Fitbit Versa 2: what’s new and different?

It has been a few months since Fitbit released any new devices, but this has all changed today. The company has officially unveiled the Versa 2. It comes with a better screen, longer battery life, more powerful processor and some other extras such as Amazon Alexa support.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

As can be seen from the images, just like Versa Lite, Versa 2 comes with only one physical button on the left. The two physical buttons on the right have not made the cut again, and it seems Fitbit has decided to ditch them completely.

We get the same square-ish display although it is now AMOLED instead of LCD so more high-res than previously. It’s also always on, although when not in use it will just show off a few key bits of info in black and white. Unfortunately opting for the always on option limits the usability of the touch-screen. It also halves the battery life.

Versa 2 now has slimmer bezels and an aerospace grade aluminium casing. The back panel has also received a revamp and now had a larger area of black glass housing the updated ‘PurePulse’ heart rate sensor.

Other than that, there’s a 3-axis accelerometer, Optical heart rate monitor, Altimeter, Ambient light sensor, Vibration motor, Wi-Fi antenna (802.11 b/g/n) and Relative SpO2 sensor. Let’s hope Fitbit finally puts to use the SpO2 sensor.

Still no built-in GPS on-board which is a slight disappointment. The processor has been upgraded although we don’t know the details as Fitbit does not reveal these.

Versa 2 comes with comprehensive activity (15+ exercise modes) features. Sleep tracking is now better and includes Sleep Score, a single figure letting you know how well you slept. There’s also water-resistance down to 50 meters, storage for 300+ songs and support for Fitbit Pay.

Battery life is around 5 days, which means you get an extra day. Not bad considering the boost in specs.

It has also been revealed the smartwatch has Alexa support. This means Versa 2 is coming with a microphone, a first for a Fitbit. You are able to ask the watch for weather reports in your area, it will provide you with smart home control and more. The company is hoping this will be a big selling point. We are not so sure.

Finally Spotify, Pandora and Deezer all play nice with the smartwatch. This gives access to millions of songs.

The San Francisco outfit released a number of devices so far this year. This includes the Fitbit Versa Lite Edition, Fitbit Inspire HR, Fitbit Inspire and Fitbit Ace 2. The additions help to consolidate its wearables range, although just like Versa 2 they do not offer anything revolutionary.

IFA 2019 is just around the corner and we were wondering if Fitbit will launch any new devices. They’ve been a regular at Europe’s tech gathering in recent years and always had something new to show off. Now we know.

September 15th is the official release date but you can pre-order now for $200 on Fitbit. There’s also a special edition which comes in at $230. The main difference here is that you get an extra (woven) band and a 90-day Fitbit Premium trial. You can also purchase the tracker on Amazon.

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