This article is more than 1 year old

Look! Fitbit's made a watch that doesn't suck!

Less weird, less clunky, and a four day+ battery life

Fitbit has taken the wraps off its second (or fifth, depending on how you're counting) smartwatch, Versa, claiming the new model has inherited Pebble DNA.

It's less weird and clunky than the much-vaunted Ionic, which was inspired by sci-fi movies. And cheaper than comparable devices - the Apple Watch or most Android Wear watches.

Fitbit acquired smartwatch trailblazer Pebble at the end of 2016, and support for the enthusiasts' wearable ends in a little over three months. The company had already pivoted to fitness.

The Versa looks the part, and the "more than four day" battery life is better than what Apple, Samsung or the Android competition can muster.

Versa [UK shop] has a £199 price tag and loses its predecessor's GPS chip but retains Wi-Fi and near-field communication (NFC), the latter for payments.

Hoping that Pebble's DIY ethos would transfer to Fitbit, taking the hobbyist community with it, was always a forlorn hope. Versa runs the new Fitbit OS, and any Pebble apps need to be rewritten to the new APIs. Fitbit bought Pebble for its development skillz, not its homespun, creaky OS.

But at least it's in the game. The Versa can be pre-ordered now and ships in "3 to 4 weeks". ®

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