Fitbit Versa 2 to enlist Alexa to tackle Siri and the Apple Watch 5
Earlier today we brought word the Fitbit Versa Lite smartwatch hasn’t exactly replicated the success of the full-fat predecessor.
However, the fitness tech giant has a plan to reignite the range thanks to a little help from our old friend Alexa.
According to the leakmaster general Evan Blass, the Fitbit Versa 2 will offer support for Amazon’s voice assistant and all of the associated benefits.
There’s no word from Blass on how it’ll be implemented, but the presence of Alexa will no doubt add plenty of weight to Fitbit’s efforts to rival Siri on the Apple Watch and Google Assistant on Wear OS watches (we’d say Bixby on Samsung watches too, but that AI assistant still has a long way to go).
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Fitbit already has one of the most useful Alexa skills, with users able to request their current step counts, how they slept the previous night, so we can expect that, alongside more of the general Alexa functionality like controlling the smart home.
According to Blass, the company is also bringing a broader hardware update to the sequel device, with an AMOLED display replacing the current LCD panel. The case is also getting a bit of a revamp, according to Blass, which makes it look a little bit more like the Apple Watch.
Overall the watch looks great, especially the gold variant with the woven band and matching clasp. There’s no news on when the watch will arrive and how much it will cost, but Fitbit will be hoping the sales are more like the original and less like the Lite.
In our review of the original Fitbit Versa, we praised the excellent battery life, slick and comfortable design and the wide variety of fitness tracking options. We bemoaned the absence of standalone GPS, so hopefully the company addresses that this time around.