Fitbit’s Versa undercuts Apple Watch on price and size

By Warren Miller, contributing writer

Fitbit has already attempted to compete with Apple’s iWatch in the wearable tech market with limited success — but that isn’t stopping it from trying again. Fitbit’s new Versa smartwatch is a more streamlined edition of its predecessors with less functionality and shorter battery life, but it’s also cheaper. For the entry-level price of just $199, Versa purchasers will get a more meat-and-potatoes version of its ancestors, the Fitbit Blaze and the Fitbit Ionic.

Unlike the Ionic, the Versa doesn’t have GPS or mobile capabilities. It does, however, run on the familiar-to-Fitbit-users Fitbit OS and is waterproofed for swimming. It still has a heart rate monitor and comes preloaded with a condensed version of Fitbit Coach, an exercise program app that suggests timed workouts and activities (the complete edition of Fitbit Coach will cost you $39.99). The Versa can also store approximately 300 songs and stream music from sites like Pandora if you like to listen to music while you exercise.

Additionally, Fitbit plans on introducing a female tracking mode (similar to Apple’s Health app) that can track female users’ menstrual cycles and send alerts if anything out of the ordinary occurs. You may not want your watch to know that much about your personal health, but don’t worry — it’s optional.

Image source: Fitbit.

Unlike the iWatch, however, the Versa is compatible with many different smartphone operating systems — Android, Windows, and iOS are all supported. The Versa still employs the same sensor cluster as the Ionic, a system that Fitbit hopes can help users track sleep apnea in the near future.

The approach of creating a low-cost watch with add-on applications, at a price, could be a winning model for Fitbit. If the platform is stable enough, the price attractive enough, and developers can be encouraged to create compelling apps, Fitbit might be able to leverage a low-cost platform into a profit generator. It worked for razor blades, right? At least for a while.

All of which leads to the inevitable question: Can the Versa help Fitbit reclaim its position from Apple as the most popular manufacturer of wearable technology? It’s hard to bet against Apple at this point, but a simpler, more cost-effective option than the iWatch could appeal to users looking for fewer bells and whistles than the iWatch provides — or Fitbit hopes it could. The Versa is available for preorder now and will begin shipping in April, so we’ll have our answer soon enough.