The name Fitbit is well known especially for fitness bracelets (like the Versa) since its appearance on the market. The company, however, was not satisfied with being a leader in this segment, but was also ambitious to enter the field of smart watches and to deal with names like Apple Watch or Samsung's series of similar accessories. Fitbit even bought Pebble, an extremely beloved brand years ago, to ensure its success.

Last year's Versa model was successful, a competent smartwatch, which we cannot say would have copied anyone. The Versa quickly found a fan base, was different, was comfortable to wear, with a good battery life and included all fitness and sleep tracking features from Fitbit. At the same time, we could not say that it was even the strongest on the market, taken only as a smartwatch, and without including fitness features.

The new Versa 2, which was launched on September 15, is the company's newest smartwatch. From the name it is clear that it is an evolved version of the first Versa, with some changes in appearance, new features and best of all the same price. It is a better Versa and an excellent fitness tracker.

Versa 2 Looks and First Impressions

The first Versa model was one of the most comfortable smartwatch you could wear and Versa 2 also shares the same pedigree. It is neither too big nor too small, so it will be ok to wear for both boys and girls. It is also very light, and the design is ment to hide the actual thickness of the watch. The fact that it is somewhat flared underneath, is simply not visible. Versa was one of the few smartwatches of this kind that were easy to wear 24/7, even while sleeping, and the Versa 2 is just as well thought out.

The look of the watch is the same as before, but Fitbit has simplified the way you "operate" it, moving from a multi-button setup to a single button and a touchscreen. But the watch does not lose its functions and you can do the same things with Versa 2 as with the previous model.

The bracelet is easier to change. Versa bracelets have a quick release system, but mounting can be trickier, especially when talking about the rubber bracelet included in the box.

Fitbit has replaced the LCD of the previous model with an OLED screen, and this is among the best things brought by the Versa 2. The display is bright, with vibrant colors and easy to read, even in sunlight. The OLED display also offers new "always-on" mode, which let you see at all times what the time is and what results you have during physical exercises.

Unfortunately, the screen is still surrounded by a border, which makes it appear smaller. I think that's the only thing we didn't like and we noticed from the start. One good thing is, however, that the Versa 2 does not display the branding that was placed under the screen of the first model, making it look sleeker and cleaner.

Versa 2 Battery Life

As with the first model, the Versa 2 has an excellent battery life and lasts about 4-5 days, realistically. If you use the always-on function, you can expect this time to decrease.

Sleep Tracking and Monitoring

The Versa 2 has all the functions that the previous model had, including intelligent activity detection, non-stop pulse monitoring and technologies that measure your sleep. A novelty this year, however, is the Sleep Score, which tries to condense your data collected in a percentage format, to give you an estimate of how well you slept. Fitbit says that this technology will be included in all of its pulse monitoring devices.

And as for sleep, the new watch integrates a Sleep Mode function that turns off the screen and vibration of notifications while you sleep. Finally! Even though it seems like something normal to have on such a device, the function was introduced only to this model. You can initiate Sleep Mode from the quick settings screen or from the clock application, from where you can set it to start based on a schedule that you can configure as you wish.

Overall, the fitness tracking features in Versa 2 are the best and most accurate you can find on a smartwatch, even if it doesn't have a dedicated GPS module and is based on the GPS connection of your phone.

Final thoughts about the Versa 2

Fitbit Versa 2 is indeed a clearly better product than the first Versa, and the design changes are more than welcome. It is an excellent fitness tracker and a smartwatch ok, without necessarily taking into account the ecosystem you prefer and the phone you use.