Apple Watch Series 4 Rival Fitbit Versa 2 Features 5-Day Battery Life

Fitbit has revealed its newest smartwatch that offers a very long battery life, has Alexa as its digital assistant, and allows users to control audio playback.

Fitbit, known for its health and fitness oriented wearables, has just announced the Versa 2 smartwatch. It’s a more affordable smartwatch compared to the Apple Watch, but is capable of doing many of the things the expensive wearable can do. It has a heart rate scanner, accelerometer, gyroscope, NFC, and more. It is also rated to be water-resistant up to 50 meters deep, CNet noted.

This new model continues to do what its predecessor does, and adds the convenience of having Alexa as a digital assistant; the ability to play songs from Spotify, Pandora and Deezer; and the benefits of getting real-time fitness coaching via a subscription service -- for a longer period of time. Here are some new features on the Versa 2:

Amazon Alexa

Users who wear the Versa 2 can call Alexa up anytime via a long-press on the wearable’s sole button on the side. Alexa can be called up to do what she does elsewhere: answer questions, describe the weather, control smart home appliances, and more.

The Versa 2 was designed so that Alexa won’t be accidentally awakened to listen to private conversations. The button itself is placed on the left side of the watch, which means users will have to be intentional in waking her up. The lack of a speaker also means that users will have to look at the display to see her responses.

Music

Fitbit also gave the Versa 2 the ability to control songs on Spotify -- but only as a remote control via Spotify Connect. Users won’t be able to download songs via Spotify directly to the watch; it can only play songs stored on the Spotify phone app. The Versa 2 can store some music, but only as side-loads, via Deezer and Pandora’s premium service.

Long battery life

Users won’t have to worry much about charging their Versa 2 smartwatches as these can last for five days on a single charge. If users turn “Always- On mode” on, the display will run in a low-power monochrome mode that shows basic fitness tracker features like time, remaining battery, step count, and calories burnt. With this mode on, the device can still last for up to two days, Forbes noted.

These are but some of the features the Fitbit Versa 2 has. It is now available for preorder for $199.95 from Fitbit’s official website.