a sweet, 18-pound long-haired chihuahua mix named Belvedere — who’s presently 5,000+ miles away — I can’t help but feel like I’m the perfect audience for such a product.

PetPhone: Price and availability

The PetPhone is just $90 and on sale now, but requires a dataplan to use. You can expect to pay around $10 a month for such a plan, depending on your carrier. Color options include pink and green.

PetPhone: Battery life and build quality

The PetPhone offers five days of battery per charge and boasts an IP67 rating against moisture and dirt. It also weighs a reasonable 37 g and should be okay for any pet over roughly 8 pounds, according to the brand.

The front features a small speaker and a light that illuminates whenever you’re calling. You can also manually turn it on if you need to visually locate your pet in the dark. Similarly, you can have the PetPhone generate audio to help locate your pet.

PetPhone: Two-way calling

The PetPhone offers four major functions. The first and primary is two-way calling between pet and owner. Humans can place a call to their four-legged pals any time they like via a quick trip to the companion PetPhone app.

But what if your dog/cat wants to call you? That takes a little more legwork on your end (if you’re a dog owner), as you’ll need to train your pup to do a specific action to initiate a call: jumping up and down three times in a row within six seconds.

For cats, placing a call is a little simpler. Felines simply need to jump from the floor onto a surface roughly three feet or taller to phone their favorite human friend. In addition to the ability to chat with your pet, owners can also set up the PetPhone to play their pet’s favorite music remotely.

PetPhone: Location and activity tracking

Beyond a two-way audio communication platform, the PetPhone also offers global, real-time location tracking for pet owners using a combination of tracking technologies, including GPS, WiFi, and cellular. Similar to other pet trackers, you can set up a geofenced location and receive notifications if/when your pet leaves said area.

The PetPhone is also an activity monitor, logging how much time your pets spend on the move, whether going for a walk, playing, or roaming. It also tracks calories burned and distance covered. The device additionally monitors your pet’s daily movement for the first six weeks it's worn to get a sense of their routine and activity levels. Then, if any sudden drops in exercise are noted, you’ll receive an alert.

PetPhone: Community features

Lastly, there’s a community aspect to the PetPhone that allows your pet to befriend other PetPhone-rocking cats and dogs, with permission from both owners. Doing so unlocks two-way communication from dog-to-dog or cat-to-cat, as well as alerts for when friends are nearby. However, specifics on functionality are limited, as the feature is still in development (not yet public) as of writing.

PetPhone + PetCam

In addition to the PetPhone, UCloudLink also sells the PetCam, a wearable (or stationary mountable) action camera and activity monitor for cats and dogs. Best of all, users can pair their PetPhone and PetCam together for a complete audio and video communication experience.

The PetCam isn’t available yet, but I’m told it should launch in late March or April for around the same cost or a little higher than the PetPhone.

PetPhone: Outlook

While I’m a little skeptical about the social aspect of the PetPhone — do I really want Belvedere calling his pal, Walter the miniature pinscher, whenever he wants? — I’m beyond excited to test out the two-way communication functionality between human and dog. The question is, will Belevedere even recognize my voice without seeing me? I'm not so sure.

But I should know soon, as I'll be getting my hands on a final PetPhone review unit in the next several weeks. Until then, I’m going to work on training my pup to jump three times in a row; wish me luck! Stay tuned for a full review soon.

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