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Fitbit just unveiled its $200 answer to the Apple Watch - here's what it can do
Fitbit just unveiled its $200 answer to the Apple Watch - here's what it can do
Avery HartmansMar 14, 2018, 02:15 IST
Fitbit
With its new smartwatch, Fitbit is keeping women in mind.
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The $200 Fitbit Versa, announced on Tuesday, is Fitbit's second true smartwatch and the first geared toward a more mainstream audience - and smaller wrists.
Fitbit Versa looks a lot like an Apple Watch - although it's a bit smaller - and is less fitness-focused than the watch Fitbit debuted last year, called Fitbit Ionic.
The new Fitbit Versa still has plenty of fitness tracking capabilities built in, including on-watch workouts, 24/7 heart rate monitoring, and personalized fitness tips. But the Versa watch can also answer texts, download apps, and store music. And it also has several new features specifically dedicated to women's health.
Fitbit Versa is available for preorder starting Tuesday, and will go on sale in April. Here's what it can do:
Fitbit Versa comes in three colors: black, silver, and rose gold.
The watch looks pretty similar to an Apple Watch.
It features the same rounded-yet-squarish design and full touchscreen face, and it's about the same dimensions — the Fitbit measures a few millimeters smaller, though.
While the Fitbit Versa only comes in three colors, there are plenty of bands to go with it.
The sport bands are sweat- and water-resistant, and come in peach, gray, black, periwinkle, and white.
Fitbit also offers stainless steel and metal-mesh bands in black and silver.
If you buy the special-edition Fitbit Versa, you'll get one of these athleisure-inspired bands.
The special-edition Versa watch comes with one other cool feature: an NFC chip that lets you use Fitbit's contactless payments system, Fitbit Pay.
This comes standard in Fitbit's other smartwatch, the Fitbit Ionic, but it's not available on every Fitbit Versa.
Fitbit says the Versa watch has more than four days of battery life.
Fitbit Versa is waterproof up to 50 meters, so you can wear it for swimming or surfing — but you should take it off before going in a hot tub or sauna.
Fitbit Versa can store more than 300 songs, or play your Pandora stations. It pairs with Bluetooth headphones too, so you can leave your phone at home while exercising.
If you have an Android phone, Fitbit says the watch can send quick, pre-loaded replies to text messages or messages from other apps.
You can add apps and customizable watch faces to the Fitbit Versa.
Fitbit Versa has a wider array of apps to start off with than the Fitbit Ionic. Here are some of the apps you can add to your watch:
- E*Trade
- Flipboard
- Hue Lights
- Nest
- Starbucks
- Strava
- Surfline
- United Airlines
- Weather
- Yelp
Fitbit Versa is intended to be a more well-rounded smartwatch, but it still has a fitness focus.
Fitbit Versa runs Fitbit's new operating system, OS 2.0, which Fitbit says is more simplified and intuitive. Here's what the watch can do when it comes to fitness:
- Daily and weekly fitness stats, along with historical data
- Tips, daily guidance, and motivational messages
- Reminders and challenges will get more personalized over time as the watch learns more about your habits
- Personalized workouts and automatic activity tracking
- 24/7 heart rate tracking
If you wear Fitbit Versa during the night, it can track your sleep stages.
The Versa watch also has a relative SpO2 sensor built in. Eventually, Fitbit says it might be able to track health issues like sleep apnea.
And for women, Fitbit is launching new tools for tracking health and wellness.
Anyone who uses the Fitbit app, the Fitbit Versa, and last year's Fitbit Ionic watch can use Fitbit's new female-focused health-tracking tools.
Women will now be able to:
- Log their menstrual cycles
- Get predictions for when to expect their period
- See their menstrual cycle date side-by-side with other health data in order to draw connections
- View educational content about health, wellness, and family planning
- Record symptoms
- Check out online support groups for specific topics related to women's health
Fitbit Versa starts at $200 and is available for presale on March 13.
You'll be able to buy the watch on Fitbit's website and at stores like Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Verizon, and Walmart.
