Fitbit Versa, launched last year, has brought Fitbit back to business after the failure of Fitbit Ionic. Fitbit has launched the more pocket-friendly version of the popular Versa - Versa Lite Edition.It is in fact the lowest-priced smartwatch from Fitbit so far, priced at 22,000 INR. The price cut comes with a lot of trade-offs, there is a reduction in the number of features. Fitbit has maintained its stand on simplicity and completeness.You can read the review on Fitbit Versa Lite Edition here to know if it is in fact a smartwatch that reaches out to those who are unsure of owning wearables.

Fitbit Versa Lite Edition: Design

On the design front, the Lite Edition is almost a replica of the original Versa. However, the Lite Edition has only a single button on the side instead of two. According to Fitbit, the one button on the side, instead of two, will be more convincing to those who are not too tech-friendly.However, the touchscreen usage will go up and so will the related inconvenience especially during workouts when you have to access the touchscreen with sweaty fingers. Also, with just one button to operate, shortcuts to various apps and features are not available on Versa Lite Edition. The Fitbit Pay is absent on the Lite Edition and is available only on the Versa Special Edition. Except for the above-mentioned changes, the Versa Lite Edition is pretty much the same as the original Versa as far as design is concerned. The new colours available for Lite Edition are mulberry and marina blue in addition to silver aluminium.The straps for Versa can be used on the Lite Edition as well. In partnership with PH5, Fitbit is coming up with more bands in silicone. Fitbit is keeping up its innovation in design and colours (for its smartwatches) to keep up with its main rival, Apple Watch.

Fitbit Versa Lite Edition: Features

Other than the side buttons, there are a few features that Fitbit has compromised to bring down the price of the Lite Edition. But before looking at whats missing, lets look for what it does have! It has an optical heart rate sensor to track your workouts and runs on FitbitOS software.It has a sleep monitor, SpO2 sensor, an app store and many watch faces. The battery life of the Lite Edition is up to four days.The main feature that is missing is music storage, and support for third-party music playlist apps, which essentially means you have to depend on your phone for music.However, you will still get playback controls. It can be accessed with the long press on the side button.

There is no built-in GPS on the Lite Edition. So once again, you will have to rely on your phone for GPS tracking. All this means, the watch is not smart enough to free you from carrying the phone around.Swim tracking is another major feature compromised, which is due to the removal of the gyroscope that counts laps. However, Fitbit Versa Lite Edition is water-resistant up to 50m. But except for data on calories burned or move minutes, you do not get anything more on swim data.The removal of altimeter has impaired the measurement of step climbing and other altitude climbing activities. The Fitbit Coach, which gives you a personalised workout insight is also not available on the Lite Edition. There is no Wi-Fi either. For software updates, the downloads will be done in the background and it will be installed once it is fully downloaded

Fitbit Versa Lite Edition: Fitness, health and heart rate

The fitness tracking on Versa Lite Edition is similar to the original Versa and includes the basics like step count, heart rate monitoring, Strava support etc.Menstrual tracking is available on the Lite for women users. It also has a sleep tracker. The heart rate monitor works on optical sensors and its performance is not bad except for tracking the heart rate for high-intensity workouts.The Versa Lite Edition constantly receives tweaks in its algorithm and is getting better in its features consistently. The heart rate readings are not too variant from what is seen on various reliable chest straps like Polar H10.The average and maximum heart rate are almost the same as that seen on the chest straps, except that the real-time heart rate reading was lagging behind. This delay is similar to that found on any other heart rate monitor based on an optical sensor.

Unless you are too specific about the accuracy of heart rate reading, Fitbit Versa Lite Edition works well.Sleep tracker on Versa Lite is the real hero. It tracks various stages of sleep throughout the night and Fitbit Sleep Insights give you a customised insight to improve your nights sleep. There are no complaints on the accuracy of the sleep tracker. The watch is a bit slow to recognise that you are awake after your sleep. But altogether, Fitbit does a better job than many others in the market.It has the same SpO2 sensor as seen on the original Versa. Currently, this sensor can only collect data and cannot be used for detailed health tracking. But the SpO2 sensor does a neat job in sleep tracking by sensing sleep disturbances.Disturbed sleep is considered to be a symptom for a condition called sleep apnoea. Once Fitbit gets FDA approval, the SpO2 tracker will be very useful in detecting atrial fibrillation as well.

Fitbit Versa Lite Edition: As a smartwatch

Fitbit entered into the world of smartwatches about a year ago with Fitbit Ionic. The smartwatches from Fitbit have their pros and cons. The app store lacks many apps compared to other competitors.However, Fitbit has been careful in adding a few essential apps like Uber. All said and done, Fitbits OS is a bit slow sometimes.To let the battery run longer, Fitbit has settled for a low-power performance which makes the smartwatch experience less smooth compared to its rivals.

Fitbit Versa Lite Edition: Battery life

The battery life remains the same as that on the standard Versa. It offers a life of around four days, sometimes a bit more. Without the overuse of battery draining features, it can even extend up to five days.The battery life, however, outdoes the performance of the Apple Watch and other Wear OS smartwatches. Having outsourced GPS and music to the phone, the watch can save its battery.But regular fitness tracking and using multiple apps frequently will drain the battery faster.

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