May 4, 2018 • 7 mins
Fitbit Versa makes a nice alternative to the Apple Watch because you get a lot of useful features at a lower price.Read my full Fitbit Versa review here:http://richontech.tv/2018/05/gadgets/fitbit-versa-is-a-great-smartwatch-for-everyone/Follow Rich on Social Media:Facebook: http://facebook.com/RichOnTechTwitter: http://twitter.com/richdemuroInstagram: http://instagram.com/richontechNEW! You can add the Rich on Tech Daily Update to your Alexa Flash Briefing! Just search for the "Rich on Tech" skill in your Alexa app and add it to your briefing! You'll get a daily dose of tech news each day and a longer show on the weekends!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Fitbit Versa is a great smart watch for everyone. What's
going on. I'm Rich Dmiro. This is Rich on Tech Daily,
and this is my review of the Fitbit Versa. Now,
when it comes to smart watches, let's get this straight.
Apple Watch is king. There is no denying that it
really offers the best combination of useful features plus tight
integration with the iPhone. I love the Apple Watch. I
(00:26):
think it is the best wearable out there. Problem is
it excludes a lot of people, Android users and anyone
who thinks it's a little too expensive or someone who
doesn't need all of those features. Enter the Fitbit Versa.
I've been wearing this for a few weeks now. I
actually bought it site Onseen on Amazon, and it is
easily the best alternative to the Apple Watch for several reasons.
(00:47):
You get a lot of the same useful features without
a lot of complication or fuss. So let's take a
look at what I'm talking about. For starters, the Versa
looks and feels great. It's lightweight, it has a super
slim profile. I love the screen although it's tiny, it's
super bright. It's vivid and way better than the predecessor,
which was the Fippit blaze on that you can see
individual pixels on the screen. It was kind of dull
(01:08):
looking that is no longer. The case set up with
the Pippit Versa was a little rough. It's not as
smooth as the Apple Watch. It took a little bit
longer than I expected, and the process actually failed at
the end, which was kind of frustrating, so I had
to do it again. But once you take the half
hour so to connect the Versa to your phone, download
the latest software, pair it up all that good stuff,
you really don't have to do that again. And like
(01:28):
I said earlier, the Versa works with iPhones and androids.
Wearing the Versa is very comfortable. The battery lasts just
as long as advertised. I got about four days each time,
although I'd probably charge it at like twenty five percent
because I didn't want to run out. It's really nice
to not have to charge it every day, and I
even went on a short weekend trip without packing an
additional charger, which is always nice. Fippit Versa has lots
(01:50):
of great stats that report back to you. For starters,
you get your steps, your floors climbed, and your all
day heart rate and I personally am a big fan
of the active minutes. This to me is the best
indication of the physical activity I'm getting on a daily basis,
whether I'm working out or not. I took the Versa
on several runs and I was very happy with the results.
The big thing you're gonna hear is that the Versa
(02:11):
does not have GPS on board. Now this sounds bad,
but in reality, this only comes into play for a
few situations. First off, if you're a really big time
athlete and you need super exact stats, this is not
the watch for you. If you're a runner, you want
specific maps of your run, again, this is not for you.
But the Versa does have something called connected GPS. That
(02:32):
means if your phone is nearby while you're working out,
it's just going to use the GPS data from sensors
on your phone to fill in the blanks. So I
ran with my phone in without the phone, and I
found that the stats collected by the Fitbit both ways
were just fine. It still uses its on board sensors
like accelerometer and algorithms to figure out how far you're
running and your pace and all that good stuff. So
(02:53):
let me tell you I'm a big runner. I had
no issues with the no GPS on the Versa. Now.
One feature I was excited to try out kind of
bummed on the Versa was the ability to store music
on the device. You can hold up to like three
hundred songs, and this is the holy grail for runners
because you can run without your phone. All you have
to do is connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones to
your Versa and you're free. But I found it's not
(03:14):
really that easy to transfer your own music files without
connecting the verse Sa to your computer. You can't do
it through the app, and that's kind of a bummer.
And I hope they change this in the future with
a software update, because when I saw the message that said, hey,
connect your Versa to your computer to do this, I
was like, uh, since I wasn't ready for that reality.
I actually signed up for Pandora, and if you pay
five dollars a month to subscribe to Pandora, your Versa
(03:35):
will automatically and wirelessly download a selection of workout playlists
for you every time you charge your device. This process
was way easier. I'm not thrilled that I'm paying extra
five dollars a month for this music service because I
already pay fifteen a month to Spotify. But you can
always cancel now. There are a bunch of onboard apps
you can download, like Starbucks, hughe, Nest, United Airlines, and Yelp.
(03:57):
But I don't see myself using any of these apps
on versus time screen. I can't see them as being
as good as the apps on my phone. I'd rather
just reach for my phone. The only exception to this
is the Starbucks app. I probably will end up linking
that just so I can hold my wrist out at
the drive through at Starbucks and pay with my connected
Starbucks card. The software overall in the Versa is good.
(04:17):
It's not that great. There's still lag at times. It's
not as slick as you'd see on the Apple Watch.
With that said, it's totally fine for everyday use. You
get your notifications from your phone if you want, like
texts and other notifications, as well as little reminders to move.
There's also breathing exercises. There's built in presets for tracking
all kinds of workouts like running, biking, swimming, treadmill weights,
(04:37):
Interville timer. You can set silent alarms which gently vibrates
on your wrist. I like this for naps, not so
much for waking me up in the morning, because I
just don't trust a silent alarm to do that. There's
also a selection of guided mini workouts you can do
right from your wrist. There's weather reports, a stop watch timer.
You get the idea. There's a lot of stuff going
on here. My favorite stats on the Versa are active
minutes and sleep insights. Again, I told you about the
(04:59):
active minutes. Sleep insights are really cool because you can
see exactly how long you spent awake in ram light
and deep sleep every night. You also get your thirty
day average, and you can compare yourself against others of
your sex and similar age. Now, for reference, the Apple
Watch can track sleep, but only with third party apps.
I have a feeling Apple's gonna build this functionality in
(05:20):
the future, but right now it's just not there. The
fipbit is water resistance. You can leave it on in
the shower or take a swim with it. If you
are familiar with the Blaze, which was last model, you
had to pop out a little fitness tracker to charge it,
but with the Versa, the entire thing just sits in
a cradle with your band on and all. It's much
more convenient. And speaking of the bands, you can replace
(05:41):
them because they easily come off. I don't think that
the Versa band is as nice as what comes with
Apple Watch, but you will have the option to swap
that out at a later time if you find something
you like better. Overall, can't recommend the fipbit Versa enough.
It's best for daily health tracking for the average person.
Like I said, if you're a big time athlete or
a runner, probably be better served with a more niche device
(06:02):
or the Apple Watch itself. Now, if you have an iPhone,
you're trying to side between Apple Watch and Versa. It
really comes down to how much you want to spend
and all the features that you need. The Versus one
hundred and thirty dollars less than the entry level Apple Watch,
and you get a lot more features on the Apple Watch,
like that onboard GPS, all that integration with your iPhone
and Apple Music, plus a lot more apps. If you
(06:23):
have an Android device, I kind of think the Versus
a no brainer. It's just smart enough to feed you
all the useful stats you need about your health, but
without notification or information overload. The Fipbit Versa is two
hundred dollars. It's available now. There's also a version with
mobile payment built in for two hundred and thirty dollars.
Thanks so much for listening. If you like this podcast,
please rate and review it in the Apple Podcast app.
(06:46):
You can find a link to everything I talk about here,
including my Fitbit Versa review, on my website. Just go
to richontech dot tv, and if you're not following me
on Instagram, I'm doing a lot of Instagram stories lately.
Just find me. My username is rich on tech Thanks
so much for listening. I'm Rich Tomiro. I'll talk to
you real soon. Mhm.
Fitbit Versa is a great smart watch for everyone. What's
going on. I'm Rich Dmiro. This is Rich on Tech Daily,
and this is my review of the Fitbit Versa. Now,
when it comes to smart watches, let's get this straight.
Apple Watch is king. There is no denying that it
really offers the best combination of useful features plus tight
integration with the iPhone. I love the Apple Watch. I
(00:26):
think it is the best wearable out there. Problem is
it excludes a lot of people, Android users and anyone
who thinks it's a little too expensive or someone who
doesn't need all of those features. Enter the Fitbit Versa.
I've been wearing this for a few weeks now. I
actually bought it site Onseen on Amazon, and it is
easily the best alternative to the Apple Watch for several reasons.
(00:47):
You get a lot of the same useful features without
a lot of complication or fuss. So let's take a
look at what I'm talking about. For starters, the Versa
looks and feels great. It's lightweight, it has a super
slim profile. I love the screen although it's tiny, it's
super bright. It's vivid and way better than the predecessor,
which was the Fippit blaze on that you can see
individual pixels on the screen. It was kind of dull
(01:08):
looking that is no longer. The case set up with
the Pippit Versa was a little rough. It's not as
smooth as the Apple Watch. It took a little bit
longer than I expected, and the process actually failed at
the end, which was kind of frustrating, so I had
to do it again. But once you take the half
hour so to connect the Versa to your phone, download
the latest software, pair it up all that good stuff,
you really don't have to do that again. And like
(01:28):
I said earlier, the Versa works with iPhones and androids.
Wearing the Versa is very comfortable. The battery lasts just
as long as advertised. I got about four days each time,
although I'd probably charge it at like twenty five percent
because I didn't want to run out. It's really nice
to not have to charge it every day, and I
even went on a short weekend trip without packing an
additional charger, which is always nice. Fippit Versa has lots
(01:50):
of great stats that report back to you. For starters,
you get your steps, your floors climbed, and your all
day heart rate and I personally am a big fan
of the active minutes. This to me is the best
indication of the physical activity I'm getting on a daily basis,
whether I'm working out or not. I took the Versa
on several runs and I was very happy with the results.
The big thing you're gonna hear is that the Versa
(02:11):
does not have GPS on board. Now this sounds bad,
but in reality, this only comes into play for a
few situations. First off, if you're a really big time
athlete and you need super exact stats, this is not
the watch for you. If you're a runner, you want
specific maps of your run, again, this is not for you.
But the Versa does have something called connected GPS. That
(02:32):
means if your phone is nearby while you're working out,
it's just going to use the GPS data from sensors
on your phone to fill in the blanks. So I
ran with my phone in without the phone, and I
found that the stats collected by the Fitbit both ways
were just fine. It still uses its on board sensors
like accelerometer and algorithms to figure out how far you're
running and your pace and all that good stuff. So
(02:53):
let me tell you I'm a big runner. I had
no issues with the no GPS on the Versa. Now.
One feature I was excited to try out kind of
bummed on the Versa was the ability to store music
on the device. You can hold up to like three
hundred songs, and this is the holy grail for runners
because you can run without your phone. All you have
to do is connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones to
your Versa and you're free. But I found it's not
(03:14):
really that easy to transfer your own music files without
connecting the verse Sa to your computer. You can't do
it through the app, and that's kind of a bummer.
And I hope they change this in the future with
a software update, because when I saw the message that said, hey,
connect your Versa to your computer to do this, I
was like, uh, since I wasn't ready for that reality.
I actually signed up for Pandora, and if you pay
five dollars a month to subscribe to Pandora, your Versa
(03:35):
will automatically and wirelessly download a selection of workout playlists
for you every time you charge your device. This process
was way easier. I'm not thrilled that I'm paying extra
five dollars a month for this music service because I
already pay fifteen a month to Spotify. But you can
always cancel now. There are a bunch of onboard apps
you can download, like Starbucks, hughe, Nest, United Airlines, and Yelp.
(03:57):
But I don't see myself using any of these apps
on versus time screen. I can't see them as being
as good as the apps on my phone. I'd rather
just reach for my phone. The only exception to this
is the Starbucks app. I probably will end up linking
that just so I can hold my wrist out at
the drive through at Starbucks and pay with my connected
Starbucks card. The software overall in the Versa is good.
(04:17):
It's not that great. There's still lag at times. It's
not as slick as you'd see on the Apple Watch.
With that said, it's totally fine for everyday use. You
get your notifications from your phone if you want, like
texts and other notifications, as well as little reminders to move.
There's also breathing exercises. There's built in presets for tracking
all kinds of workouts like running, biking, swimming, treadmill weights,
(04:37):
Interville timer. You can set silent alarms which gently vibrates
on your wrist. I like this for naps, not so
much for waking me up in the morning, because I
just don't trust a silent alarm to do that. There's
also a selection of guided mini workouts you can do
right from your wrist. There's weather reports, a stop watch timer.
You get the idea. There's a lot of stuff going
on here. My favorite stats on the Versa are active
minutes and sleep insights. Again, I told you about the
(04:59):
active minutes. Sleep insights are really cool because you can
see exactly how long you spent awake in ram light
and deep sleep every night. You also get your thirty
day average, and you can compare yourself against others of
your sex and similar age. Now, for reference, the Apple
Watch can track sleep, but only with third party apps.
I have a feeling Apple's gonna build this functionality in
(05:20):
the future, but right now it's just not there. The
fipbit is water resistance. You can leave it on in
the shower or take a swim with it. If you
are familiar with the Blaze, which was last model, you
had to pop out a little fitness tracker to charge it,
but with the Versa, the entire thing just sits in
a cradle with your band on and all. It's much
more convenient. And speaking of the bands, you can replace
(05:41):
them because they easily come off. I don't think that
the Versa band is as nice as what comes with
Apple Watch, but you will have the option to swap
that out at a later time if you find something
you like better. Overall, can't recommend the fipbit Versa enough.
It's best for daily health tracking for the average person.
Like I said, if you're a big time athlete or
a runner, probably be better served with a more niche device
(06:02):
or the Apple Watch itself. Now, if you have an iPhone,
you're trying to side between Apple Watch and Versa. It
really comes down to how much you want to spend
and all the features that you need. The Versus one
hundred and thirty dollars less than the entry level Apple Watch,
and you get a lot more features on the Apple Watch,
like that onboard GPS, all that integration with your iPhone
and Apple Music, plus a lot more apps. If you
(06:23):
have an Android device, I kind of think the Versus
a no brainer. It's just smart enough to feed you
all the useful stats you need about your health, but
without notification or information overload. The Fipbit Versa is two
hundred dollars. It's available now. There's also a version with
mobile payment built in for two hundred and thirty dollars.
Thanks so much for listening. If you like this podcast,
please rate and review it in the Apple Podcast app.
(06:46):
You can find a link to everything I talk about here,
including my Fitbit Versa review, on my website. Just go
to richontech dot tv, and if you're not following me
on Instagram, I'm doing a lot of Instagram stories lately.
Just find me. My username is rich on tech Thanks
so much for listening. I'm Rich Tomiro. I'll talk to
you real soon. Mhm.
Host
Rich DeMuro
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