Fitbit has announced three products, the new Sense, Versa 3 and Inspire 2 via closed media livestream event yesterday. Some of it comes with new tools to better manage health and wellness amidst the global pandemic.
It unveiled a brand new model called Sense, with an electrodermal activity scanner to measure stress; and the other two are updated models from its existing range: the Versa 3 and the Inspire 2, its cheapest tracker. Both the Sense and Versa 3 now have Google Assistant built-in, along with its existing Amazon Alexa support.
Based on the pics, I cannot physically tell the difference between the Sense and Versa 3. The Versa 3 will come in three colours: black, blue and coral; and the Sense will come in black and cream. Both appear to have clip-on style bands that are interchangeable, which means bands from your existing Fitbit Versa won’t work with it.
Fitbit Sense
Fitbit is calling the Sense the ‘world’s first health smartwatch’, created in response to the global pandemic, to better manage stress levels. Lisa Swift at Fitbit says prior to the Covid19 pandemic, the World Health Organisation classified stress as “the health epidemic of the 21st century”. And now more than ever we are seeing the negative impacts of stress.
The Sense health smartwatch has three key focus areas: stress, heart health and new health metrics. It is targeted at users to help users increase their resilience to stress, which looks at the physical and mental aspects. It has an electrodermal activity sensor (EDA), which is a world first for a smartwatch. It measures stress directly from the wrist, with a detailed analysis provided in the EDA Scan app.
Health-related features include: on-wrist EDA scan; stress management tools; built-in GPS; Fitbit ECG app (pending regulations, region dependent); high and low heart-rate notifications; sleep stages and sleep score; on-wrist temperature sensor; Active Zone Minutes (introduced on the Charge 4).
Smartphone-related features include: notifications; calls from wrist (via loudspeaker when phone is nearby); voice assistant (Google Assistant; Amazon Alexa); 6+ days of battery life (claimed); always-on display mode; 24/7 heart-rate tracking; exercise modes + smarttrack; swimproof up to 50m (shower, pool, beach); clock faces; music support (Deezer, Pandora apps and Spotify controls); all day activity tracking.
Fitbit Versa 3
The Versa 3 is an update to its best-selling smartwatch, the Versa 2. It now has built-in GPS; Active Zone Minutes; calls on wrist; supports downloads from Pandora and Deezer but only Spotify controls; and supports voice assistants (Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa). It promises 6+ days battery life; supports pace and distance tracking with GPS on a heat overlay map; fast charging; and new infinite bands.
The Sense and Versa 3 will use the same magnetic charger and support fast charging. Fitbit says a quick 12 minute charge will provide one day of usage.
Fitbit Inspire 2
The cheapest fitness tracker in the range has been updated and will include a free 1-year subscription to Fitbit Premium; support Active Zone Minutes; 24/7 heart-rate monitoring; sleep tracking; and a claimed 10+ days battery life. It’s also swimproof (water resistant up to 50m); has real-time pace and distance mapping (assisted GPS with phone); sleep score; cardio fitness level; and guided breathing.
All Fitbit smartwatches will have the ability to measure blood oxygen, also called SpO2 monitoring (as seen on Huawei Watch GT2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch3). It will be available in two ways: one via an average from your night sleep through a supported SpO2 clock face; and second via insights on the paid for Fitbit Premium section on the app. Fitbit says this feature at launch will be available in the US only.
South African pricing and availability:
Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Inspire 2 will be available for pre-order starting mid-September online at select retailers. It will be available at retailers from October.
Sense – R 7999
Versa 3 – R5699
Inspire 2 – R2399