Review Fitbit Versa 2: our complete review – Watches / Bracelet smart health connected

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We tested the Fitbit Versa 2, a smart health connected watch with great autonomy and a close monitoring of activity, sleep and health.

The main watchface of the Fitbit Versa 2

The smart health connected watch market is difficult. Apple has managed to get the lion's share with nearly 50% of the market, followed by Samsung and finally Fitbit, whose purchase by Google is underway. Before this transaction was finalized, we looked at the last smartwatch of the fitness brand, the Fitbit Versa 2. Design, features, autonomy, here is our full review.

Technical sheet

This Review was conducted with a smartwatch offered by Fitbit.

Design: like an apple taste

" You work at FrANDROID and you have an Apple Watch on your wrist! This phrase, I have heard far too often in recent weeks, and yet no watch marked with an apple approached my wrist during this period. No, on the other hand it is true that the Fitbit Versa 2 looks very similar to him at first sight with its square format.

The differences are, however, quite remarkable when one looks more closely at the two watches in question. First, the iconic rotating crown of the Apple Watch gives way to a single push button on the left side of the Fitbit Versa 2 which serves as a button to do everything from the menu activation back to back through the call of Alexa, the intelligent assistant of Amazon. It is more discreet than the three buttons of the first model.

Single button of the Fitbit Versa 2

Then, it must be admitted, the finishes are not the same, especially with regard to screen borders, much larger on the Fitbit Versa 2. This is felt a little on the size of OLED screen that is only 1.4 inches, which gives 2.5 cm sides, compared to 4 cm for the sides of the case itself. However, we still have a high quality aluminum design that does not mark over time and a coating Gorilla Glass 3 on all to provide some protection against scratches.

The screen itself is also well made and always offers excellent visibility, even by setting the brightness to "average". Add to that a very deep contrast that at a certain angle allows you to forget the big borders and you have a perfect companion to your smartphone to view notifications. Fitbit has settled here one of the main problems of the first generation (its LCD).

Its basic bracelet supplied with the purchase is in silicone, which is the norm for the trackers activity and other sports watches. It is thick, qualitative and does not smell bad (a problem encountered on some bad quality bracelets). Two sizes are also provided: S, which turned out to be too small for me, leaving only a very small "free" wristband, and L, which proved almost too big for me, forcing me to go the barb in the tightest hole. To believe that my wrist is right at the wrong size. It is of course possible to buy additional bracelets on the brand shop or third-party brands, on a standard 22 mm.

An excellent system, but limited

Like the other two brands of the TOP 3, Fitbit offers its own operating system on its watches, which is both a good and a bad thing. Let's start with the good points.

The interface of the Fitbit Versa 2 is light, which allows it to be very fluid most of the time. He may nevertheless have some slow motion, especially after loading his diary of the day (displaying the number of steps, the average heart rate, the last exercises, etc.). By sliding your finger down you see the latest notifications of applications that you want – which unfortunately do not disappear automatically when deleted on the smartphone – if you slide to the side you access the installed applications, and upwards one accesses the newspaper of the day.

Notifications on the Fitbit Versa 2

Note that on the notifications screen, a small pop-up provides quick access to the music player, the payment system and the quick settings of the watch (activation of the screen, brightness, do not disturb mode, etc.). The set works pretty well and this good interface is coupled with an application on the smartphone both clear and complete, but I'll come back to it a little later.

Among the basic applications of the watch is the launch of activity monitoring (running, bike, swimming, bodybuilding, yoga, golf, hiking … 20 in total customizable from the application), a timer, alarms, weather, a relaxation system based on breathing or control of music. We can then choose applications from third party developers like Spotify, Deezer, Strava, Philips Hue, Uber, etc. Unfortunately, and this is where the rub, the number of applications available is very limited. For example, I could not manage my music from YouTube or Google Play Music (Spotify and Deezer need to have a paid subscription to connect to Fitbit), forcing me to take out my phone or go through the controls of my headphones whenever I wanted to pause or change tracks.

However, you can connect a Bluetooth headset to the Fitbit Versa 2 and store some music to avoid having to take your smartphone everywhere with you during the exercise, even if replace the apps of streaming unlimited becomes difficult today. In another genre, if the music players of Google are not very popular, the absence of my application of running Runtastic on a exercise and health-focused watch was far more damaging, as was the impossibility of cross-checking the data in Google Fit or Apple Health. And there is no GPS either …

In the end, this fluid interface, but summary, makes it rather little present in everyday life. She records her data, sends us some information, but it was quite rare for me to actually interact with her.

The application

Although I did not really look at the watch itself, I naturally opened the Fitbit app several times a day. In the morning to check my sleep score of the night and the evening to possibly enter missing information on my day and follow my results. Note that rule tracking is also possible.

By setting achievable but regular goals, Fitbit comes to gamifier health and to push the user to be interested as a person. Easily record the amount of water you drank or the food you consumed during the day to add relevance to the application's tracking. In this regard, the list of foods available is quite crazy and very well done. Did you have a coffee in the day? Fitbit offers to save it in your journal by selecting from the 5 most popular choices … or from the other 92 possibilities (yes, I counted them), including pods of popular brands (Nespresso, Senseo, Nescafe or even Carrefour …), or the standard doses of certain brands (McDonald's, Starbucks …).

The app also offers daily challenges to set and can be joined by friends to motivate themselves to achieve goals, or even "adventures" that represent other types of challenges spanning several days, with goals various over the period. Everything in the app pushes you to be a little more active, to take a few extra steps to reach your goals and therefore improve, and it works surprisingly well if you're a tad player.

Finally, you can also share your successes and tips with the community (from a good sports session to the good meal that you have prepared) or access a training system, the Fitbit Coach, but this is a paying party.

Moreover, everything is generally well explained. The application does not just tell me if I slept well or not, but time the duration of different phases of sleep and explain clearly what consequences they have on my body in everyday life. In the future, Fitbit also promises to be able to set an alarm clock that will try to wake you up as close as possible to your requested wakeup time, but during a period of REM sleep to avoid sudden awakenings. We are waiting for this feature.

Note that the readings are generally very reliable, whether on the analysis of sleep, but also on the measurements of the heart rate monitor, which obtains results close to what can be obtained with a real electrocardiogram.

Exemplary autonomy

The best thing about the Fitbit Versa 2 is probably its autonomy. With her good 5 days of use, she manages to be forgotten and does not require to be recharged every night. Fortunately for a watch whose main argument is the analysis of sleep … We can extend this life a little (and reach 6 days) if we cut the automatic measurement of heart rate continuously, but c is a bit of a shame on this type of product.

The back of the Fitbit Versa 2

Finally, if you activate the Always-On screen, the battery life falls to 3 days. Even under these conditions, it remains a very good autonomy for a smart health connected watch.

Price and availability

The Fitbit Versa 2 is available since September 2019 at a suggested price of 200 euros. A special edition with a woven bracelet is also proposed at 230 euros.

Where to buy the Fitbit Versa 2 at the best price?

Recall that the issue of tracking updates comes after the purchase of Fitbit by Google. As it stands, the Versa 2 is nevertheless functional and does not necessarily require additional updating.

• High autonomy

• Discreet

• The Fitbit app

• Effective follow-up

• Borders still a bit big

• No GPS

• Limited application offer

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