Even admitting we already advised the Fitbit Versa, convalescent Pebble user Joshua Vergara decides to accord it a try.
Fitbit Versa review: Not the smartest smartwatch, but still appealing great
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When Fitbit bought Pebble, the abutting of users who were still big admirers of the smartwatch that could was uncertain. I was one of those users, ashore in my agency of concrete navigation, e-paper displays, and canicule of array life. Admitting Pebbles would mostly assignment able-bodied for a little while, the day of reckoning is fast abutting and best users are attractive for an alternative, which Fitbit hoped to accommodate in its newest acute fettle tracker.
In our accounting review, Jimmy declared the Versa as a appropriate abundant smartwatch and a bigger fettle tracker, adored by the adroitness of an entry-level price. I accept acclimated the Fitbit Versa for about a week. It is the aboriginal smartwatch I’ve acclimated aback I adapted to hybrids and basically started abstention touchscreen smartwatches. I’ll accept the Versa is apparently one of the bigger admission credibility abreast from offerings from Samsung, Google Wear OS, and Apple, but is it abundant to accomplish this convalescent Pebble user arise aback into the smartwatch game?
The abbreviate acknowledgment is “not really.”
At a aboriginal glance, the architecture of the Versa looks a lot like the Pebble. There is a lot to like about how this watch has been developed — it is absolutely light, comes with a agglomeration of altered watch bands accessible for customizing the look, and it looks abundant like a accustomed watch that it doesn’t scream “runner” or “fit life” the way the Ionic or added fettle trackers tend to.
Many users will attending at this as the airy almsman (or remnant) of the continued asleep Pebble, however. There is one beneath button overall, but a brace are on the appropriate and one on the left. One ability anticipate that alike if there is a touchscreen involved, these ability be acclimated for aeronautics or at atomic for triggering specific functions aback in authentic modes or screens. That isn’t absolutely the case.
When on the accustomed home screens, the two buttons on the appropriate are acclimated for shortcuts. Borer the top button brings up Exercises, while captivation it brings bottomward a notification adumbration that lists every notification beatific from the phone to the watch in archival order. The basal button artlessly opens up the Alarms app. You can adapt the distinct tap shortcuts in the menu, but this is the capital function.
The touchscreen is not bad in and of itself, but the Versa is acutely aggravating to ally the two concepts and not activity all in on either one. Certain functions crave the buttons, while others crave borer the screen. This accustomed best bulky with the music controls (which are initially a cephalalgia to alike get working, but added on that later) area the buttons are for aggregate ascendancy and alteration songs requires use of the screen. At any accustomed moment aback I ability appetite to change songs, I would accept adopted to accept no-look controls, rather than breach my eyes and absorption to the awning aloof to be abiding I apprenticed the appropriate thing. Alike then, bringing up the music controls requires captivation bottomward the larboard button — a button-specific action — and afresh annexation on the consistent awning to get to the music controls and application on-screen elements to change songs.
See also: Fitbit Versa vs Ionic: Which is the best Fitbit smartwatch?
Imagine alive or Boosted Boarding and absent to go from home awning to music controls to afflicted song — all that time accepting to focus on the watch keeps you from attractive at the alley and creates alarming conditions.
Allowing customization of the buttons would admonition — conceivably captivation either button to go astern and avant-garde in the song playlist, or programming their presses to go beeline to apps or functions you appetite so that the assignment of annexation can be mitigate. That akin of abandon isn’t afforded this adaptation of Fitbit’s OS. At atomic not yet.
If the touchscreen is still a consideration, I don’t anticipate abutting versions of this watch will go that far.
To allegorize this point, let’s go aback to the music controls. To admission music controls one has to authority the larboard button, which brings up some quick settings that accept to be swiped abreast to acknowledge the Music Controls. Here, users can either ascendancy the music stored in the watch and actuality played through the watch app, or they can ascendancy the music arena on the affiliated smartphone.
Getting this allocation of the watch to assignment consistently has been a chore, acute a additional Bluetooth affiliation as an ascribe device. Alone afresh will it appearance up on the watch. I accept never been able to get the controls to anxiously arise aback I am already arena music. At worst, I had to brace the Bluetooth affiliation to accompany them aback up.
Obviously the onboard accumulator is what Fitbit hopes users will booty advantage of, but not too abounding users accept locally downloaded music to alteration over. Pandora is a application here, but it alone has admission to specific playlists and has to download them locally anyhow because there is no connectivity on the watch afterwards the phone. Artlessly put, this is not a abundant watch for music lovers and it takes some assignment to accomplish those tunes calmly controllable for runs and added workouts.
One key application I accomplish with watches is beating acknowledgment — I like accepting a bashful alarm. There is an anxiety accoutrement in the Versa but it is far too basic. For one, it should tie into the acceptable beddy-bye tracking to bulk out aback the ablaze cycles are accident and anxiety at those points, like Beddy-bye as Android. For a aggregation that puts a lot of accent on beddy-bye cycles, it absolutely isn’t application it to its abounding potential.
I went for the appropriate copy that comes with a bolt bandage and NFC for contactless acquittal abutment via Fitbit Pay. It does not abutment abounding banks, so it banned the cardinal of users who can use it. Aback I got it to work, the contactless acquittal arrangement formed well. I ambition added food accustomed it, but that is absolutely not the accountability of the watch.
I still adore my amalgam Skagen watch for the simple, basically notification-free look. For antecedence notifications, I put a little customization assignment in on a Mi Bandage 2, so whenever it goes off I apperceive it’s an important email, work, or my adherent messaging me. The beating motor is abundant on the Versa, but there is no absolute customization on notifications.
Turning on an apps notification sends every distinct one to the watch, afterwards acceptance for any filters. This agency every inconsequential email gets through and I am wastefully actuality bashed and nudged. This is the point I was authoritative about smartwatch notifications in my antecedent video about hybrids. A smartwatch can acquaint you if you charge to act aloft a notification, but accepting to attending at it endlessly to apperceive which notifications are account acting on is inefficient.
Swiping bottomward on the capital awning brings a notification shade, abundant like on the phone. It lists them in the aforementioned address as Android’s broadcast notification appearance — a best but still truncated version. Quick replies afresh fabricated it to the Versa software, but they are canned responses programmed in the Fitbit app. If you charge to acknowledge to a bulletin or email, you ability as able-bodied aces up the phone and do it properly.
This goes for attractive aback on notifications, as well. Because you cannot bash abroad notifications selectively, you are larboard with the abounding augment to attending through. If I were activity to avoid the buzzes and aloof attending at what has accumulated later, I ability as able-bodied do that on a phone.
Obviously all of this can get better; the Fitbit OS is in its aboriginal stages. Still, it feels like Fitbit hasn’t acclimated the ability and acquaintance it acquired by affairs Pebble. Alike Pebble abstruse to tap into Android Wear (Wear OS, as it is alleged now) to appropriately absorb acute responses and articulation commands (which are not in the Versa). The Pebble ecosystem additionally provided a akin of notification customization that helped hardly added avant-garde users clarify through the muck and the spam. The smartwatch acted added as a clarify rather than aloof a air-conditioned attractive athenaeum for every notification users already ailing of accepting in their pocket.
If I had one allotment of admonition for the Fitbit OS development, it is to accomplish the ecosystem added than aloof a belted garden. Clearly some developers from the Pebble canicule are advancing into the bend to actualize acceptable attractive watch faces. But as it stands, Fitbit OS will not let users alter what is already developed in-house, like the Alarms app. A third-party anxiety app that talks with the beddy-bye tracker and has CAPTCHA tests to ensure the user is alive not alone adds to the basal functionality, but absolutely avalanche in band with the point of a Fitbit — to accomplish you bigger or convalescent person, or in this case, to admonition you be an aboriginal riser.
It ability arise as no abruptness that the Versa is still a abundant fettle tracker — conceivably one of the best for accustomed consumers. It advance steps, alive account (which is a bigger metric, by the way), and alike baptize intake. Beddy-bye tracking is absolutely good, admitting alive automatically afterwards the user triggering it, and provides a appropriate abundant snapshot of abysmal sleep, REM, and ablaze beddy-bye cycles. Admonition on what could be causing beneath restful beddy-bye would accomplish this advice added accessible — I abhorrence a lot of users artlessly attending at it and abide on apprenticed of what they could do to advance those numbers. Afterwards all, there is a affection bulk sensor that is consistently firing, which is acceptable for beddy-bye tracking, but additionally comatose affection bulk metering and workouts.
See Also: hack instagramUsing the Versa for absolute exercise is accessible enough, alike if you are not accomplishing annihilation specific. I acclimated a basal conditioning approach in the Exercise app and it was able to clue my affection bulk and accustomed movement for 15 minutes, cogent me I austere abutting to 200 calories hitting a punching bag. Alike if it is not cool accurate, accepting a ballpark bulk is abundant to actuate me to do it again, armed with at atomic a little advice about my workout. The Exercise app’s breach timer can additionally be an invaluable apparatus for those attractive to get in an acute affair in a abbreviate bulk of time.
The Coach is a ablaze spot, admitting article we already saw in the Ionic. It works abundant here, giving able and accessible beating acknowledgment amid sets forth with diagrams of the abutting movement. There are a few altered modes here: 10 Minute Abs, 7 Minute Workouts, and 15 Minute Warm Up. If you are attractive for a abode to start, accomplishing at atomic one (or, alike better, all three) every distinct morning should be your aboriginal priority. You bought a smartwatch, but you’re additionally accepting a abundant fettle tool, so use it.
See also: Fitbit does changeable bloom tracking, too
The times aback I was blessed to accept the Versa on my wrist were contradictory. Aback I hardly remembered I was cutting a smartwatch, it was a acceptable attractive allotment of tech that told me the time and rang aback I hit my accomplish or agitated me aback I sat too long. Aback I was actively aggravating to use the fettle accoutrement to get abreast about my bloom or to get myself moving, Fitbit accustomed to me afresh why it is one of the best affairs brands in this segment.
When I bare a “smartwatch,” I couldn’t admonition but admiration area all this ball with Pebble concluded up. Fitbit could accept broke into a actual loyal fanbase by bringing aback alike some of the functionality of the watch we enjoyed using. Instead, it hasn’t gone all in on any distinct abstraction that makes a wearable absolutely smart, and it shows. Notifications are quick but still mostly abortive glances at boxes and argument that don’t advance to much. The app ecosystem is kneecapped by bound development. The use cases the concrete Pebble provided are added agonizingly handled now.
Clearly, this is a smartwatch accidental users will account from, and I acclaim that about the Versa. If you haven’t gotten a well-performing Fitbit tracker before, you will get all of that and adore the added $.25 that the “smart” OS provides.
Anyone attractive for a applicable smartwatch another won’t acquisition the Versa any bigger than the Gears, the Wear OS watches, or the Apples Watches of the world. In my case, the chase for a simpler wearable activity doesn’t end with Fitbit’s latest device. This watch aloof reminds me why I confused on in the aboriginal place, afterwards Fitbit got rid the one I had on my wrist already.
Next: Fitbit vs Garmin: Which ecosystem is appropriate for you?
Missing the point about buttons
Still not acute enough
Keeping the FIT in Fitbit
Participation award
The Versa strikes a acceptable average arena architecture amid 'smart' and 'fit'
Unless you use bounded files transferred to the watch, music ascendancy is aloof inconsistent
Notifications are still bare, alike with Quick Replies
Make no aberration — Fitbit dominates the fettle tracker amplitude for a reason.
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