Now that the weather is nicer, it’s a bit more of an incentive to get outside and run, walk or hike. If you need help to stay motivated and improve your health, tracking your activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep can help keep you on track for your goals. Fitbit Versa Lite is one of Fitbit’s newest fitness and activity trackers. I recently had a chance to spend a couple weeks with it to try it out and see what it can do. You can also check out my review of the new Inspire here as well as some of the other Fitbit gadgets I’ve reviewed over the years.
What is Fitbit Versa Lite?
Versa Lite is a smartwatch-style fitness and activity tracker. It has a wide square face but it’s thin and wearable and comes in some cool colours. Of course it’s got the ability to track steps and sleep automatically, but it does have some limitations compared to other devices in the Versa line.
What makes Fitbit Versa Lite different?
There are actually three Versa models; the Versa, Versa Special Edition and Versa Lite. Versa has all the step, sleep and workout tracking you’d expect, plus on board music music, on-screen workouts and more. The special edition adds on-wrist payments and two bands in woven and classic.
The Lite version has all the fitness and activity tracking but it won’t monitor floors climbed, swim lap tracking, it doesn’t store or play music, there’s no On-screen Guided Workouts (but there is workout tracking; run, walk, bike, gym, treadmill, weights, interval timer) or On-wrist payments.
Fitbit Versa (L), and Versa Lite (R)
Versa Lite does offer heart rate tracking. It also has built in timers and alarms and local weather available on the device, plus it has “relax,” a built in app to help you relax and breathe. It can also send text, phone and calendar alerts directly to your wrist, but you can’t respond to them on the watch.
The prices vary by model; Versa is about $249CAD Versa Special Edition is $299 and Versa Lite is about $199, making it the wallet friendly choice.
Setting up Fitbit Versa Lite
I paired my Versa Lite with the Apple iPhone. Usually, set up will be a simple process. Before you do it, make sure your Fitbit app is up to date, or download it from the Apple store or Google Play.
If you already have a Fitbit tracker installed on your account, that could complicate your set up. The last couple of times I’ve added a new tracker, the app won’t ‘see’ the new device.
Reboot the app, reset the tracker by pushing and holding the side button and try again. You may also need to remove any existing device from your account and restart the app before you can set up the new one.
To begin setup, plug your tracker in. Go to Settings> Add Device> and then choose Versa Lite.
What does the Fitbit app do?
The Fitbit app is your command centre for all your stats. You can check your steps, sleep, and exercise at a glance. You can also sync it to a Fitbit scale like the Aria 2 (read the review of Fitbit Aria 2 here) and have it automatically track your weight.
The Fitbit app launched female health tracking also not too long ago. It can track your periods and fertile days as well as other things like mood and any symptoms. Once you start adding your cycle, the app can give you an idea when your period will fall in the future.
In the app you can also add goals like how much sleep you want to get, and choose if you want your Fitbit to remind you it’s getting close to bed time.
Fitbit Versa Lite Features
With Versa Lite, you can track specific workouts in modes like Run, Bike or Weights to see real-time stats on screen and get post-workout summaries.
Fitbit’s SmartTrack automatically records select exercises like running, biking and more in the Fitbit app.
Fitbit also added Female Health tracking within the last year or so, which lets you log your period, record symptoms and compare your cycle against other health stats like sleep, activity and weight.
One of the biggest motivators is Personalized Reminders. With these nudges each day, you can stay on track toward your goals. Get the little reminders right to your wrist to stay active, get hydrated, or to head for bed at the right time.
You can also view text, phone and calendar alerts directly to your wrist, but you can’t respond to them on the watch. I paired the Versa Lite with the Apple iPhone and this worked really well, despite my having trouble getting the Inspire to deliver texts.
Sleep Tracking & Stages
See your time spent in light, deep and REM sleep stages & get personalized insights to help you improve. I’ve found the sleep tracking to be quite accurate, matching up with times I might be awakened, or gotten up to use the bathroom.
All-Day Activity
Track steps, heart rate, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, active minutes, hourly activity & stationary time.
Floors climbed available on Special Edition and Versa only.
Excellent battery life: Fitbit Versa Lite
Fitbits have great and long lasting batteries, meaning daily charging is a thing of the past. With the 4+ Day Battery Life on Versa Lite you don’t have to worry about running out of power just when your workout or your sleep begins. In my experience, I found I was definitely getting this much longevity out of the battery.
Heart Rate Tracking
Despite it being the ‘Lite’ version, there’s still heart rate tracking in this device. You can better track calorie burn, optimize your effort during workouts, see your resting heart rate trends to uncover your cardio fitness level. I like having heart rate tracking on my fitness watch, so I’m glad it’s here and it works well. Whether it’s truly accurate in terms of how it might compare to what your doctor can measure, I can’t say, but it does jive with the hear rate info I get from Apple, Samsung and other fitness trackers.
Looks & Styling Fitbit Versa Lite
Fitbit has come a long way from its early smartwatch styles. The Versa Lite is chic and colourful, slim and sleek, with a colourful face (and more customizeable digital face options). It’s definitely ideal for a woman’s wrist. Plus with additional add-on band options, it’s infinitely customizeable.
Overall review of Fitbit Versa Lite
There’s lots to love about this smart fitness watch; the colour display and interchangeable faces, it’s super easy to set up and to operate, and it does things like count steps and sleep automatically. It’s got heart rate monitoring which is a big plus, and I can get most of my alerts on it including texts, calendar notifications and phone calls. Even if I can’t respond to those on the watch, I’m getting them. The long battery life on the Versa Lite is also a huge plus.
If there’s potentially any downsides, it’s kind of hard to justify them. Missing features? Spend more and you can get them on other Fitbits. This one too big? Go with the Inspire instead.
Want to respond to those texts on the watch? You can get an Apple Watch.
Overall if you want a smart watch style fitness and activity tracker that works well, integrates nicely with your smartphone I can definitely recommend the Fitbit Versa Lite.
It sells for about $199USD from places like Walmart.
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