Fitbit Sense, Versa 3 & Inspire 2: Three new fitness wearables
25.8.2020
Translation: machine translated
Fitbit is catching up with Apple. At least with one function of the new Fitbit Sense, which can be used in the USA first. Nevertheless, the fitness watch is not useless in Europe.
The Fitbit Sense is the manufacturer's new top-of-the-range wearable and replaces the ageing Ionic. The two biggest innovations are the creation of electrocardiograms (ECG) and the measurement of skin temperature, which Fitbit uses for various analyses. With the Versa 3 and Inspire 3, the wearable manufacturer, which is part of Google, is also making sensible additions to its range.
Fitbit Sense: create ECG and measure temperature
The AMOLED display of the Fitbit Sense is surrounded by a stainless steel frame. This is also a sensor. Place two fingers on it and, together with the sensor on the back of the watch and an ECG app, the wearable creates an electrocardiogram. This is intended to help recognise atrial fibrillation. However, this is a medical application that requires authorisation. For this reason, it will initially only be available in the USA. In Germany or Switzerland, you still have to wait for official approval. Fitbit has not yet given any concrete estimates as to when this will happen.
On the back of the Fitbit Sense is a sensor for "electrodermal activity", or EDA for short, in addition to the heart rate measurement. The fitness watch uses this to measure the moisture and temperature of the skin. The Fitbit app uses this to draw conclusions about your stress level. You should understand how your body reacts to stress and be able to cope with it. Fitbit is also working on using the data to recognise illnesses before symptoms occur. However, research is still in its infancy. However, some of the functions are moving behind the Fitbit Premium paywall.
Another new feature is that Fitbit Sense can notify you if your heart rate falls below or exceeds a predefined range. A microphone and speaker are also built into the wearable, allowing you to use Alexa or the Google Assistant - from winter 2020 - and even make calls via the fitness watch and your Bluetooth-connected smartphone.
Furthermore, the Fitbit Sense has an internal GPS, counts your steps and active zone minutes, is waterproof, automatically recognises different sports and monitors your sleep. The battery should last six days on a single charge. Experience has shown that this time is significantly reduced with GPS use. You can also save music from Deezer and Pandora offline and control Spotify playback from your wrist. Contactless payment is possible with Fitbit Pay - if your financial institution is one of the supporters.
Versa 3: speaker, Google Assistant and internal GPS
The Versa 3 is basically the cheaper version of the Fitbit Sense without the ECG function and without the EDA sensor for stress and temperature. However, it also has an AMOLED display and, compared to the Versa 2, the integrated GPS, speaker and Google Assistant are added as options alongside Alexa. The voice assistants not only show their answers on the display, but also let you hear them. This fitness watch also allows you to make calls via your wrist.
The rest of the features are Fitbit standard: these include heart rate measurement, a waterproof housing, Fitbit Pay, automatic activity detection, pedometer, calorie burn indicator, sleep monitoring and offline music for paying Deezer and Pandora users. Fitbit claims a battery life of six days and your use of the internal GPS also plays an important role in the length of the battery life.
Fitbit Inspire 2: Back to the roots
The Fitbit Inspire 2 is the manufacturer's new most affordable fitness tracker with heart rate measurement. Together with the Fitbit app, it has all the important basic functions. It counts steps, calories burnt, displays notifications and can provide training instructions. Automatic activity recognition is also on board and if you need GPS data for sports tracking, the wearable retrieves it from the connected smartphone.
Compared to its predecessor, the Inspire HR, Fitbit says it has made the monochrome OLED display on the Inspire 2 brighter and therefore easier to recognise. It is operated via the touchscreen and the touch sensor, which, like the Fitbit Charge 4 replaces the button on the side. The fitness tracker is said to be waterproof to a depth of 50 metres and last ten days on a single charge.
All three new Fitbit wearables should be available worldwide from the end of September 2020.
When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.
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