Fitbit Versa 3 review

Finest Costs At this time: Fitbit Versa 3

$148.19

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The Versa 3 is Fitbit’s finest health smartwatch, bested in its options solely by the much more premium, health-focussed Fitbit Sense.

By way of health options the Versa 3 and Sense are equals, however the Sense provides new health-related options together with EDA stress administration and ECG coronary heart measurement. You’ll be taught extra in each our Fitbit Sense evaluation and Fitbit Sense vs Fitbit Versa 3 comparability.

The Versa 3 boasts loads of well being options, too: in some ways it mirrors the Sense; it simply doesn’t go into the rarified medical complexity you get with the upper-end smartwatch.

In some methods, it is a less-is-more benefit. The Versa 3 is much less overwhelmed with medical options and focuses firmly on health, at two-thirds of the worth.

Fitbit has now added the aptitude to obtain cellphone calls on the Versa 3 and Sense, and it labored very well in our exams. And it now works with each Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant and Google Assistant.

Design and construct

The squircle (squared circle) Versa 3 boasts a vibrant AMOLED display that’s just like the earlier Versa screens, however bigger—1.58in with a 336×336 decision—and extra curved, so it appears to be like a bit of softer.

By comparability, the Versa 2’s display measured 1.39in, with a 300×300 decision. The bigger display means the Versa 3 is bigger total too, however solely fractionally so.

You possibly can choose to maintain the show in a basic-face All the time On mode, which is most popular once you want fast entry to your stats throughout exercises, runs, and bike rides for example—however this may lower the Versa 3’s battery life.

It’s unimaginable to not evaluate the Versa 3 with the Fitbit Sense as a result of the 2 are so comparable in design. The Versa 3 lacks the Sense’s stainless-steel ring that’s used for the EDA stress and ECG coronary heart measurements. In any other case, they’re just about equivalent wanting apart from color choices.

The Versa 3 is available in two case colours (Black Aluminum and Smooth Gold Aluminum), with three shade selections of the brand new Infinity Band (Black, Midnight Blue, and Pink Clay). My Versa 3 check pattern was the Smooth Gold case with Midnight Blue band, and it appears to be like nice.

Because the design is similar because the Sense, it’s also possible to purchase from the identical wide selection of accent straps: 5 Sport, six Woven, three Knit and 4 Leather-based bands, plus 4 selections of Infinity Band.

I’m not a giant fan of the brand new Infinity Band that replaces the safer tang-buckle strap discovered on the Versa and Versa 2. The Infinity Band’s peg-in-hole connection simply doesn’t really feel as robust because the buckle.

The bands are swappable, and fortunately this course of is 100 instances simpler than the Versa and Versa 2’s fiddly metal-bar association. Now, you simply push down on a raised tab and click on the bands out and in.

Just like the Sense, the Versa 3 includes a vibrating solid-state haptic button reasonably than the bodily button on the earlier Versa fashions. It’s solely actually for powering on, as you navigate by swiping left or proper or up and down. You can too set customisable shortcuts by way of button presses. These can go straight to apps such because the Alexa voice assistant, Music, Alarms and so forth.

The watch itself and the silicone Infinity Band are water resistant as much as 50m, though a number of the accent wrist straps are much less so.

What does the Fitbit Versa 3 do?

The Versa 3 gives the fundamental all-day exercise measurements: steps, distance, flooring climbed, hourly exercise, energetic minutes, and energy burned.

And it goes lots additional, motivating you to look past 10,000 steps as your aim, and push your self more durable with targets for Lively Zone Minutes, the place you earn factors for shifting into the recorded heart-rates zones: Fats Burn, Cardio and Peak.

All that is excellently displayed on the large, vibrant display, and in additional depth within the Fitbit cell app.

The Versa 3, just like the Sense, makes use of Fitbit’s up to date PurePulse 2.0 expertise in its now multi-path optical heart-rate sensor, which the corporate claims gives extra correct readings by way of machine studying algorithms that map a number of coronary heart price alerts to construct a greater image of your coronary heart price.

The HR monitoring is the core of lots of Fitbit’s health options, together with Cardio Health Ranges, Lively Zone Minutes, Exercise Depth Map, Guided Respiration Classes, and Sleep Rating.

Its hero new addition is the built-in GPS, which was missing from earlier Versa fashions. Extra sporty health customers will relish this as they now not want to hold their cellphone round with them for GPS tempo and distance stats and maps of their exercise routes.

Swipe left to the Train app to select from as much as 20 train modes for real-time stats throughout exercises: Run, Bike, Swim, Weights, Stroll, Exercise, Interval Exercise, Spinning, Treadmill, Golf, Hike, Tennis, Stair Climber, Pilates, Circuit Coaching, Bootcamp, Yoga, Elliptical, Martial Arts, and Kickboxing.

Fitbit’s SmartTrack function will, after quarter-hour exercise, mechanically acknowledge and file most workouts if you happen to don’t set them by way of the watch.

Fitbit is the world beater in the case of sleep monitoring, and also you get detailed stats on not simply the size of your sleep, however its high quality (scored out of 100) and the way lengthy you might be in every of the measured sleep levels: gentle, REM, and deep.

Wholesome sufficient

Whereas it lacks the Sense’s stress-management rating and instruments and ECG app, Fitbit has hinted that the pores and skin temperature function will probably be added to the Versa at an unspecified date.

It additionally has a SpO2 monitor that measures blood oxygen ranges that may point out well being points reminiscent of allergy symptoms, bronchial asthma, or sleep apnea. This will probably be an indicator solely, so if the Versa 3 knowledge suggests low blood-oxygen ranges it’s best to seek the advice of a health care provider and bear extra in-depth polysomnographic investigation.

Fitbit’s SpO2 monitoring isn’t as subtle as Apple’s on-demand SpO2 readings on the Apple Watch or on the Withings ScanWatch. Fitbit takes its readings in a single day solely, and takes some time to point out the rating within the morning.

Fitbit used to require customers to vary the Versa 3’s clock face to the SpO2 setting that’s required to take a studying—however with the Fitbit OS 5.2 replace, your nightly common SpO2 worth and the vary out of your earlier night time’s sleep may be considered in your Fitbit system.

Additionally, initially a Premium-only function, Fitbit has now given Versa customers entry to their 7-day well being tendencies within the on-app Well being Metrics tab. Premium customers get to see their 30-day tendencies, too.

Beforehand accessible solely on the Fitbit Sense, Versa 3 customers now get on-wrist and in-app notifications if their coronary heart price hits sure excessive or low ranges—customers set their very own thresholds. In the event you obtain a coronary heart price notification, you may take a survey within the Fitbit app that will help you higher perceive what’s happening.

The Versa 3 additionally exams your resting coronary heart price and gives guided respiration periods for meditative mindfulness. It may additionally monitor ladies’s menstrual well being.

The Sense goes additional, however that degree of medical metrics may not be what you require from what’s principally a health system. Some may discover the Sense well being function set to be greater than they care to make use of, and quite a lot of it additionally depends on subscribing to Fitbit’s £79/$79 annual Premium service.

When you’ve checked a couple of instances that you just don’t have an irregular heartbeat or sleep apnea, do you actually need the perform once more?

Learn our full function to be taught extra about all of the Fitbit scores and measurements.

Good options, cellphone calls and voice assistants

Whereas it lacks the hundreds of apps you’d have entry to with an Apple or Put on OS smartwatch, the Fitbit Versa 3 is at first a health tracker and excels on this degree.

You do get the fundamental options that the majority smartwatches supply, together with most likely essentially the most helpful, notifications: Caller ID, texts, and well-liked messaging apps.

Apple retains the most effective for its personal Apple Watch, so solely Android customers get the Fast Replies and Voice Replies capabilities, in addition to the flexibility to answer textual content messages with voice-to-text instructions.

That mentioned, the brand new built-in speaker (plus microphone, after all) allows you to take calls out of your wrist by way of Bluetooth connection to your cellphone, in addition to ship incoming calls to voicemail and management quantity, all from the watch.

This function labored surprisingly effectively. Calls have been clear at each ends.

While you obtain a cellphone name, you faucet the inexperienced cellphone icon in your watch. You possibly can then converse into your watch to speak to the opposite particular person, and listen to their voice from the speaker in your watch. You possibly can modify the amount of the speaker, mute and unmute your self, swap to a keypad, and finish the decision all from the watch display.

The built-in voice assistants now permit audible replies. Just like the Versa 2 earlier than it, the Versa 3 options Amazon’s Alexa, and—within the US, UK and another main English-speaking nations—Google’s voice-activated Assistant. 

For instance, you may examine the climate, set reminders and alarms, management sensible residence units and extra, with real-time audible responses along with the present speech to textual content on-screen.

Just like the Versa 2 earlier than it and the Sense above it, the Versa 3 options 2.5GB of space for storing, though with the numerous limitation that this works solely with Pandora and Deezer for music. Fitbit’s music-storage capabilities really seem to have gone backwards with the Versa 3 and Sense.

It does, nevertheless, allow you to management Spotify Premium music playlists by way of a close-by paired cellphone—and a few primary controls when utilizing Apple Music and Audible, which Fitbit doesn’t point out however they work effective.

That is nowhere close to as accessible as on the Apple Watch. In the event you’re related to Wi-Fi or cell knowledge, you may stream Apple Music, podcasts and audiobooks, even when away out of your iPhone.

Battery life and charging

You get 6+ days battery life with the Fitbit Versa 3, similar to you do with the Sense.

Battery life, after all, relies in your utilization. Make the most of the built-in GPS, and the battery will fade a lot sooner. Change on the always-on show function, and battery life will halve regardless of the display turning to lower-power options.

However six days continues to be a powerful battery efficiency, particularly once you observe that even the newest Apple Watch 6 has an 18-hour battery life—making issues like sleep monitoring a league under the extent of Fitbit’s.

The Versa 3 additionally options Fitbit’s new fast-charging perform that will get you 24 hours of battery life from simply 12 minutes of charging—supreme if you happen to get up to a pale health tracker.

And the charger itself is magnetic and lots smaller than the outdated chunky Versa/Versa 2 charging clasp.

Pricing and availability

The Fitbit Versa 3 prices $199 within the US, £169.99 within the UK, €199.95 within the EU, $259.95 in Canada, and $299.95 in Australia—the identical worth because the Versa 2 on its launch a yr earlier. You possibly can order it direct from Fitbit, Amazon, or most different electronics retailers.

It’s the identical worth because the Apple Watch Collection 3. We choose the Fitbit for all-round health monitoring however Apple is getting nearer and beating in different areas, though with a lamentable battery life that makes sleep monitoring irritating.

You possibly can nonetheless purchase the older mannequin Versa 2 at a reduction if you happen to’re completely satisfied to dwell with out the brand new built-in GPS, claimed extra correct heart-rate sensor, speaker, and Google voice assistant; for extra particulars, learn our Fitbit Versa 2 vs Versa 3 comparability.

Look out for the most effective Fitbit offers for essentially the most up-to-date and largest reductions, and our suggestions on the most effective Fitbit for you.

Notably, the Versa 3 is noticeably cheaper than the top-end Sense. That $70/£80 worth distinction is lots, and most of what you lose, we suspect you received’t miss after your first few experiments with the Sense’s additional micro-health options.

Try the finest health trackers we’ve reviewed for extra choices.

Verdict

With the addition of a built-in GPS, sporty health fanatics will benefit from the Versa 3 as a significant improve to the earlier Versa and Versa 2.

In the event you can dwell with operating or biking utilizing your cellphone’s related GPS, there isn’t an enormous crucial to improve from the Versa 2. However as a brand new health watch, it’s a compelling choice, particularly now it boasts each Alexa and Google voice assistants and cellphone calls out of your wrist.

The place we predict the Versa 3 actually wins is being a 3rd cheaper than the top-end Fitbit Sense, and so gives nice worth in case your major priorities are health and core sensible options reasonably than a ton of probably overwhelming—and underused—well being stats.