Fitbit Versa 2 which was released last year is still one of the best fitness smartwatches on the market. I have used the Versa 2 for a couple of months now, and I can say that it’s a fantastic smartwatch with a couple of downsides. This is an in-depth review of Fitbit Versa 2, and in this post, I’ll state all the features of what the Versa 2 can do for you as well as what I like and what I don’t like about this smartwatch. There is already a Fitbit Versa 3 which comes with inbuilt GPS and loudspeaker which I’ll also review subsequently in the future.
Don’t want to read through, watch the Fitbit Versa 2 in-depth review video.
Fitbit Versa 2 In-depth Review
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Fitbit Versa 2 is a compact and lightweight fitness smartwatch, its no doubt a fantastic smartwatch that can help you stay fit and reach more fitness goals with its up to 5 days long battery life, but the lack of inbuilt GPS means a lot.
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What I Like
- The Versa 2 has an ergonomic and compact design.
- Lots of fitness tracking features.
- Easy to navigate.
- Up to 5 days long battery life
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What I Don’t Like
- It lacks inbuilt GPS.
- You can only store 5 watch faces at a time on the watch.
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Design
- Lightweight, Compact and Sturdy Design
- AMOLED Powered Display
- Versa 2 is Swim-Proof
- Lots of Watch Faces
- User Interface and Navigation
The Versa 2 has a remarkable design that’s very lightweight and comfortable to wear. Thanks to its aluminium case and elastomer strap that is very soft and doesn’t attack my skin. The straps are interchangeable, so you can choose to change it if you wish. The Versa 2 is also compact in size and it fits perfectly well on my wrist.
Versa 2 has a very colorful and interactive display that’s vivid and easy to read. It has an ambient light sensor that auto regulates the brightness of the display. The 1.4 inches wide display is big enough to read complications on the screen, I didn’t have any problem reading data on the watch even when on the move.
Rated 5ATM which is the equivalent of 50 meters waterproof rating, the Versa 2 is swim-proof and can be worn under the shower, to the pool, or even the ocean.
There are lots of watch faces to choose which you can find and install from the Fitbit app. You can store up 5 watch faces at a time on the watch. While there are many free watch faces, most are premium watch faces that require payment before you can use it.
Some notable watches include the Clean Cue watch face that guides you to wash your hands, the SpO2 watch face that shows your blood oxygen levels tracked overnight, and the Active Zone minutes watch faces.
The Fitbit OS is not the most sophisticated when compared to Samsung’s Tizen OS, but I like the simplicity and effortless navigation it offers. You can navigate the Versa 2 via touchscreen and the side button. The physical button which isn’t present in Versa 3 allows you to go back to the previous menu and also acts as a shortcut button when you long-press it. You can assign a function from the settings app, I have assigned a walking exercise to the button.
Navigating through the Versa 2 is pretty easy, when you swipe left, it reveals your list of apps. When you swipe down, it reveals your notifications and if you swipe down again, you see the shortcuts for music and Fitbit pay, tapping on the setting icon by the left, reveals the quick panel which contains settings like sleep mode, do not disturb mode, always-on display mode, wake up gesture and brightness.
And when you swipe up from the home screen, reveals Fitbit today which shows you health stats like sleep, heart rate, active zone minutes, steps, floors climbed, and more. You can customize what is shown by scrolling down further and tap on settings.
Fitbit Versa 2 Fitness Tracking Features
- A Comprehensive Fitness Tracker
- Heart Rate Tracking
- Comprehensive Sleep Tracking
- Reduce Stress with Guided Breathing Sessions
- Active Zone Minutes
- 20 Preset Workout Modes
- Other Fitness Metrics
Just like every other Fitbit smartwatch, the Versa 2 is fitness-focused and equipped to track a whole lot of health metrics. Fitbit has a full house of premium fitness exercises from experts which requires a subscription to enjoy.
Versa 2 tracks the basics like my steps, floors climbed, calories, distance, and more.
Versa 2 tracks my heart rate continuously. It’s unfortunate that you can’t set it to track intermittently like you would on Active 2. Versa 2 shows my heart zones, resting heart rate, and gives a cardio fitness score which can also be viewed in more detail from the Fitbit App. You can also customize your maximum heart rate and heart zones from the Fitbit app.
The Versa 2 also tracks sleep, it tracks my sleep comprehensively showing time spent in deep, awake, REM, and light stages of my sleep. It gives a sleep score to indicate how well you slept. It also calculates your blood oxygen overnight and shows your oxygen variations which range from low to high. You can only see your blood oxygen levels with the Fitbit SpO2 Signature watch face isn’t available in all regions. Low variations mean good while high variations may indicate breathing problems.
There’s also the sleeping heart rate and restlessness feature which is contained in Fitbit Premium.
The Versa 2 can help you relax after a stressful day. It has a stress app that guides you through a breathing session. You can set the duration of the breathing session between 2 minutes and 5 minutes.
Active Zone Minutes is one of the new features on Fitbit Versa 2, 3 and Charge 4. This feature works based on the WHO recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate or 75minutes of vigorous exercises per week. So Fitbit Active Zone Minutes calculates this based on your heart rate zones.
When you do simple workouts like walking, you are in the Fat Burn zone which earns you 1 Zone minute for every minute spent in it, and when you do more intense cardio exercises like burpees, you’re in the Cardio zone and you earn 2 Zone minutes for every minute spent in the exercise. It’s the same zone minutes for the Peak zone with the Cardio zone.
The Versa 2 has 20 preset workout modes which you are allowed to have 7 sport modes at a time on the shortcut list. Some of these sport modes require GPS which can be turned on from the Fitbit app.
It also auto-detects and tracks 7 workout modes which include, walk, run, outdoor bike, elliptical, sport, aerobic workout, and swimming. You can setup goals from the Fitbit app such as weekly exercise goals, steps, sleep, and more.
Beyond the aforementioned fitness tracking features, you can log your water and food intake from the Fitbit app. There’s also the menstrual cycle feature for women that allows logging and tracking of your period cycle.
Music Storage
Just like Ionic, Versa 2 has music storage capability. It offers different ways to store music on the watch. You can add your personal music through the desktop Fitbit app which is available for Windows and Mac computers. You can also add music through premium apps like Deezer, Spotify, and Pandora.
To listen to music, you must connect a Bluetooth headphone which you can do from the settings app.
Helps You Manage Notifications Effortlessly
With Versa 2, you can manage notifications easily. It allows you to get alert when you receive a notification on your phone. You can setup which apps you want to receive notifications from in the Fitbit app. You can also setup notifications for calls, choose your messaging and email apps which I have set to WhatsApp and Gmail, these are treated differently.
You can also activate voice replies on Versa 2, this will allow you to reply to notifications with your voice. And there’s the custom quick replies feature which you can customize as you deem fit, but you can’t add more, its only 5 quick replies in total. Basically, the Versa 2 allows you to reply to notifications with your voice, quick replies, and emojis.
You can answer calls on Versa 2 if you’re connected to a paired Bluetooth headphone otherwise you can only reject or continue the call on your phone.
Up to 5 Days Battery Life
The battery life of Versa 2 is very impressive, I got an average of 4-5 days long battery life with mixed usage. It’ll be slightly less if I had to work out regularly with it.
The Fitbit App is Quite Intuitive
As you will have noticed before now I have mentioned the Fitbit app a couple of times in this post that’s because it’s the companion app for Versa 2 just like other Fitbit smartwatches that allow you to manage how the Versa 2 functions. You need to setup the Versa 2 with the app to able you install apps, watch faces, manage notifications, and more.
The app has a clean design that allows you to see what matters at a glance. It also has a whole lot of features. You can view your sleep, heart rate, outdoor workout, and more from the app.
Fitbit Versa 2 Full Specifications
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Conclusion
The Versa 2 is a decent smartwatch, it’s one of my favorites. It does just about everything from tracking your daily activities to helping manage notifications effortlessly with a long battery life that lets you go long from a single charge, its no doubt a fantastic smartwatch.
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