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I have been a long-time user to FitBit and was always really pleased with the services they offered on their more basic bands. In 2019 when I upgraded to the Versa 2, I was told on numerous occasions that it looked like an Apple Watch, but I always found the functionality was superior. Around 6 months ago my FitBit stopped working, so I decided to buy myself the latest version of the Versa watch. This is my honest review of the Google FitBit Versa 4.
The Good
1. Affordable Price
When my original FitBit versa died, I did try to shop around and check out what the other smart watches were up to these days. I looked at the Garmin Vivoactive 5, Apple Watch SE, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, and finally, the Pixel Watch 2. Although some of the watches offered more tracking capabilities, or longer battery life, I just kept coming back to the fact that I have been with FitBit for many years now.
With so many years of tracked health data, I felt myself pulled towards another FitBit product because I didn’t want to re-teach a fitness app all of my baseline health metrics. So it ultimately came down to the Pixel Watch 2 or the FitBit Versa 4, and in the end the FitBit Versa 4 won on price.
In fact, out of all the smart watches I was looking at, the FitBit Versa 4 was the most affordable that also offered all of the same tracking that the other watches were offering (HRV, Steps, Calories, Sleep, etc.).
2. Better Band Attachment System
When the FitBit arrived, it was the same colour and fit as my previous FitBit, rose gold with a pink strap. Since Google purchased FitBit, I knew there would be some upgrades to the device and the first one I noticed was the magnetic attachment for the bands.
On my previous FitBit, it was a very finicky, annoying system of delicately maneuvering a tiny pin into a tiny hole. The area would very quickly filled with “gunk” and it was a pain to switch out the bands.
On the FitBit Versa 4, the bands are much easier to attach, with a very satisfying and easy-to-use snap-in system. There is still a space where gunk could collect, but I have been wearing my FitBit for almost half a year and it still clean in there.
Connected to Amazon Alexa
The last thing that I find really helpful with my FitBit Versa 4 is that I can connect it to my Amazon Alexa devices. So I can be wrapping up my day in the living room and quickly say to my watch “turn on the bedroom lights” and then my room is ready for me when I go to bed.
These integrations are great when you have even more devices attached, or if you use your Alexa devices to do things like make grocery lists on the go, play music, or have it answer questions for you. So far I have only used it to turn on the lights, but it’s a nice additional feature to have added to the watch.
HRV, Tap to Pay and Custom Backgrounds
A few other things that I am enjoying are either new to the FitBit versa or were on my previous FitBit but I thin they are worth mentioning here.
- The first is HRV, which is a new feature. When I was first using my FitBit versa, I had been doing a lot of research into HRV because of my work as a personal trainer. My sister’s and I even bought our mom the OURA Ring as that was the hot product at the time that was measuring HRV. So as I was doing my research for a new fitness tracker, I was very happy to see the FitBit had introduced HRV tracking on all of their new devices. Now that I am using the app, the tracking leaves much to be desired, but I am still happy to have that data.
- Tap to Pay was something you could always do on the FitBit Versa, but I find both of these tools useful. Tap to Pay is especially useful if you are using Google Wallet. However if you have Apply Pay, because this is a Google device, you won’t be able to use your FitBit to make on-to-go apple payments.
- I think that customization on any device has a sweet spot, and FitBit is one of those products that has found the sweet spot. With FitBit users designing watch-faces for free and some for a fee, you have so many options to personalize your watch face and get the data that matters to you. My watch face, for example, is a picture of my sister puppy and I can easily tap the watch face to get quick info about my steps, heart rate, Calories and battery life.
Now, unfortunately, this is where I find the my praise for the Google FitBit Versa 4 ends.
The Bad
1. Wake Settings
For some reason, when they redesigned the FitBit Versa 4, they changed the way the watch face wakes, or turns on. On my Versa 2, I just had to flick my wrist and the watch face would wake up, I could check the time or do whatever I need to do, and then flicking my wrist in the other direction would turn it off.
Now, it isn’t that easy and I have no idea why they would change it. Not only that but the button on the side is now an all-purpose button. Except for the one purpose that made the most sense – to turn off the watch. So now when I get the watch to wake, if I want to quickly turn the screen to black I have to just wait or cover the screen without touching the screen.
(You can’t tell, but I am typing this section furiously as this particular feature drives me a little crazy).
This becomes especially annoying at night. Again – on the Versa 2, I would set my watch to sleep mode, which would, understandably, mean that I would have to click on my watch in order to wake the screen and shut off that feature. That is not the case on the Versa 4. Now, when I hit the sleep button, I can’t just hit the button and the screen turns off and it stays off all night. No, I have to wait for the screen to turn off on its own.
And if, by chance, I make too sudden of a movement in the middle of the night, the watch face wakes up and my sleep is disrupted. For a fitness device, this is unacceptable. Sleep is so crucial for our health, and sleeping in complete darkness is so important for a good night sleep. So to have my fitness device be the culprit for waking me up in the middle of the night – it just doesn’t make any sense.
2. Timer
One of the main ways that I use my FitBit is to time exercises or rest times when I am at the gym. Between the 2 FitBit versa’s that I have owned, the set-up of the timer is pretty much the same, but once again they’ve changed the timer just enough that it is now annoying to use.
From what I remember, my FitBit Versa 2 would allow you to choose your time, and then I would either tap the screen or hit one of the action buttons on the side to start the timer. When I was done or if I needed to pause the timer, I would flick the wrist towards myself to wake up the screen, and then hit one of the buttons to pause the timer.
(Pause for deep breaths). On the FitBit versa 4 because they only have 1 action button, everything is touch screen. This is OK, but as with all touch screens they can be fickle and sensitive and calibration can make it very frustrating to use. As mentioned previously, the watch doesn’t wake up with a flick of the wrist, so when I am checking to see how much longer I need to hold a plank, I can’t just flick my wrist to check.
No, now I have to hit the action button, which sometimes just wakes up to the watch face and not the timer app, go to the timer app and make sure not to touch the screen once I get there for risk of stopping or reseting the timer.
It is something I have gotten used to, but I just wish they hadn’t changed that feature. It is a very simple and basic app, so just leave it alone and focus on adding more apps and features.
Speaking of apps…
3. Very Limited Apps
I know from friends who have apple watches that their apple watch is truly an extension of their phone. As an iPhone user (formerly Google Pixel), I do wish there were more integrations between FitBit and Apple, but I can understand why both haven’t innovated in this direction.
With that said, the FitBit app marketplace is pretty rough. From what I remember, there used to be an open marketplace for people to build apps for FitBit. Most folks were adding games, or custom timers, or another calendar app, which are all useless to me.
I have a couple different fitness apps like the Hevy App for tracking workouts, Renpho for body composition, HeadSpace and Calm for mindfulness, and SoundCloud for music. None of these apps are available on my FitBit to quickly check stats, start a meditation, or change the live set I am listening to on SoundCloud. Renpho does have an app-to-app integration with FitBit, but there isn’t anything I can add to my watch.
Final Thoughts
As with all fitness trackers, none of them are perfect. The battery life is good on this watch, but there’s definitely better. The calories are likely very over or under estimated, and I somehow do about 200 steps every night in my sleep. I don’t expect perfection from a device that sits on my skin and trusts an accelerometer to know if I am walking or not, but at this point in the game of smart watches, I just wish the FitBit Versa 4 was better.
When Google acquired FitBit, I really hoped the FitBit would get a technical upgrade that is desperately needed. However, now that I have a post-google-acquisition device, it seems like Google bought FitBit for their technical expertise so that they can improve their line of Pixel watches and send FitBit devices to the graveyard.
This is a shame for all FitBit users out there as these devices were the pioneers of the fitness tracker space and it would be great to see them last and continue to push what fitness trackers can do to improve the lives and wellbeing of their users.
For now, I will continue to use my Google FitBit Versa 4, but in the back of my mind I know I am just waiting to save up enough for an upgrade. The watch does what I need it to do, but there are enough settings that I rely on every day with this watch that just don’t cut it for me anymore.
What are your thoughts on the FitBit Versa 4 or any of their fitness trackers? Are you using something else that you’re happy with? Let me know in the comments section below!
As a long-time FitBit user, I’ve always been happy with the functionality and simplicity of their fitness trackers. Back in 2019, I upgraded to the FitBit Versa 2, and while many people told me it looked like an Apple Watch, I personally found the Versa’s features superior for my fitness needs.
What do you think of the FitBit Versa 4? Are you using a different fitness tracker that you love? Let me know in the comments below!
Riley Pearce 
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