Fitbit Versa 2 Review: Best seller smart watch in Amazon for 05/2020

If you don’t like a fitness tracker, you should take a closer look at the sports and fitness watches. The Versa 2 is Fitbit’s suggestion of what an everyday watch can look like, which offers smart functions and at the same time monitors the fitness level.

We Review the Versa 2 as part of our fitness world. The following articles have already appeared:

Design

The Fitbit Versa 2 hardly differs visually from its predecessor. The touch-sensitive OLED display with a resolution of 300 × 300 pixels is used to protect against scratches under Gorilla Glass. The Versa 2 weighs just under 40 grams and is comfortable to wear. The clock is operated via the touchscreen and the button on the side. A short press takes you back one step in menus, a long press starts Alexa or the Fitbit Pay app.

The integration of additional themes is a bit weak. These can only be loaded and synchronized via the Fitbit app – even though the watch actually has its own WiFi connection. In addition, the Versa 2 always saves only one theme, so that you can’t even switch quickly between different designs. This is no longer up to date.

On the other hand, we really liked the numerous different watch straps that Fitbit offers. In the Review, we replaced the supplied fabric bracelet of our model with a metal bracelet. The latter is very tight for large wrists despite the additional chain link, but was surprisingly comfortable to wear during sports and sleep.

Alexa

The great innovation of the Versa 2 is the integration of Amazon Alexa. After setup, the digital assistant can be activated using the side button on the watch. And indeed, it works amazingly well as long as the right smartphone is nearby. Because the queries do not run directly via Amazon, even with active WLAN, but must be forwarded to the smartphone via Bluetooth.

Nevertheless, the function is a practical helper for setting memories or asking short questions.

App

After numerous tests (overview), there is not much to say about the Fitbit app. The app is still very good, it prepares the data of the watch clearly. The dashboard in particular provides the most important key figures relating to your own fitness at a glance. You can go deeper into the data on movement, training or sleep.

However, one should mention the App Store, which brings additional features and watch faces to the watch. Even if the selection is far from being as extensive as at Garmin, there are some clever additional applications. This ranges from cards or an Uber app to messages or an app for generating 2FA tokens (two-factor authentication).

All in all, the Fitbit app is mature, easy to understand and easy to use.

activity

monitoring and recording daily activity is the core function of the Versa 2. The watch sits comfortably on the wrist and measures movement. It is about both steps and floors. Fitbit comes exactly from this fitness area and you can see that on the Versa 2. The measurements are solid, neither too strict nor too gracious. In order to achieve the daily goals, you have to be active.

training

The watch also makes a good impression during training. Numerous sports are predefined, which can be started manually at the push of a button. In addition, the watch has a training recognition that recognizes and saves longer sessions. It works very well when walking or cycling. The watch is obviously more for recreational athletes, but the functions are more than sufficient. If you are working towards a triathlon or something similar, you should probably go for the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music (Review report) or the Polar Vantage M (Review report). The latter in particular offers very good software for planning training sessions.

Nevertheless: The Fitbit Versa 2 is well suited for everyday life and simply to bring more movement into life. However, it does not have its own GPS, so you need a smart health connected smartphone to record the route data cleanly.

Despite the new microphone, the watch is still water-repellent. Fitbit refers to a tightness of up to 50 meters, but you should be realistic with the Versa 2, swim to the surface or wear the watch while showering. During swimming training, the watch recognizes that you are pulling lanes, but cannot measure a pulse.

Music

The Versa 2 plays music on request. You can save data as MP3 on the internal memory or use Deezer. Fitbit unfortunately does not indicate any storage capacity, there should be space for up to 300 songs.

Although Spotify is also promised, it is unfortunately a kind of drilled remote control via Spotify Connect. In the Review, we were able to control playback on a smartphone or a PC, but we couldn’t store music directly on the watch and listen to it from there. Too bad that Garmin does better with the Vivoactive 3 Music or Samsung with the Gear Fit 2 Pro (Review report). The only advantage is that you no longer have to pull out your phone in training if you want to change the track.

The manual transmission of music also worked only sporadically in the Review period. The Fitbit Windows app kept aborting with the error message that no communication with the Fitbit server was possible. Apparently, the notebook and watch did not turn green, so that no data could be transferred. Too bad the Versa 2 inherited this cumbersome procedure from the first Versa. It would be so much easier to push the songs onto the device via USB, Bluetooth or WiFi Direct. It’s not fun like that.

As with its predecessor, Deezer users can (slowly) synchronize playlists as long as they have a premium subscription to the service.

The music options are limited to uncomfortable local music, a premium subscription with Deezer or remote control via Spotify Connect.

sleep

Despite the size, the watch is comfortable and comfortable to wear even when you sleep. There is no reason for criticism when recording and evaluating sleep data. Fitbit uses an easy-to-understand sleep index and divides the night into the different phases awake, REM, light and deep. The information is prepared clearly so that trends can be identified well in the long term. If desired, you can create a sleep plan to improve your own bedtime.

In the settings on the watch (not in the app) you can activate a sleep mode, which darkens the device and switches off the always-on display during the night phases and does not let any notifications through.

The alarm clock can also be set on the clock and reliably woke us from deep sleep in the Review by means of a vibration alarm.

payment

Fitbit Pay already existed in the Versa, but only there with the Special Edition. In the Versa 2, the wallet is integrated in all products with which you can pay contactlessly. Actually, because the hurdle is still to find a suitable bank.

At the time of the Review, the following banks supported the Fitbit Pay service:

• BW-Bank / LBBW (Visa)

• boon. from Wirecard

• Mercedes-Benz Bank (Visa)

• Fitbit Visa Card

• Revolut (Mastercard)

That is only a tiny fraction of the German institutes. If you want to try out the service, the Fitbit Visa Card is probably the best choice. This is free of charge in the first year, but then costs 2 euros per month. It is not a prepaid card, the amount is debited from a linked checking account. The payment process itself is protected by a four-digit PIN, and the watch must also measure an active pulse in order to activate the function.

Paying by the clock itself is convenient (if you can find a suitable terminal), in practice you only use it for small things or if you have forgotten your wallet. We look enviously to Australia, Singapore or London, where monthly tickets for public transport are stored on the watch and can be used from there. That would be a real advantage in this country.

notification

The Fitbit Versa 2 delivers notifications of incoming messages if you want to. On Android you have to assign the necessary rights, then the watch adheres to the global requirements and shows incoming calls or text messages if the phone is not muted. Clever: Answers can be dictated via the integrated microphone.

Battery life

In practice, the watch lasts between five and six days before it has to go back into the supplied charging cradle for almost 90 minutes. The runtime is halved if you use the always-on mode, in which the time and other important information is always shown on the display. That is a reasonable value.

Price

Fitbit supplies the Versa 2 in several versions. Each watch comes with an armand in S and L, so you don’t have to worry about buying the right length.

There are also a number of alternative bracelets. We list a few to give an overview of the products and the price.

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Conclusion

No, there are not many new fitness functions in the Versa 2. Fitbit maintains models and files on a few corners. The integration of Alexa and the expansion of Fitbit Pay are nice, but not a standalone reason to buy. And that Spotify can only control devices, but cannot load music onto the watch itself, somehow seems half-baked.

But that is complaining at a high level. Because the Versa 2 is a solid sports watch and a good fitness tracker that does not look like a heart rate monitoring thanks to the AMOLED display and its interchangeable wristbands.

In short: If you are looking for a fitness watch that is suitable for everyday use, has some nice features and a very good app, you can hit it easily.

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW