Fitbit Versa 2 release date, price, news and leaks

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The Fitbit Versa 2 is likely on its way, so we're hopefully going to see a new fitness tracker/smartwatch hybrid very soon.

Ever since Fitbit moved from simple fitness trackers like the Fitbit Alta, to decent smartwatches like the Fitbit Ionic and Fitbit Versa, we've been waiting for the company to make the perfect wearable device. They all come very close, but each has one or two too many missing features to be considered perfect.

• These are the best Fitbits
• This is what we thought of the Fitbit Versa
• How to charge your Fitbit

With the Fitbit Versa 2, the company has another chance. We've heard a few leaks and rumors about the device too, enough to make us pretty sure it's coming soon, and they paint quite a pretty picture.

With that in mind, we've compiled this list of what we know about the upcoming fitness tracker, as well as what we'd like to see in it.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The successor to the Versa smartwatch
• When is it out? May launch in late 2019, although nothing is certain
• What will it cost? Probably at least £199.99 / $199.95 / AU$299.95

Fitbit Versa 2 release date and price

The original Fitbit Versa came out in April 2018, which is quite a long time ago in the fast-moving tech world, but Fitbit doesn't always stick to yearly cycles.

We did see the Fitbit Versa Lite in April 2019, so the Fibit Versa has technically seen a successor in 2019, but that's a pared-down version – we're expecting to see an improved model sometime too.

There aren’t any price rumors, but the Versa 2 will probably cost at least as much as the £199.99 / $199.95 / AU$299.95 Fitbit Versa. We’d be surprised if it costs much more than that though, since one of the main selling points of the Versa is that it’s a more affordable alternative to the Fitbit Ionic.

Fitbit Versa 2 news and rumors

There have only been two main Fitbit Versa 2 leaks so far, but they contain a lot of important information – if they're correct.

Firstly, it looks like the Fitbit Versa 2 could come with Amazon Alexa integration. This would let you communicate with the AI assistant using your voice on the go, whether that's to check the weather before a run or to change your music without fumbling with a device.

It's a big feature, one that would change the way you use your fitness tracker, so we're intrigued to see if it makes its way onto the device.

This leak also included other possible details about the watch, including 4+ days of battery life, 18 exercise tracking modes, contactless payments through Fitbit Pay, support for music playback, and a design similar to the original Fitbit Versa. Indeed, other than Alexa these features largely sound similar to what that watch offered too.

Another leak suggested the Fitbit Versa 2 could have an AMOLED display, which is a premium screen tech and would be a big step up from the Fitbit Versa, with its LCD display. The move could allow for clearer and more striking visuals.

http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eoHj7pnQuSp5KsvWS4mAr3.jpg

The Fitbit Versa Lite

One advantage of LCD, however, is that it can potentially be seen much better in daylight thanks to the way the tech works, so an AMOLED screen might not be the best choice of display tech for a fitness tracker you're planning to wear outside.

Although we don't know much about the fitness features the Fitbit Versa 2 will include, we can take some educated guesses.

For a start, it will probably have all the same features as the original Versa, including a heart rate monitor, a water-resistant build and a color touchscreen.

Of course, it will also presumably have new features and improvements, perhaps including some of the ones in our wish list below.

What we want to see

If Fitbit does make a Versa 2 there are a number of key things that we want from it. They are as follows:

1. Give it GPS

GPS is the main missing feature from the original Fitbit Versa. As it’s largely a health and fitness device, GPS would be hugely beneficial to it, so we’d really like to see it on the Fitbit Versa 2.

There’s no guarantee we’ll get GPS, especially as Fitbit will presumably want to differentiate it from the Ionic range, but equally some major improvements will be needed to justify a new model, so GPS is an obvious upgrade.

2. A more grown-up design

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The Fitbit Versa looks alright but there's room for improvement

The Fitbit Versa is lightweight and comfortable, but it also has a slightly cheap, childish design, which we’d like to see rethought for the Versa 2. A more premium finish and a slightly less chunky build with smaller bezels would be ideal.

But we don’t want any of the comfort to be lost in the process, since that’s one of the most important design aspects if you’re going to be wearing this in the gym.

3. A week of life

The Fitbit Versa has reasonable battery life by smartwatch standards, coming in at around 3-4 days in our tests, but that’s a step down from the Fitbit Ionic.

For the Fitbit Versa 2 we’d love to see major strides made in this area, so that we only have to charge the battery roughly once every week.

4. Less fiddly contactless payments

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You can make contactless payments on the Versa but not as easily as we'd like

You can make contactless payments on the Versa using Fitbit Pay, but if you’re outside the US you might find the list of supported banks quite limited, and wherever you are the process can be fiddly.

That’s because you have to input a PIN on the Versa’s tiny screen, which can often lead to you pressing the wrong buttons. So we’d like to see this step either removed or tweaked so that contactless payments can be as speedy and slick as they really should be.

5. A similar price

One of the main selling points of the Fitbit Versa is its low price – at least compared to the Fitbit Ionic, and while we’re hoping for lots of upgrades we don’t want to see the price to go up too much in the process.

Keeping the Versa 2 at around £199.99 / $199.95 / AU$299.95 while adding GPS or other features could make it the activity-tracking smartwatch to beat.

• Best Fitbit 2019: which is right for you?

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