Tracks all of the relevant metrics easily

Fitbit’s made a name for itself for producing accurate, easy to use fitness trackers before diving into the smartwatch game so it’s no surprise that the Versa does exceptionally well in that regard. Just like the Ionic, the Versa tracks many metrics of your fitness routine easily and accurately, including how many steps you’ve taken, distance covered, how many floors you’ve climbed, calories burned and so on.

The Versa also tracks your sleep patterns down to your REM periods (where you get the most rest) so you can see how much (or how little) sleep you’ve been getting.

Tracking runs and other exercise regimens is made simple: simply swipe left from the main menu, select exercise and then select what activity you want to track. Options range from running, biking, swimming, treadmill and lifting weights, as well as general interval exercise tracking and workouts.

The coach function (Fitbit’s attempt to give you guided instructions on basic exercises) that debuted on the Ionic is also available on the Versa as well.

Swiping up from the home screen also gives you a quick glance at your day so far, which includes how many workouts you’ve finished, calories burned, steps, etc.

A better smartwatch experience from the Ionic, though there are things that still need improvement

While Fitbit managed to nail the fitness tracking part of the Ionic, our experience with the smartwatch part left much to be desired. The Versa picks up where its bigger brother left off, giving us a better experience overall.

Navigation is cleaner and easier, and there’s a few more apps available on Fitbit’s app store that wasn’t available when we reviewed the Ionic.

There are a few niggles still unfortunately. There’s no Spotify app available, so if you want to listen to music you’re stuck with either downloading it to your watch or making an account in Deezer.

The watchface selection needs a bit more curation, since there’s a ton of nice-looking ones mixed in with crappy ones.

While the overall app landscape for Fitbit’s smartwatches has improved since we tackled the Ionic, the company needs to get more developers on board to make their apps available on their platform.

Find out how long it lasts on a single charge and our verdict on the next page