The Fitbit Versa has just launched and it’s pretty great

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This isn’t Fitbit‘s first foray into the smartwatch market, but with the Versa, they take everything that they have learned from the Fitbit Blaze and Ionic and improve the Fitbit smartwatch experience in almost every way. Released today on Amazon, the Fitbit Versa takes a lot of lessons from the not-so-hot launch of the Ionic to make a smartwatch that is both stylish and useful. Millions of dollars in research, plus acquisitions of Pebble, Vector, and Coin have been used well in this latest release from Fitbit.

Unlike the Ionic, which was bulky and cumbersome, the Versa features a design much more like that of the Apple Watch, with a form factor that will fit many more people than the Ionic. In addition to the design and UI changes, the Versa will also include an extremely impressive battery, which can last for up to four days without a charge. Compare that to the Apple Watch, which typically needs a recharge at night to make it through the next day, and you automatically have a great selling feature. The Versa allow will allow users to store music or Pandora streams directly on the watch, allowing you to separate from your phone during a hectic day or workout.

Other features of the new smartwatch include:

• Tracks activity all day, plus heartbeat and sleep stage monitoring
• 15+ exercise modes to accurately record workouts.
• Swimming mode is included thanks to the Versa being resistant up to 50 meters)
• Store approximately 300 songs directly on the unit or download playlists from Pandora
• App access and quick text response for Android users

There is also a special edition of the watch available that include an NFC chip for secure payment options.

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here for more.

Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.