Welcome to "Wesknows" tech news and reviews! Fitbit ionic was the fitbit
flagship since 2017. with the release of the versa 2, fitbit
has introduced a second flagship model to its range of smartwatches!
we've taken a good look at both models and put them in a head-to-head
comparison to work out which one holds the
advantage! if you are new to Wesknows Tech News
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so you don't miss out! it's important to remember that both smart watches have
almost identical functionality. the UI is the same - if the versa 2 does
it, so does the fitbit ionic. pricing is also
similar both cost around 200 pounds or 200
dollars. there are really just five factors or differences that distinguish
these smart watches from each other. the first being display type. the versa 2
uses an amoled screen while the ionic has an lcd panel.
secondly ionic uses a slower cpu simply because it was released 3 years
prior to fitbit versa 2. the design is quite different on the two
watches. versa 2 is much more of a subdued ionic, smooth corners
and not as conspicuous as the fitbit ionic. the fourth factor is
the limited but nonetheless awesome voice control
added to fitbit versa 2. it has amazon's alexa and you can even
talk your replies to texts. the ionic doesn't have a
built-in microphone hence it misses out on voice control but
the ionic is much more functional in terms of sports, as it does have
inbuilt gps. the versa 2 on the other hand is
focusing on smartwatch functionality and offers connected gps only.
having covered the highlights let's dive into the details!
we'll run through key areas including things like designs,
displays, pricing, and features to make sure that you can make an informed
decision about the watch you really need. effectively the main differences between
the 2017 flagship ionic and versa 2 lie in the watch designs.
in my view the ionic from fitbit is very cool.
think about it, it doesn't pretend that it's a classic watch by design.
it's a very sporty smartwatch, it looks techy
and actually embraces the futuristic notions behind the smartwatch idea. the
ionic watch case is square sitting in a plate of contoured
aluminium. it's pleasantly cool to the touch,
the glass has ever slightly curved and spans the watch face from corner to
corner. there are three brushed metal buttons
around the case. one hardware button on the left hand side,
with another two on the right. you will notice that the back of the case is
slightly raised and that is also well thought through.
because your wrist doesn't get sweaty when you're pushing yourself.
the bands are attached directly to the aluminium case in a lug-less fashion,
again emphasizing the sportiness of the watch.
the gray silicone strap in front of us is wide and tapered,
hugging the watch to your wrist. a bit of a let down is the plastic clasp.
considering the watch case is aluminium we would have thought that the clasp
could be aluminium as well. forget about universal appeal people
either love it or hate it! both smart watches are relatively light,
the ioniq is just 47 grams and versa 2 is 38 grams with the straps on.
meanwhile the versa 2 is a slightly refined version of the original versa
design, smoothing away some of the corners and
losing the fitbit logo on the lower bezel, also a squarish watch
case but with softer rounded corners. the case is also aluminium but much less
distinctive than the ionic. There's only a single
button on the left of the watch case. Notice that the bands are also tapered
to the side for that seamless look but the straps here are the usual 20
millimeters replaceable bands. the clasp is also made out of plastic.
the band is significantly thinner and less rugged than the one
on the fitbit ionic. the fitbit ionic features a coloured
1.42 inch LCD display - it's so bright! going up to 1000 nits, the resolution is
250 by 348 pixels. while the versa 2 has a 1.34 inch AMOLED
display, with a resolution of 300 by 300. And
frankly, it's not nearly as bright as the fitbit
ionic. Both watches have touch navigated
displays accompanied by the buttons rounding the watch cases.
these are flagships and hence both have auto brightness available,
as well as always on display options, adjustable screen timeout periods and so
forth. additionally of course you also have
tons of watch faces to download from the fitbit app store.
to ensure the watch face is always just the way you like it.
the versa 2 has an inbuilt microphone and hence
that opens up a whole array of options. One of which is access to amazon's "Alexa".
it allows you to ask questions and make requests with your voice.
so use the shortcut button or click on the app and ask away.
let's see how it actually works.. and just a tip here, yes,
you need an amazon account to use alexa on versa 2!
okay so we've mentioned voice control and you probably went all jittery with
excitement and rightly so, not only do you get to
chat to alexa, if you have it paired to an android
device you can speak replies to messages and it will turn those into text.
the ionic misses out on voice control due to not having an
inbuilt microphone. Sports and activities management brings us to the topic of
in-house gps. The versa 2 tracks exercise and can be
taken to just about any activity including running, biking, and free
exercises in the gym. it's water resistant up to 50 meters so
you can take it swimming, you can keep up to seven activities in
your shortcuts but there are 20 to choose from on the watch.
the versa 2's achillies heel is the ionic's strength and prominent advantage!
the versa 2 doesn't have a built-in gps so you'll have to use a smartphone on
your runs. the ionic does have a gps receiver
and hence can be used independently from your smartphone,
so the ionic does have an upper hand in sport modes.
Here's a tip if you're looking for sets of exercises to get back into shape
or get fitter check out a personal coach app you get by the fitbit app store.
the app is great as it provides guidance, it times you, as well as actually showing you
how to perform the exercises. this brings us to "smarttrack". there are
seven auto recognizable exercises like walking, running, and biking but the
additional smarts kick in with adjusting when the activity recording kicks in.
Smarttrack is continuously running calculations to detect when you've been
moving for 15 minutes or more but you can adjust the setting to
anything from 10 to 90 minutes, really. if you are wondering why this is so
useful - let's imagine that you just popped outside to the shop
by your house and the walk to the shop is only 5 minutes,
you probably don't want the watch to start recording this as a sport
activity. But if you are out in the park and have been walking
for, say, over 10 minutes then the activity recording will kick in.
very intelligent indeed! by following the intensity and patterns
of your movement smarttrack recognizes the activity that you're doing
and tracks your stats when you have finished. A workout summary
automatically gets locked to the fitbit app.
you can download up to 300 songs onto either your ionic or versa 2
for listening on the go. however it's a bit of a gimmick on the versa 2
because if you're a runner, biker, or hiker you potentially would go out
without your phone and you would need inbuilt gps in your
smartwatch, as you do on the fitbit ionic. Nevertheless for the
occasional sports, the versa 2 should suffice since you
would most likely have your phone with you at all times
and use the smartwatch as an accessory to the phone.
here's a tip, you can download the "spotify" app to your watch,
there's just one little caveat in that the ionic and versa 2 spotify apps work
only if you have the premium subscription service!
both watches charge from flat to full within 2 hours.
the manufacturer is claiming 6 days plus for the versa 2
and 4 days plus for the ionic, with casual use.
in general, i agree with the claim for ionic but the versa 2's battery juice
ran out within 4 days for me. fitbit just can't seem to come up with a consistent
charging dock for its models. the ionic uses a charging cable that has
a magnetic pin that attaches to the back of the watch
case. while versa 2 opts for an awkward clamp-like dock you
clamp the case. But then the clamp cannot be placed flat
on any surface because the cord is sticking straight
out of the back of it. To reiterate, both fitbits are almost
identical except for five major differences,
which include the display type - AMOLED versus LCD.
Also, ionic uses a slower cpu simply because it was released three years
prior to fitbit versa 2. there's no voice control on ionic while
the versa 2 has amazon's alexa and you can even talk your replies to texts.
but ionic has inbuilt gps, the versa 2 on the other hand is focusing on smartwatch
functionality and offers only connected gps. design is quite
different on the two watches, versa 2 is less techy and looks like a
much subdued ionic. all in all the versa 2 is more of a
smartwatch and ionic is more sports oriented due to
the inbuilt gps. both are intelligent and useful for
daily wellness insights, getting fit and staying connected. But
it's down to you to decide where your preferences lie. By
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