Fitbit Versa 2: More Of A Fitness Tracker, Less Of A Smartwatch

Fitbit has long been associated with fitness trackers, but recent years have seen the company branching into the smartwatch market, where Apple and Samsung are dominant.

Versa, a smartwatch launched last year was the company best effort toward its goal. The device has a durable battery, all of Fitbit’s advanced sleep-tracking features and comfort. However, in comparison with other devices on the market at that time, it lacks some essential features like competent notification support and productivity functions.

The Fitbit Versa 2 is the latest in line, and from the name, anyone can guess that it is a step forward of the Versa released last year. The design has been changed a bit, and the watch now packs lots of new features, at the same price as the 2018’s.

Versa 2 will make an excellent fitness tracker, but it is far from being a smartwatch user will want to stretch their budget for.

This new Fitbit smartwatch maintains the comfort on the wrist from last year’s model. The size is just right and will look good on you no matter how big or small your wrist is. The weight is small, and the tapered design helps conceal the bulk of the watch.

Overall, the Versa 2 does not look so different from the original Versa. However, the interactions are now limited to a button on the side and the touchscreen instead of the multi-button setup. This change does not mean the watch will omit some functions. What you can do on the 2018’s Versa, you can do on this year’s Versa 2.

One thing Fitbit has failed to improve on this year’s model is the strap. Not that there is an issue with it, but rather the difficulty you will have when you want to change it. New users will find attaching the rubber strap coming in the box quite challenging. You have the choice to opt for a leather one, but that comes with the extra of $50.

The best upgrade Fitbit offers users on this Versa 2 is arguably the OLED screen in the place of last year’s LCD. The colors are bright, and the content is legible, both indoor and outdoor. The new display also paves the way for the always-on feature, meaning you can see that time any time you want. However, you cannot exactly do much with this new feature, and there is no raise-to-wake function.

Another downer is the thick bezels that make the screen looks even smaller than it really is. A rare plus is that the Fitbit branding is no more.

The durable battery is another feature Versa 2 keeps from last year’s. It holds enough energy to sustain the watch for up to five days. However, the always-on display will drain the cell faster, decreasing the time by half.

Versa 2 also has a microphone, meaning you have some limited voice control abilities with this year’s model. If you pair the watch to an Android device, what you rely on messages will be turned into texts. This function works well, producing accurate and quick transcription.

The microphone can work with Alexa. Press and hold the side button will conjure the virtual assistant to do what you can expect from it.

Since there is no speaker on Versa 2, all of the replies of Alexa will be in the form of texts on the screen. There is a limitation to the assistant’s ability on this watch though. You cannot tell it to send a message or make a phone call, nor activate the assistant with a voice command like you would with Siri and the Apple watch.

All of the fitness features from Versa can be found on Versa 2, including sleep-tracking, workout detection, and intelligent always-on heart rate monitoring. A new feature is the Sleep Score, which will give you scores for how long and how well you have slept.

Another new and welcoming function is the Sleep Mode, which will disable intrusive notifications and the screen from lighting up at night. There are two ways you can activate this feature, one is via the quick setting screen, and the other is by using the smartphone app. With the latter method, you can set the function to turn on and off according to a fixed schedule.

When it comes to fitness tracking, you can never go wrong with a device from Fitbit. In fact, the Versa 2 is arguably the best on the market in this respect, even when it has no GPS support.

However, if someone desires these fitness features, a less expensive option is to go for a tracker from Fitbit. So the reason anyone wants to get a Versa 2 is the combination of a smartwatch and a tracker’s functions. Unfortunately, the company has not done an excellent job fixing the issues we have with last year’s Versa.

Versa supports a large number of apps, but for some reason, it lacks most of the popular ones like reminders or a calendar. While there are ample of options on the company’s app store, users will find just a few famous names. Even if they choose to pay for apps, the only option is to go for the payment method the developers ask for, since Fitbit store does not have its own payment system.

While the Versa 2 support Spotify, the fact that you can only playback and control the app via another device has rendered it mostly useless.

Another disadvantage is that users can only use one watch face at a time, meaning if they want to change back and forth, they will have to search for what they want and download it, and then repeat the whole process all over again.

Fitbit Pay is available on all Versa devices, but this does not make life easier for users. The number of supported banks is smaller than that of Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or Apple Pay.

Overall, the Versa 2 is an improvement from the last year’s original Versa. However, it is a competent fitness tracker but is far from being a decent smartwatch.