Fitbit Versa 4 Review: Ordinary Hardware, Excellent Premium Service

Fitbit's galore achievements successful its tract has, to immoderate extent, turned the marque sanction into thing of a household word for wrist-worn fittingness trackers. However, the conception of the fittingness tracker itself is losing a spot of steam as smartwatches person present go affordable capable to marque these smaller, fitness-focused bands somewhat obsolete. However, for fittingness enthusiasts, a dedicated tracker that fits successful their fund is inactive a worthwhile proposition. Fitbit continues to enactment towards winning implicit this demographic, acknowledgment to its operation of accepted hardware and ever-improving software.

While the premium conception is present mostly dominated by smartwatches with decent health-tracking capabilities, Fitbit remains dedicated to the thought of a smarter and amended fittingness tracker. The Fitbit Versa 4 is priced astatine Rs. 20,499 successful India and promises a smartwatch-like experience, but does not shy distant from its fitness-first credentials.

The Fitbit Versa 4 has an AMOLED screen, with various ticker faces including Premium options arsenic portion of the subscription package

Fitbit Versa 4 plan and specifications

Fitness trackers and bands erstwhile followed a chiseled look, characterised by basic, constrictive screens and a mostly compact signifier factor. However, the penchant towards ample screens connected wearables person seen modern fitness-focused wearables much intimately lucifer smartwatches, and this is the aesthetic that the Fitbit Versa 4 goes for. It has a quadrate AMOLED surface which dominates the front, an aluminium casing with a matte finish, and a azygous fastener connected the close broadside of the device.

Although the specifications of the surface aren't officially stated by Fitbit, it is crisp and rather bully to look at, particularly if you usage a ticker look with a achromatic background. Waking the surface works with a property of the fastener oregon the lift-to-wake gesture, but tapping the touchscreen won't enactment until the instrumentality is active. You besides person the enactment to usage the always-on show mode to spot the time, acceptable the surface timeout duration, and take betwixt 3 brightness levels, depending connected your preferences.

The bottommost of the ticker has the charging interaction points and the optical sensors for bosom complaint and humor oxygen measurements. There is besides an altimeter successful the Fitbit Versa 4, which is utilized by the instrumentality to number floors erstwhile climbing stairs; unluckily the existent altitude information can't beryllium accessed easy oregon directly.

In India, the Fitbit Versa 4 is offered successful 4 colour options, with the colour of the smartwatch matching that of the straps successful each cases. These see a black strap with a graphite coloured casing, ‘Pink Sand' strap with a copper rose coloured casing, ‘Beet Juice' with a copper roseate coloured casing, and ‘Waterfall Blue' strap with a platinum coloured casing. While I liked the blue-platinum colour operation of my reappraisal unit, I personally felt that the all-black enactment looked better.

Strap comfortableness itself is simply a subjective point, and I did look immoderate issues with it during my clip with the Fitbit Versa 4. A somewhat choky accommodation did origin immoderate tegument sensitivity issues, portion a escaped acceptable was comfy but affected the readings from the optical sensors. I was good with the attached tiny strap, but determination is an further ample strap included successful the income package. Also included successful the container is the charger for the Fitbit Versa 4, which attaches to the bottommost of the ticker magnetically and plugs into a USB Type-A larboard for powerfulness (you'll request your ain adapter or link it to a laptop).

In presumption of specifications, the Fitbit Versa 4 is h2o resistant up to a extent of 50m, and tin truthful grip important vulnerability to h2o without overmuch hazard of damage. For connectivity, the instrumentality uses Bluetooth 5, and has an in-built talker and microphone which tin beryllium utilized to pass with Alexa for dependable adjunct functionality, and to person incoming calls from the paired smartphone. The instrumentality besides supports outer determination tracking done GPS and GLONASS.

Fitbit Versa 4 software, interface, and app

Many fashionable wearables are OS oregon platform-specific, and Fitbit's acquisition by Google has led galore to judge that the instrumentality and app requires an Android telephone to work, oregon works amended connected Android. This isn't truly the lawsuit though; the Fitbit app works connected some Android and iOS and Fitbit remains instrumentality agnostic successful this regard. I chiefly utilized the Versa 4 with an iPhone for overmuch of this review, and each app-based functionality worked arsenic expected.

The Fitbit app handles the transportation betwixt the Versa 4 and the paired smartphone, and besides synchronises with the tracker to cod and analyse data. This itself isn't peculiar — every smartwatch and fittingness tracker does this — but wherever Fitbit genuinely sets itself isolated is successful the prime of its investigation of the data. The app generates elaborate graphs and statistic based connected the information the Versa 4 collects, including assorted information sets that travel arsenic portion of the Premium subscription.

The Fitbit app (available connected iOS and Android) is the cardinal to the wide experience, and the Premium subscription unlocks assorted absorbing information points

Fitbit Premium offers an assortment of further information and statistic that spell beyond the basics of fitness, health, and slumber tracking connected the Versa 4. This includes elaborate information sets connected points specified arsenic breathing rate, resting bosom rate, oxygen saturation, bosom complaint variability, and elaborate slumber profiles, among others, each with your ain show based connected idiosyncratic and emblematic ranges.

You tin besides make a wellness study successful PDF format, which gives you a broad interruption up of however you're doing successful presumption of wellness and fitness. Some circumstantial metrics specified arsenic Readiness Score, Sleep Profile, snore and sound detection, and much are disposable lone with the Premium subscription. You besides get entree to video workouts and steadfast cooking recipes done the Premium subscription.

While the thought of paying a monthly subscription interest aft already having spent implicit Rs. 20,000 connected the Versa 4 itself whitethorn look a spot excessive, it's worthy mentioning that I recovered the Premium work to beryllium considerably amended successful presumption of information investigation compared to the competing escaped options I've had a accidental to try. Six months of complimentary Premium subscription comes with the Fitbit Versa 4 upon activation, aft which it is priced astatine Rs. 99 per period oregon Rs. 999 per year. This is rather tenable for what's connected offer, successful my opinion.

The Fitbit Versa 4 itself comes crossed arsenic a spot basal for a instrumentality that costs implicit Rs. 20,000. There is simply a elemental on-device operating strategy with screens displaying basal information including steps taken, slumber hours, bosom rate, weather, and tools specified arsenic alarms, timers, and stopwatch. You tin besides power basal instrumentality parameters specified arsenic always-on show and DnD mode, entree Alexa connected the ticker (once acceptable up done the app), acceptable up Fitbit Pay (not supported successful India for now), and presumption notifications from your smartphone.

Watch faces (called ‘Clocks' successful the Fitbit app) for the Fitbit Versa 4 tin beryllium downloaded and synced done the app, with plentifulness of bully options disposable for escaped oregon arsenic portion of the Premium subscription. While I preferred the Fitbit-developed, AMOLED screen-friendly options, galore mightiness similar the seasonal and curated ticker faces arsenic well.

The Fitbit Versa 4 is rated for h2o absorption up to 50m

Other in-app options include setting up Alexa for the Versa 4, on-wrist calls from the paired smartphone, and mounting up circumstantial instrumentality preferences including regular fittingness targets and relationship settings. I did person occasional issues with information synchronisation, slumber and SpO2 stats took a portion to update successful the app, and determination were insignificant bugs including 1 affecting region tracking, but thing was excessively superior oregon caused immoderate semipermanent hassles during my review. Food, h2o consumption, and manual value tracking tin beryllium maintained wrong the app arsenic well.

Fitbit Versa 4 show and artillery life

Practically each smartwatch, regardless of price, can service arsenic a fittingness tracker, though the accuracy and prime of the investigation of information collected varies. Where the Fitbit Versa 4 hopes to acceptable itself isolated is successful its absorption connected fittingness tracking. There are immoderate smartwatch functions specified arsenic the quality to instrumentality calls connected your wrist and presumption notifications from the paired smartphone, but the Versa 4 is, supra each else, a fittingness tracker astatine its core.

The halfway information postulation by the Fitbit Versa 4 is mostly akin to what astir fittingness trackers provide, and accuracy is reasonably bully arsenic well. The tracker has the quality to store up to 7 days of elaborate question information connected device, which volition beryllium retained until the instrumentality is synchronised with the app connected your smartphone. Daily totals tin beryllium stored for up to 30 days connected device.

Step tracking connected the Fitbit Versa 4 was decent capable successful our 1,000-step test. The instrumentality measured 1,020 steps wherever I manually counted 1,000 steps portion walking astatine a mean pace — an acceptable mistake borderline of 2 percent. At a brisk pace, the Versa 4 somewhat undercounted steps, with a akin mistake borderline of astir 2 percent. Satellite determination tracking connected the Fitbit Versa 4 worked good for outdoor exercises, with the instrumentality measuring 1.01km for a region stated by Google Maps to beryllium 1km, during an outdoor walk.

Although it is perfect to manually commencement workouts straight from the Versa 4, the instrumentality tin automatically observe workout and initiate the elaborate tracking itself. It handles this well, though it is sometimes a mates of minutes precocious to initiate the tracking. In each cases of workout tracking, it is besides capable to observe erstwhile you are successful cardio and abdominous pain zones based connected your bosom rate, categorised by Fitbit arsenic ‘Zone' minutes which tin beryllium acceptable arsenic a regular goal.

Heart complaint tracking takes spot each 5 seconds ordinarily, and erstwhile per 2nd during an workout routine, with these readings affecting the measurement of ‘Zone' minutes. While resting and slumber bosom complaint tracking was fine, I recovered workout and large enactment bosom complaint tracking connected the Fitbit Versa 4 to beryllium a spot unreliable, thereby affecting close measurement of ‘Zone' minutes and different parameters.

I mostly recovered tracking to beryllium good up to astir 130bpm, but higher bosom rates (common during aggravated workouts) caused the Versa 4 to gaffe up. This besides affected different wide readings specified arsenic cardio fittingness people and bosom complaint variability, since measurements during dense enactment were mostly unreliable. Some others specified arsenic tegument somesthesia saltation and wide tegument somesthesia didn't look to amusement immoderate reliable readings adjacent aft galore days of use.

The Fitbit Versa 4 has a talker and microphone built in, and tin beryllium utilized to person calls from the paired smartphone oregon pass with Alexa

Blood oxygen tracking connected the Fitbit Versa 4 is not on-demand, arsenic is the lawsuit with astir smartwatches and fittingness trackers that person the feature. Instead, this metric is lone shown aft overnight sleep, and tin beryllium seen lone with a ticker look that supports showing it, oregon done the app. This besides tended to amusement little readings than what a decent SpO2 show showed during daytime measurements but this is expected, and inactive provides a decent outlook into your humor oxygen levels connected a regular basis.

Sleep tracking is wherever the Fitbit Versa 4 performs exceptionally well, providing close and elaborate slumber prime statistic and wellness tracking. The app besides generates a slumber illustration aft logging capable data, and helps with insights connected however to amended your wide slumber and wellness done this method. This besides helps to estimation a ‘Readiness' people — a parameter which provides immoderate guidance arsenic to erstwhile you should enactment out, rest, oregon drawback up connected sleep, based connected caller activity.

Battery beingness connected the Fitbit Versa 4 is considerably amended than astir smartwatches, but comes crossed arsenic rather mean erstwhile compared to different devices with akin hardware capabilities. The Versa 4 ran for a small nether 4 days connected a azygous complaint with mean usage for me, which was somewhat reduced connected days with much predominant surface usage oregon workout tracking.

Call prime is mean and workable for abbreviated calls; the prime of the on-device talker isn't precise good, and sounded a spot muffled for calls arsenic good arsenic responses from Alexa. Notification pushing is reliable arsenic agelong arsenic the Fitbit Versa 4 is adjacent the paired smartphone, but dissimilar similarly-priced smartwatches, you tin lone presumption notifications connected the instrumentality with nary quality to respond.

Verdict

The Fitbit Versa 4 is, astatine slightest successful presumption of the prime of the hardware, a reasonably mean fittingness tracker and smartwatch for the price. However, the existent worth of this is not purely successful the hardware, but successful the app and benefits of the Premium subscription, peculiarly for fittingness enthusiasts who truly basal to payment from the information and insights connected offer. If you're idiosyncratic who works retired often and wants to support an oculus connected your health, this is simply a bully tracker for astir Rs. 20,000.

There are immoderate drawbacks here, peculiarly successful the signifier of unreliable bosom complaint tracking, a reasonably basal smartwatch experience, and artillery beingness that truly should beryllium amended considering the level of hardware capabilities. However, the wide fittingness tracking acquisition was mostly affirmative for me, and I did payment from the assorted insights and information provided by the app and the Premium service.

However, if you don't expect to enactment the details wellness analytics to predominant use, and you privation a much all-round acquisition instead, it mightiness beryllium worthy getting an Apple Watch oregon Samsung Galaxy Watch instead. You could besides see the Garmin Venu Sq 2 oregon the somewhat much affordable Amazfit GTR 4 for fitness-focused functionality.

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