We just got our best look at Fitbit’s next two fitness-focused smartwatches, thanks to some new product images.
The fitness tech brand is apparently set to release a new Fitbit Versa 4 and Fitbit Sense 2 sometime in the not-too-distant future, based on images found by 9to5Google (opens in new tab) that have been publicly disclosed by a regulatory agency.
The Versa 4, the more popular and probably cheaper of the two, doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor. Its design, once again, appears to lack an ECG sensor, an electrocardiogram sensor that can detect irregular heart rhythms that were until now exclusive to Fitbit’s Sense line.
The images also suggest it will still have GPS, it will be waterproof to 50m and it will have a microphone so you can use voice controls and activate snoring detection. The most interesting thing is that instead of gaining new features, you are losing one.
Unless Fitbit has a new method for tracking temperature, the Fitbit Versa 4 appears to be completely lacking the feature, according to 9to5Google.
Sense 2 received a few more changes than Versa 4, although many of them are quite minor.
In terms of design, it looks quite similar to the original Fitbit Sense, albeit with a tactile button and sensor placement. The original Sense’s button wasn’t really a proper button, as when pressed it didn’t push the watch and just vibrated in response to touch – but Fitbit changed that in the Sense 2. Based on the screenshots, it looks like it’s going to be an actual mobile component this time around. .
Furthermore, the ECG sensor built into the watch case also appears to have changed. Instead of being a ring that encircles the watch, it now sits under the outer edges of the screen. Fortunately, this won’t affect performance, but we’ll have to try it out to be sure.
Last but not least, as noted by 9to5Google, the rear sensor array on the underside of the watch has had an update. It remains unclear whether the new design facilitates new functions or just makes it better at doing what Sense was already capable of. Interestingly, Versa 4 appears to have made no changes to its matrix. Coupled with the loss of temperature tracking, this lack of tech updates could be an attempt to lower the price of the Versa, to distinguish the Fitbit Sense 2 as the “premium” option.
There’s no word on when Fitbit will say anything more official about the Versa 4 and Sense 2, although some leaks theorize that it will be September based on previous releases. With these images now out in the open, Fitbit will likely want to make an announcement soon to take back control of the narrative, but we’ll have to wait and see.
