Friday, April 26, 2024

Want the best Fitbit out there? Get the Fitbit Versa 2

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Whatever your fitness goals are, living a healthier life is a lot easier when you have something to automatically keep track of your activity throughout the day. Fitbits are great tools for this, but with so many to choose from, which one should you buy and why? We think the Fitbit Versa 2 is best Fitbit you can buy in 2019, offering a great blend of features, specs, and design at a price your wallet will love.

Fitbits are among the most popular fitness trackers on the market, and if you’re interested in buying one for yourself or a friend, Black Friday is the best time to shop. Fitbit and other sites that sell the company’s wearables are bound to have all sorts of sales and discounts for the 2019 holiday shopping season, allowing you to get a quality fitness gadget while also saving some cash. We’re on the lookout for any and all Fitbit deals as they appear, and when we spot them, we’ll be sure to share them with you right here.

Best Overall: Fitbit Versa 2

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Fitbit makes a lot of fantastic fitness wearables, but if you ask us, the best one you can buy right now is the Fitbit Versa 2.

Combining the best bits of a smartwatch and fitness tracker into one, the Versa 2 is lightweight and slim enough that it can fit onto even the smallest of wrists and not look obnoxiously big the way competing watches can. On the hardware side of things, it has a gorgeous AMOLED display, a battery that lasts over five days on a single charge, and is waterproof up to 50M.

You’ll find all of your usual fitness features here, such as all-day activity and sleep tracking, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, and automatic workout detection. The Versa 2 will also give you little reminders to move throughout the day, has on-screen workouts you can follow, and female users can use it to track their menstrual cycle.

As a smartwatch, the Versa 2 is better than ever. Its limited app selection continues to grow each and every day, with one of the most recent additions being a Spotify app to control your music playback. You can reply to texts and other notifications right from your wrist using your voice thanks to the built-in microphone, and this also allows for Alexa support. Just like you would on an Echo smart speaker, you can talk to Alexa on the Versa 2 to find out about the weather, see upcoming appointments, ask how many calories are in an apple, and so much more. Tie all of that together with storage for 300+ songs and Fitbit Pay using NFC, and you’ve got a complete package.

For just $200, the Versa 2 is one of the most feature-rich wearables you’ll find in this price range.

Pros:

  • Slim, lightweight design
  • Colorful AMOLED display
  • More than five days of battery life
  • 24/7 heart-rate tracking
  • Local music storage
  • Fitbit Pay

Cons:

  • Limited app selection

Best Overall

Fitbit Versa 2

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  • From $200 at Fitbit

The best Fitbit you can buy.

Overall, the Fitbit Versa 2 is the best Fitbit you can buy in 2019. It’s lightweight, has a ton of features, and comes in at a pretty good price.

Best Cheap Smartwatch: Fitbit Versa Lite

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As the name would suggest, the Fitbit Versa Lite is essentially — well — a lite version of the Versa 2. It has the same design, bands, and basic feature-set, save for a few missing features.

Perhaps the most significant omission is the fact that you can’t save local music files on the Versa Lite. This is a big draw to the regular Versa 2, but you won’t find it here. Also missing are the on-screen workouts, the ability to track your floors climbed throughout the day, and swim lap tracking despite the Versa Lite being waterproof. The Versa Lite also uses an LCD display instead of an AMOLED one, and while it does look good, it isn’t quite as colorful or contrasty.

Here’s the thing, though. If you don’t care about any of those features, everything else about the Versa Lite is identical to the Versa 2 — all while being $40 cheaper. (Not to mention it’s available in a few new colors!)

People that want a completely feature-rich experience are better off with the Versa 2, but if you’re OK with the omissions that the Versa Lite makes, you might as well get it and save a few bucks in the process.

Pros:

  • Available in fun colors
  • More than four days of battery life
  • 24/7 heart-rate monitor
  • Waterproof up to 50 meters
  • Cheapest smartwatch in Fitbit’s lineup

Cons:

  • No on-screen workouts
  • Can’t store/play songs
  • Doesn’t track floors climbed or swimming laps

Best Cheap Smartwatch

Fitbit Versa Lite

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  • $160 at Fitbit

The best cheap smartwatch that Fitbit makes.

If you want the Versa experience while spending as little as possible, the Versa Lite cuts back on a few features in favor of a lower price.

Best Fitness Band: Fitbit Charge 3

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We have a lot of love for the Versa and Versa Lite, but at the same time, we also understand that not everyone is ready for a full-fledged smartwatch. For them, one of our top recommendations goes to the Fitbit Charge 3.

Fitness bands are Fitbit’s bread and butter, and the Charge 3 has all of the fitness goodies you could ask for. There’s all-day and sleep tracking, a heart-rate sensor, reminders to move, automatic workout detection, etc., etc. The screen is considerably smaller than the Versa’s, but even so, you can still view all of your activity stats directly on your wrist throughout the day.

The Charge 3 does have some added “smart” features, such as being able to receive notifications from your phone and allowing you to respond to some of them. You’ll also find basic apps for the weather, setting a timer, etc., but that’s about it.

There’s one thing we haven’t talked about yet, though, and that’s battery life. The Fitbit Charge 3 can run for up to seven days on one charge, meaning you should only have to juice it up once a week.

Pros:

  • Simple and lightweight design
  • Activity, sleep, and female health tracking
  • 24/7 heart-rate sensor
  • Battery lasts up to seven days
  • Shows smartphone notifications

Cons:

  • No music storage
  • Very basic apps

Best Fitness Band

Fitbit Charge 3

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  • From $150 at Fitbit

The best Fitbit fitness band you can buy.

Not ready to step up to a smartwatch just yet? The Charge 3 delivers all of the fitness tracking features you could ask for in a simple, compact design.

Best Budget Tracker: Fitbit Inspire

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If you like the idea of the Charge 3, but $150 is too rich for your blood, you can get almost all of its features for well under $100 with the Fitbit Inspire. Not only is this the most affordable Fitbit you can buy, but it’s also the lightest. It’s so light that you might forget you’re wearing the thing!

Speaking of wearing the Inspire, you can wear it a couple of different ways. Out of the box, it comes with a standard watch band so you can keep it on your wrist. However, you also have the option of buying a clip-on accessory that allows you to clip the Inspire onto your belt, waistband, or bra.

Despite its small size, the Inspire comes with almost everything you could ask for. It tracks your all-day activity, sleep, and automatically detects exercises. That should be enough for most users, but if you step up to the Inspire HR for a few dollars more, you also gain 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, in-depth sleep stages for your sleep tracking, guided breathing sessions, and connected GPS with your phone.

Pros:

  • Fitbit’s lightest tracker
  • Tracks your activity and sleep
  • Can be worn on your wrist or clipped onto a belt, waistband, or bra
  • Up to five days of battery life
  • The most affordable Fitbit

Cons:

  • You have to pay extra for a heart-rate sensor
  • Doesn’t track swimming laps

Best Budget Tracker

Fitbit Inspire

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  • From $70 at Fitbit

Fitbit’s best budget tracker.

Are you trying to spend as little as possible? The Fitbit Inspire delivers all of the core fitness-tracking features you need at a price that’s hard to argue with.

Best with GPS: Fitbit Ionic

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The Ionic was Fitbit’s first proper smartwatch, and in 2019, it shows. While it is surprisingly comfortable to wear, the Ionic is definitely on the clunky side of things and isn’t the prettiest to look at. However, if you can get over the less-than-stellar aesthetic, the Ionic brings a lot to the table.

Perhaps the biggest reason to get the Ionic over anything else is the fact that it’s the only Fitbit with built-in GPS. This means you can go running with the Ionic, leave your phone at home, and still map precisely where you ran, walked, or biked. You’ll also see your elevation climbed and split times.

Outside of built-in GPS, the Ionic also comes with Fitbit Pay included by default. This allows you to add your debit/credit card to the Ionic and use it to pay for things at stores that accept NFC/contactless payments. Rounding out the feature set is local music storage, up to 5 days of battery life, a heart-rate sensor, on-screen workouts, and waterproofing up to 50M.

You’ll pay a pretty penny for the privilege of owning the Ionic, but it’s hands-down the most powerful Fitbit you can buy.

Pros:

  • Built-in GPS
  • On-screen workouts
  • Store up to 300 songs
  • Fitbit Pay
  • Waterproof up to 50 meters
  • More than five days of battery life

Cons:

  • Bulky design
  • Expensive

Best with GPS

Fitbit Ionic

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  • $250 at Fitbit

The best (and only) Fitbit with GPS.

If you want a Fitbit with built-in GPS, your default choice is the Ionic. Along with GPS, you also get Fitbit Pay and excellent battery life!

Best for Kids: Fitbit Ace 2

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Living a healthy lifestyle is just as crucial for your kids as it is for yourself. For the youngsters in your family, Fitbit has a tracker specifically for them in the form of the Fitbit Ace 2.

Essentially a repackaged version of the Inspire, the Fitbit Ace 2 has activity and sleep tracking, pushes kids to get at least 60 minutes of active time each day (per CDC recommendations), is swim-proof, and lasts for up to five days on a single charge.

On the software side of things, Fitbit’s added a few nifty tweaks to ensure kids have the best and safest experience possible. Kids get a unique Kid View on the Fitbit app that only shows select data, including their stats, any badges they’ve earned, and clock faces they can choose for the Ace 2. Parents/guardians are granted a Parent View on their own app, allowing them to see their kids’ activity and approve various connections/permissions.

Available in two fun color combos, the Ace 2 is the go-to Fitbit if you want something tailored specifically for a younger user.

Pros:

  • Rugged, waterproof design
  • Activity and sleep tracking
  • Up to five days of battery
  • Special Kid and Parent Views for the Fitbit app
  • Bedtime reminders

Cons:

  • A kid-focused fitness tracker might not be for everyone

Best for Kids

Fitbit Ace 2

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  • $70 at Fitbit

The best Fitbit for kids.

For younger users that aren’t ready for the full Fitbit experience, the Ace 2 gives them all of the core features while being safe and secure.

Bottom line

As you can see, Fitbit makes a lot of great fitness trackers/smartwatches. Deciding which one is right for you can be a little tricky, but for most people, we think the best choice is the Fitbit Versa 2.

Smartwatches are the way of the future, and the Versa 2 does a phenomenal job at being both a great fitness tracker and capable smartwatch in one package. All of the popular fitness-tracking features are here, including some more powerful ones such as on-screen workouts. The hardware’s also top-notch, especially the Versa’s design and battery life.

As a smartwatch, there’s a lot on offer. You can receive and respond to notifications from your phone, download popular apps such as Uber, Starbucks, and Spotify, and store up to 300 local songs right on your wrist. The Versa 2 also comes with a microphone, allowing you to use your voice to reply to texts and ask endless questions to Alexa.

If you want a smartwatch with some of the best fitness features around, the Versa 2 is a great pick — and our choice for the best Fitbit in 2019.

How to find the best Black Friday deals on Fitbits

When shopping for a Fitbit, it’s important to note that there are two main categories that the company’s products fall in — fitness trackers and smartwatches. The primary function of a fitness tracker is to, well, track your fitness. They sometimes come with other smart features, such as relaying notifications from your smartphone, but for the most part, you’ll mainly be focused on using it for logging exercises. At the expense of other flashy features, dedicated fitness trackers tend to be the most affordable offerings in Fitbit’s lineup. Fitbit’s smartwatches do all of the same fitness tracking things you’d expect, in addition to a host of other goodies. You can use Fitbit’s smartwatches to check the weather, call an Uber, scan your Starbucks card, pay for things at stores using Fitbit Pay, and even talk to Alexa! Fitbit smartwatches are more expensive than the fitness trackers, but if you’re after the best Fitbit experience money can buy, a smartwatch is the way to go.

For Black Friday 2019, expect to see a wide array of discounts from Fitbit. The Versa 2 is the company’s latest smartwatch offering, and as such, we’ll likely see some sort of discount offered for it. The same goes for the Versa Lite smartwatch, and the Charge 3 and Inspire series of fitness trackers. Black Friday is also an excellent time to pick up some accessory bands for your Fitbits, as these are also bound to go on sale during this time of year. We aren’t entirely sure how big or small the savings Fitbit will offer will be, but we should learn more soon.

Fitbit’s retail prices are always pretty competitive, but things get exciting once Black Friday rolls around. We’re continually searching for any savings that pop up during this crazy deals season, and no matter which one you’re thinking about buying, keep checking back here and all of the other guides on Android Central for the latest in Black Friday savings.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

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Joe Maring Joe is Android Central’s News Editor. He loves talking about all things tech, but smart wearables are what get him excited (just ask the drawer of smartwatches in his office). He also likes coffee and goes to Starbucks far too often. Have a tip? Send an email to [email protected] or hit him up on Twitter @JoeMaring1

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