In the ever-evolving world of fitness technology, smartwatches have made a significant impact on how we track our health and well-being. The Fitbit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch presents itself as a noteworthy contender with features designed to enhance your workout experience while keeping you connected. This review will delve into the watch’s capabilities, analyze user experiences—both positive and critical—and assess whether the Versa 4 truly unlocks your potential for an active lifestyle.
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Discover Your Fitness Journey with Fitbit Versa 4
Pros
- Comprehensive fitness tracking features including 24/7 heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking
- Long battery life of over 6 days with smart features enabled
- Lightweight and comfortable design suitable for all-day wear and sleep
Cons
- Heart rate tracking is often inaccurate during workouts, which can be frustrating for fitness enthusiasts who rely on accurate data.
- The Alexa integration can be finicky, with users reporting connection issues that can be tedious to resolve.
- Contactless payment only supports Google Wallet instead of Google Pay, limiting options for potential users who want wider compatibility.
How does it work?
The Fitbit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch is designed to help users optimize their fitness routine and overall wellness. It operates by using various sensors and health metrics to provide insights and guidance for daily activities. Here’s how it works:
1. Tracking and Measurement: The smartwatch features 24/7 heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and over 40 exercise modes. As users engage in physical activities, the watch automatically detects and tracks these exercises, providing real-time stats like calories burned, heart rate, and active minutes through its built-in GPS. This data allows users to understand their fitness levels and adjust their workouts accordingly.
2. Daily Readiness Score: One of the standout features is the Daily Readiness Score, which indicates whether users should push themselves or take a rest day based on their recent activity and recovery. This personalized score uses information from sleep quality, heart rate variability, and activity levels, helping users make informed decisions about their workout intensity.
3. Sleep Monitoring: The device utilizes sensors to analyze sleep patterns, including stages of sleep (light, deep, REM) and overall sleep quality through the Sleep Score. It also provides a personalized Sleep Profile and can wake users gently with a smart wake alarm.
4. Stress Management: The smartwatch offers features for managing stress, such as tracking daily stress levels and providing guided breathing sessions. Users can log reflections and track their menstrual health, thus providing a comprehensive health dashboard to maintain overall wellbeing.
5. Notifications and Connectivity: The Versa 4 integrates with users’ smartphones to provide call, text, and app notifications directly on the watch. It supports Bluetooth calling, and Alexa capabilities enhance its usability by allowing voice commands for various functions. Additionally, it offers payment functionality through Fitbit Pay and uses Google Wallet for contactless transactions.
6. Customization and Software: The watch features customizable clock faces and supports various applications through the Fitbit app, which enhances user experience by providing advanced analytics and insights tailored to individual fitness goals.
Overall, the Fitbit Versa 4 combines style, convenience, and comprehensive tracking features, making it a powerful tool for anyone looking to enhance their health and fitness routines.
Unlock Your Potential with the Versa 4 Smartwatch
Who is it for?
The Fitbit Versa 4 is designed for consumers who are health-conscious and tech-savvy individuals looking for a reliable fitness smartwatch that aids in their overall wellness journey. It appeals particularly to fitness enthusiasts who value features like Daily Readiness Scores, 24/7 heart rate monitoring, and extensive exercise tracking capabilities. The watch is also suitable for everyday users who appreciate its smart features such as notifications, Bluetooth calls, and GPS functionality. Furthermore, those interested in health management—such as sleep tracking, stress management, and menstrual health—will find the Versa 4’s comprehensive metrics beneficial. Ideal for both casual exercisers and serious athletes, this product is perfect for anyone seeking to integrate fitness and technology into their daily lifestyles.
Top positive review
When I first got this, it would not maintain sync. I updated the firmware on the watch, tried doing a factory reset twice, uninstalled/reinstalled the fitbit app twice, ensured that the app wasn’t allowed to go to sleep when in the background… nothing worked. It would work for a few minutes, then when I tried to command Alexa, it would say connection lost. I decided to contact support, and they informed me that my app was outdated. Come to find out, version
4.04 of the bitbit app is too old, and will not work. The latest version,
4.
06.7 had not been released for my phone yet, as is typical ridiculous play store behavior. Google… are you listening? When a developer releases an update, you shall IMMEDIATELY make it available to EVERY device! I manually downloaded the apk and installed it, and everything has been working great since. Alexa follows my direct orders immediately, phone calls come through, texts come through, and I can sync with ease.Overall, I suppose this is an improvement over the Versa
2. Screen is a little bigger, but the notification vibrations don’t seem to be as forceful, even when set to strong.This uses google wallet instead of google pay as the Versa 2 did, so my AmEx will not work for contactless payment.Phone call feature is nice, seems to work OK. I can hear them, they can hear me. You can only answer calls, you can’t make them. The $50 brand x watch I ordered to replace this one before I got the sync figured out was able to do that. It could also control my camera and music player, neither of which is possible on the Versa
4.Google maps is nice if you walk in unfamiliar areas. I’ll probably never need it, but it’s nice.Battery life seems to be improved over the Versa 2, but mine was 2 years old so I’m sure the battery had gradually decreased it’s charge capacity. I used it for several days, and he battery was still at 55%.Skin temperature sensor will one day be nice when it can sync with a smart thermostat and automatically adjust the temperature as needed. But for now, it’s just a novelty and has no purpose. Yes, I know my skin is hot. I woke up in a puddle of sweat. Yup, I’m freezing, so my skin is cold.o2 saturation is nice if you have any relevant health problems.If you want to take full advantage of the watch, get the free ‘Overview’ clock face by Chris Blyth. It gives you current and average heart rate, battery percentage, fully customizable date format, allows for a larger clock that shows seconds, and you can have weather, and 6 other health stats displayed on the main screen, all at once. I have steps, distance, calories burned, active zone minutes, floors, and BMI/BMR. It all fits, and is easy to read. Vast improvement over the default face, which shows no useful information. I had th is face on my versa 2, and loved it. So glad it’s available for the
4.Bottom line, it’s a good watch. There are cheaper brand x ones out there, but none of them have NFC payment, and not all of them have Alexa. And, you get what you pay for. fit & finish feels cheap, the screens get washed out in the sun, finicky alexa integration and so on. Best to pony up and get a refined product. Be sure to update your fitbit app. Their customer support said the latest version should be released within a week, but I circumvented the beurocracy and downloaded it manually. Why wait?
Top critical review
If someone asked me whether I like this watch or not, I would say that I like it. It is simple and the interface is decent. I do not want a watch that attempts to replace my phone, but rather one that complements it. I think that the Fitbit Versa is a good choice for this. It tells me notifications, tracks sensor telemetry, tracks my physical state, and has decent battery life. These are things that my phone cannot easily do.Other smart watches such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch do too much. I don’t really care that I can reply to texts, browse the web, or essentially replace my phone. I always have my phone on or near me. If I am too busy to reply on my phone then I also wouldn’t reply on my watch, an only worse experience because they try to cram a full QWERTY keyboard on it.I bought the Fitbit Versa 4 because one of my requirements is that the watch I use has Google Pay on it. It does not at release, but I’m fine with it coming later as it is not an immediate requirement. I also assumed that the fitness tracking on Fitbit would be good because Fitbit is basically the oldest consumer tracker company I know of, so I guessed it probably works well.Comfort – 9/10The strap that it came with is quite comfortable. I do not wear watches, primarily because the ones I have tried were not very comfortable. This watch and strap is pretty good. I’ve only had one day tuning the tightness and position where it was uncomfortable and that was my fault as it was too tight. I also like that it is small and light. I mostly forget it is there, and am comfortable sleeping it with.Update Nov. 5th 2022: After about a month of wearing it almost 24/7 I have some irritation. Also if I sleep with it and put weight upon the watch band (the watch face going down in to the bed) I will wake up with a lot of irritation.Interface – 7/10The interface is mostly intuitive. It is not that clunky as some smart watches I have seen in the past. The main thing I do not like and I didn’t quite get at first was that the apps list is found by pressing the button. I didn’t know how to use the alarm the first night because of this. But overall it works. It is mostly responsive, but sometimes not if it is rendering many things in the interface. I can forgive this as it is not a super powerful watch. I am happy with this.Battery life- 8/10One of the primary things that I want in a smart watch is a longish battery life. The more general smart watches’ battery life is not that great. This one lasts about 3 days with the always on display turned on, which I am happy with. I will try it with the always on display off to see how it lasts. With sleep mode on it drains about 10% battery over 8 hours.Update Nov. 5th 2022: With display not on always-on, then it lasts about 7-9 days depending on how much I exercise.Sleep Tracking – 10/10I am quite impressed with the sleep tracking. I don’t have to tell it anything. It just knows that I am sleeping and tracks it. Even random naps that I take in the evening. I do not know the times I fall asleep, but it is always on the exact minute I wake up. Good job on this, and I quite like it. As for the oxygen saturation tracking, I have nothing to compare it against so who knows, it could be made up for all I know.Heart rate – 3/10Oof, this is not good and I am quite disappointed with. During the day at work and home it seems to be fine. This is good for capturing my resting heart rate which I am interested in. But during workouts it is basically useless. I have worked out 3 times with it since I got it, and it is just wildly inaccurate. The only thing it is good for is using the workout timer to count my pulse manually. While doing some spinning in the gym I consistently measure my pulse at 170-180 BPM, but this thing is measuring as low as 90 BPM to 160 BPM, usually ranging in 130-
150. I can forgive being off by 10 or so BPM, but this is just wild. Once my heart rate goes about 140 or 150 it just becomes useless. It will vary by 10 BPM each measurement, vibrate warning my heart rate is not in ‘the zone.’ Well that sucks. I bought this thing specifically so that I could track my workout, hoping because Fitbit is a well known brand that it would do this specific thing well, and it does not.Other -I like the alarm, but I think all watches do something like that. I use the weather occasionally, and the timer is fine. I would prefer that it sets the timer, and allows me to actually start it rather than automatically starting when I lock-in a time, but that a minor gripe. The phone interface is good, and I think that it summarizes the telemetry pretty well. I also like the default watchface, and have not changed it.Update Nov. 5th 2022: I did not realize this before, but the alarm only alarms for like 20 or 30 seconds before turning off. This is fine some times, but other times I need way more effort to wake up. I have no seen a way to configure this. I would prefer that it alarms until I turn it off.ConclusionIf I can find a smart watch that is similar size, as I do like that this one is small and light, I may replace it. Mainly because of the heart rate tracking. But I am very impressed with the sleep tracking, and i like the battery life and comfort so I am going to stick with it for now. I hope that heart rate tracking can be fixed with a software update, because I do want to like this watch.
Get Active: Explore the Features of Fitbit Versa 4!
The Fitbit Versa 4 Smartwatch presents itself as a robust companion for fitness enthusiasts and those seeking to enhance their daily health routines. With features like the Daily Readiness Score and advanced sleep tracking, it appeals to users focused on both physical activity and overall wellness. While some users have encountered technical issues, particularly with heart rate accuracy and notification vibrations, the overall consensus leans towards satisfaction, especially concerning the design, functionality, and integration with Google services. As a solid choice for anyone looking to blend fitness tracking with smartwatch capabilities, the Versa 4 is worth consideration, especially for those already within the Fitbit ecosystem.