In terms of design both of these trackers are lightweight, small and discrete to the point where you might not notice you are wearing it.
Due to the addition of the heart rate monitor the Inspire HR is slightly thicker and you are able to swap out the bands on both. The material differs between the Inspire that has a durable elastomer material with a peg and loop whilst the Inspire HR uses silicone with an aluminium buckle and tang. You can of course get 3rd party straps from Amazon, Etsy and even Fitbit themselves.
The face of the unit is a 128 x 72mm greyscale OLED touchscreen and there is a single button that allows you to select options as you navigate through the settings
Fitbit Inspire
Fitbit Inspire HR
Both are water resistant to 50 metres and can do basic swimming tracking in terms of duration. They both come pre-loaded with a number of apps that allow you to track steps, distance, calories burnt and other things you’d expect from a fitness tracker.
The fact that the Inspire HR has the heart rate monitor opens up features that are not available on the base model. Particularly the following:-
Cardio Score
Connected GPS
Sleep Stages
2 to 5 minute guided breathing exercises
Conclusion
Unless you are on a really tight budget it is worth spending the little extra for the HR as the extra functionality will let you do that little bit more with your tracker and benefit from some of the more recent innovations.
Either way both of these trackers are good entries into the fitness tracker world.
New devices come out all the time with the Inspire 2 succeeding the Inspire it can be hard to keep up. The majority of features are shared across devices and it isn’t always obvious what makes one fitness tracker different from another.
We’ve made this showdown of the Fitbit Inspire 2 vs Charge 4 to help you in making the right choice for you.
First and foremost the Inspire 2 is cheaper than the Charge 4. Mostly accounted for by the fact that you get more advanced fitness functionality on the Charge 4. The Inspire 2 is trying to compete with the Garmin Vivosmart 4 as an activity tracker.
The Inspire 2 also comes with a 1 year subscription to Fitbit Premium which offers access to extended metrics
Battery life
Both devices will charge from 0 – 100% in around 2 hours using a USB cable based charger. In normal usage the Inspire 2 offers 10 days and the Charge 4 offers 7 days. This difference in battery life is mainly down to the more advanced power consuming functionality available on the Charge 4.
For the Fitbit Charge 4 if you use the built in GPS battery life drops significantly to around 5 hours which can be quite limiting for longer exercises such as hikes.
Realising this is a big limitation Fitbit have given the Fitbit Charge 4 a software update called Dynamic GPS to extend the battery life. Dynamic GPS works out if your phone is nearby, if so the tracker will use the GPS sensors on your phone, if not it will use the on-board GPS – quite a neat idea.
Design
Both the Fitbit Charge 4 and Fitbit Inspire 2 are small, slim, lightweight and discreet devices. If you are in the small is beautiful camp the Inspire 2 is slightly smaller than the Charge 4.
The main downside of the small size of both of these trackers is that there isn’t really enough real estate to display the key metrics on the display. On the Fitbit Inspire 2 for example you will need to set alarms within the Fitbit app and not on the device itself.
Size
Model
Length
Width
Height
Fitbit Charge 4
1.4 in
0.9 in
0.5 in
Fitbit Inspire 2
1.47 in
0.66 in
0.5 in
Colors
Inspire 2 is available in black, lunar white and desert rose
Charge 4 is available in black, rosewood, storm blue / black
If none of those suit, it’s worth checking the range as there are occasionally special editions such as the Reflective Granite which is currently available for the Charge 4
As with most recent Fitbits you can customise to your taste using accessories. The Fitbit Charge 4 even has a special clip mode to allow it to be used with a clip – although you will lose some functionality like heart rate tracking
Exercise Features
Once we start getting in to using the Fitbit’s for activity tracking the key differences between the Inpsire 2 and Charge 4 start to become apparent.
The functionality below is on the Fitbit Charge 4 but not on the Fitbit Inspire 2
On-board GPS and heat maps
Fitbit Charge users have been desperate for on-board GPS for a long time and the Charge 4 is the first in the range to have a dedicated on-board GPS functionality.
This means that the GPS can now track GPS based activities such as running, cycling and hiking with ease. It also opens up heat maps in the Fitbit app.
Heat maps are a great way to do post workout analysis as you can take a look at your running route in the Fitbit app and visually see where you were running the fastest or had the highest heart rate based on the colour of your route at that point.
Smart Features
As both of these devices are more fitness bands than smartwatches they do not have a lot of smart features.
Both watches have the ability to show smart phone notifications and send quick replies on Android.
The key difference over the Inspire 2 is that the Fitbit Charge 4 has contactless payments via Fitbit Pay and can control music on your phone using Spotify Connect.
What’s the same?
Active Zone minutes
With the Charge 4 and Inspire 2 Fitbit are evolving away from the simple step counting days of old. The goal now is to earn Active Zone Minutes. Using the heart rate sensors Fitbit check whether you are in the Fat burn zone where you get 1 Active Zone Minute for every actual minute. Or, you can double your money and get 2 Active Zone Minutes for every 1 minute you are in the Cardio or Peak heart rate zone. The baseline goal from the WHO requires 22 Active Zone minutes daily although this can be changed up and down.
Swimming
Both devices are water resistant to 50 meters and allow you to track your lengths in the pool
Which one should you buy?
It really comes down to what is important to you. To help you out we’ve identified a few questions below and recommended a winner for each one.
Fitbit Inspire 2
Are you looking for a clip on tracker?
Are you new to fitness trackers?
Do you want long battery life?
Do you prefer small?
If you answered Yes to any of those questions we recommend the Fitbit Inspire 2
Fitbit Charge 4
Are you looking to upgrade from an older Fitbit like an Alta?
Do you want to use your Fitbit to do contactless payments?
Do you want to GPS track your runs without your phone?
If you answered Yes to any of those questions we recommend the Fitbit Charge 4
In conclusion, the Fitbit Inspire 2 is aimed towards people who have never owned a fitness tracker before, whereas the Fitbit Charge 4 is best suited to upgraders or people with specific needs for the more advanced functionality.
The Fitbit Versa range fits neatly into the category of fitness smartwatches. By taking some of the features of smartwatches such as notifications and combining them with their fitness tracking guile Fitbit hoped to provide an affordable alternative to devices like the Apple Watch.
The original Fitbit Versa did this with great commercial success. So much so, Fitbit have launched a successor the Fitbit Versa 2.
So between the Versa and Versa 2 which one is best?
Should you upgrade if you own the Fitbit Versa?
Take a look below as we pit them head to head in a showdown to help you decide
The Fitbit Versa is a very capable fitness tracker and if you are constrained by budget still a great choice.
The Versa 2 takes all that was good in the Versa and adds a little extra – an incremental improvement not a revolution.
Taking into account value for money, faster processor, longer battery life, AMOLED screen, integrated NFC chip for Fitbit Pay the Fitbit Versa 2 is our winning pick.
Key Differences
Alexa integration: The Versa 2 allows you to its Alexa integration to perform functions on your watch such as setting the alarm
Display: The Versa 2 comes with an AMOLED display which is much brighter than the LCD version on the Vera.
Always on display: The Versa 2 has the ability to set the screen so that it is always on – does affect battery life
Battery life: The Versa 2 in normal use which is around 1 day more than the Versa
Price: Fitbit are pricing the Versa 2 so that in most cases it is the same price as the original Versa
Design
From a distance you would be hard pressed to spot differences between the Fitbit Versa and Fitbit Versa 2. The Fitbit Versa 2 has a slightly larger screen and aesthetically its styling makes more use of curves. Overall, the design of both is still very similar to the Apple Watch.
For physical controls the Fitbit Versa 2 has dispensed with the 2 buttons on the right of the Versa leaving one button on the left hand side which can be linked to a shortcut.
The Fitbit Versa 2 also has the same mechanism for changing straps as the Versa. Definitely no improvements here. It’s still very frustrating to change a strap.
Sizing
Height
Width
Depth
Fitbit Versa 2
1.56″ / 3.98 cm
1.56″ / 3.98 cm
0.47″ / 1.19 cm
Fitbit Versa
1.55″ / 3.93cm
1.55″ / 3.93 cm
0.45″ / 1.14 cm
The Versa 2 did away with the Fitbit logo from the Versa resulting in a little bit more screen estate, the device is also ever so slightly deeper. On the wrist it does feel slightly bigger but not to point where you will notice a massive difference.
Fitbit Versa 2 vs Fitbit Versa Showdown
When comparing Versas we use a range of common fitness tracking features. In each category 1 point is assigned to the outright winner and 0 to the loser. In the case of a tie we give 1 point to both devices. The Versa with the most points is the winner of the showdown. The features we use include:-
Battery Life
Display
Fitness Tracking Features
GPS Capability
Heart Rate Monitoring
Music Capability
Sleep Tracking
Water Resistance
Battery life
The Versa 2 manages to extend the Versa’s already impressive battery life from around 4 days to just over 5 days for normal usage.
For upgraders, it is a bit frustrating that the previous charging dock can’t be used
Score
Total Score
Fitbit Versa
0
0
Fitbit Versa 2
1
1
Display
The Fitbit Versa has a 1.34 inch color LCD touch screen with 300 x 300 pixel resolution which towards other devices on the marker can look a bit dated
The Fitbit Versa 2 keeps the 300 x 300 resolution but is now an AMOLED touch screen
When comparing side by side the Versa 2’s screen is much brighter and the colors have a lot more depth with a much better contrast.
Another feature added to the Versa 2 is an Always on Display a great boon and with the latest Fitbit OS there are a number of clock faces that are Always On.
Score
Total
Fitbit Versa
0
0
Fitbit Versa 2
1
2
GPS Capability
Fitbit have decided to stick with the same connected GPS capability.
Does that mean I have to take my phone to track my run?
Yes, as neither Versa has an onboard GPS chip the only way to track a GPS run is by connecting your Versa to your phone and taking your phone along with you.
Score
Total Score
Fitbit Versa
1
1
Fitbit Versa 2
1
3
Heart Rate Monitoring
This is a tie as both devices come with the same heart rate sensor which operates 24/7 and continuously collects data points to enable Fitbit to calculate a cardio score.
Score
Total Score
Fitbit Versa
1
2
Fitbit Versa 2
1
4
Music Capability
Both devices have the ability to store music on-board which can be listened to using bluetooth headphones. The Versa 2 comes with a Spotify app pre-installed which is not currently available on the Versa.
It is important to note that it is not possible to do sync your Spotify songs to your Versa 2. The Spotify app is available for Spotify Premium subscribers and acts like a remote control where you can use your watch to control your Spotify connected device.
Score
Total Score
Fitbit Versa
0
2
Fitbit Versa 2
1
5
Sleep Tracking
Sleep tracking is always been well regarded on Fitbit devices. The Fitbit Versa 2 takes this a bit further by providing a metric known as your Sleep Score to give you an insight to your overall sleep quality
Score
Total Score
Fitbit Versa
0
2
Fitbit Versa 2
1
6
Water Resistance
Both devices have water resistance to 50 metres and can be used in the pool. Although neither device has any swim tracking functionality and simply record your active time.
Overall, we think there is no compelling reason to upgrade if you are happy with your current Vera. A lot of the functionality is Fitbit OS specific and will probably filter down to the Versa in time. You need to make the decision based on whether some of the new functionality such as Always on Display, Alexa integration and quick replies on Android are important enough for you to spend the cash and take the leap.
Should I buy the Fitbit Versa or the Fitbit Versa 2?
If it comes down to a decision between the Versa and Versa 2 you need to decide whether the newer features on the Versa 2 are important to you.
If you can live without them both watches share a lot of similar functionality – why not save yourself some cash and go with the Versa.
On the other hand, if you want to benefit from the brighter AMOLED screen, alway on display functionality and Alexa integration Fitbit are pricing the Versa 2 very competitively against the older model.
