Should you pick Fitbit’s new Versa 2 smartwatch over the Ionic?
The Versa 2 is an excellent fitness wearable that supports a wide range of exercise and health tracking. It has a good battery life, a sleek design, and comes at a reasonable price. It has built-in Fitbit Pay but doesn’t feature a built-in GPS, so you’ll need to take your phone with you if you want that functionality.
Pros
- More affordable
- Over 5-day battery life
- Refined design
- Has many fitness features
Cons
- No built-in GPS
The Ionic is Fitbit’s most powerful fitness wearable — closer to a smartwatch than a tracker — and can last up to a week on a single charge. In addition to health and fitness tracking, it also has a built-in GPS and Fitbit Pay. It might feel big on smaller wrists, though.
Pros
- Built-in GPS
- Week-long battery life
- Fully featured for fitness
- Supports Fitbit Pay
Cons
- Dated design
- Feels bulky
The Fitbit Ionic and Fitbit Versa 2 are surprisingly similar pieces of hardware. They support almost identical feature sets and are in the same price range. The only main feature that the Ionic has that the Versa doesn’t is built-in GPS. When Fitbit refreshed the Versa line, the company added support for Fitbit Pay to the Versa 2 without requiring people to purchase the Special Edition. This closes the gap even more when comparing the Fitbit Versa 2 and the Fitbit Ionic. The Versa 2 also brings in an OLED display, better battery life, and a more durable screen when compared to the original Versa, again making it stand out even more when compared to the Fitbit Ionic.
What do you track?
Source: Windows Central
Both the Ionic and the Versa 2 track exercise and can be taken to just about any workout, including running, cycling, and working out in the gym. Both have up to 50 meters of water resistance, so you can take them swimming. The one significant difference is that the Ionic can track your location without a phone. It has built-in GPS, which allows you to track your exercise routes without the aid of a smartphone. The Versa 2 doesn’t have a built-in GPS, so you’ll have to use a smartphone on your jogs.
| Fitbit Versa 2 | Fitbit Ionic | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | FitbitOS 3.0 | FitbitOS 3.0 |
| Heart-rate sensor | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Sleep-tracking | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Waterproofing | ✔️ (up to 50 meters) | ✔️ (up to 50 meters) |
| Fitbit Pay | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Music storage | ✔️ (up to 300 songs) | ✔️(up to 300 songs) |
| Battery life | Over 5 days | Up to 7 days |
Fitbit has been in the wearable industry for a long time, and fitness tracking is accurate on both of these devices. You can use each of them for guided workouts, tracking your measurables such as heart rate and sleep, and recording your steps, cycling activity, and swimming activity.
You can also take your music with you on the go. Both wearables support local storage up to 300 songs.
Sleek vs. powerful
When it comes to fitness tracking, both of these watches are almost identical. However, there is a more noticeable difference between the watches in terms of design. The Ionic is thicker than the Versa 2, and where the Ionic is square, the Versa 2 rounds a few corners to make it sleeker. The Ionic feels boxy compared to the more elegant Versa. The Versa shares some design queues from the Apple Watch and other wearables that are fashionable.
That being said, there are still several similarities between the watches. Both feature bright watch faces, and both allow you to switch out wrist straps depending on your preference. The Fitbit Versa 2 only has one button for navigation while the Fitbit Ionic has 3, but both watches have similar features and run the same core operating system.
Features for money
The features for these devices are practically identical. The only significant feature difference is that the Ionic has a built-in GPS. Both have Bluetooth music support, the same exercise tracking, notification support, Fitbit Coach, and several other features.
The Versa 2 comes in at $200, which keeps it around $30 less than the Ionic. The Fitbit Versa 2 is also sleeker than the Fitbit Ionic and has almost all of the same features. The Ionic can feel bulky and chunky at times, especially when doing certain activities like typing.
Unless you absolutely need a built-in GPS, the Fitbit Versa is a better choice for most people. You’ll get the best of Fitbit at a lower price than the Ionic. If you like the sleeker design of the Versa but want to save some money, you can also look at the original Versa.
Our pick
Fitbit Versa 2
A sleek wearable
The Fitbit Versa 2 is an excellent fitness tracker with some smartwatch features, including notification support and streaming music. Unless you need a watch with a built-in GPS, this is a great choice.
Budget pick
Fitbit Versa
Older, yet sleek
The original Versa still tracks all of your exercises, including lifting, running, and swimming. Now that a Versa 2 is available, the original Versa is more affordable.
A powerful pick
Fitbit Ionic
Fitbit’s most powerful wearable
The Fitbit Ionic is a bit dated and chunky, but it’s Fitbit’s most powerful wearable. It has a plethora of fitness tracking features as well as notification support, built-in GPS tracking, and Fitbit Pay.
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