Fitbit today has officially launched its new fitness-oriented smartwatch, Versa in Malaysia. Considering that the device was first announced to the world just a month ago, it surprisingly didn’t take too long to be made available in our market.
In many ways, the new smartwatch is almost identical to the Ionic which made its way into Malaysia at the end of last year. Just like its higher-end sibling, the Versa is able to track more than 15 specific exercises which include running, biking, yoga, weight training, golf, hike, tennis, stairclimber, and circuit training although only 7 can be displayed inside the Exercise section of the watch at one time.
The Versa can also be used to track swims and it is able to withstand water depth of up to 50m. Of course, users can also used to keep track of their daily steps, floors climbed, burned calories, and sleep through the watch.
Built with the wrist-based PurePulse heart rate monitor, the Versa also comes with the SpO2 sensor as per Ionic but similarly, it is not yet being activated for users since Fitbit is still testing applications that are suitable for the sensor. While Fitbit Pay is not yet available in Malaysia at the moment, the company has included NFC into all Versa smartwatches that are released in our market to support the wireless payment feature.
With battery life of around 4 days, the Versa also comes with internal storage that able to fit more than 300 songs and supports music output via Bluetooth headset as well as Not to forget, users can also download clock faces and apps from the Fitbit OS App Gallery for the watch.
So, what made the Versa rather different from Ionic are generally down to two things: aesthetic design and GPS capability. As you can see, the Versa chassis has rounded edges which are not far off from the design language utilized by Pebble who was acquired by Fitbit few years ago.
Unlike Ionic, the Versa doesn’t come with built-in GPS. However, a feature called Connected GPS allows the watch to utilize smartphone’s GPS for users that require real-time pace and distance to be shown on Versa during their run or bike ride.
Price-wise, the standard variant of Versa can be obtained for RM 990 while the Special Edition models which come with woven band goes for RM 1120. Fitbit has also released replacement watch bands for Versa in Malaysia which are priced from RM 130 to RM 420 depending on their types.
The Versa is available immediately through Fitbit’s own store on Lazada as well as well-known retailers throughout Malaysia including All IT Hypermarket, AONE Plus, Best Denki, Harvey Norman, Timekeeper, and Thunder Match Technology.
