Fitbit Charge 3 vs. Fitbit Versa: Here's What's Different

Sliding in an October already full of watches and clothes, the Fitbit Charge 3 – arriving at stores Oct. 7 from $ 149 (£ 130, AU $ 230) – promises to be the best tracking of the overall fitness of the company. And yet: Fitbit already has a watch, the Fitbit Versathat's a lot of the same things (and a little more) for just $ 50 more.

Confused? Do not worry, I am here to help you.

I have been wearing Charge 3 for only a few days, and a full review is forthcoming. But here's what I can tell you in the meantime, based on my first experiences so far.

It's a comfortable and relaxing fitness group. Unlike widescreen watches, the Fitbit Charge 3 retains a slim, vertical screen look just like its predecessor. The included elastic feels super comfortable and comes in two sizes out of the box. Among the other bracelets, you will find a woven nylon – not bad, but I did not like it as much as the Versa woven watch strap – and a sporty perforated rubber strap, which is quite comfortable. I did not try the Horween leather bands because I would not wear any leather bands anyway with a waterproof fitness tracker.

The wider screen and the touch screen make the difference. The OLED grayscale format is clearer, more readable, and more textual for messages. The true touch screen allows you to switch from one application function to another, or up or down for notifications and formatting statistics.

The haptic button sensitive to lateral pressure is really nice and the vibrations are strong. Instead of a physical button, you tap an indented area of ​​the steel case to quickly access settings, or pause or stop your workouts. The vibrations are stronger than those of previous load monitoring.

The navigation is a bit weird, though. Switching to functions such as the timer, alarms, breathing / relaxation mode or even starting a workout gives you the impression of playing a lot of penalty. It is easier to start an exercise quickly with the Versa.

It's waterproof, finally. This tracker is suitable for showering and swimming, which Charge 2 was not. It's a big deal, and matches the Ionic and Versa watches.

There are applications, but only a few. Call them modes or applications, or whatever you want, but there's an exercise mode, a relax mode, the weather, an alarm, a stopwatch and a timer. Fitbit could add other applications in the future, but there is no application store like Versa or Ionic.

There are faces, but only a few. Again, there are a handful of face styles combining statistics and time, which can be selected from the Fitbit phone app. But there are no others, unlike the hundreds of fun options of the Versa.

It does not have the additional coaching application of Fitbit. I do not use Fitbit Coach and subscription services do not excite me, but they are not even accessible on Charge 3. The Versa is endowed with a Coach app and a few sessions. free workout included.

Optional Fitbit, but no music storage or remote play. An improved edition of $ 20 includes Fitbit Pay based on NFC technology and an extra strap, which is not a bad deal. Fitbit Pay does not work with as many banks as Apple Pay, Google Pay and others, but … it still does not work with my credit card, which is that of a nice American bank. In addition, for music lovers, do not forget that unlike the Versa and Ionic models, which can store MP3 files downloaded from a PC, and that basic music playback controlled at distance from the music of a phone, support music at all.

The heart rate has been a little weird on my exam unit so far. As always, getting heart rate statistics always useful is helpful … but up to now, the readings are high. I love the readings of Fitbit's instant heart rate. But my resting heart rate reads far more than my actual physical pulse, or what the Apple Watch on my other wrist tells me. I will talk more about it because I still carry the charge 3. It's hard to tell what's going on.

So feature-rich as the Apple Watch, it offers better battery life and better sleep tracking. The Apple Watch Series 3 has music, an optional cell phone, a speaker, a headset, a microphone for Siri and the series 4 even has an electrocardiograph and a fall detection. But the Apple Watch costs more ($ 270 and more), only has a day and a half of battery and does not have a fixed sleep tracking. The Fitbit Charge 3 promises an autonomy of seven days (up to three and more), and allows to follow the sleep, and the cost is much lower.

A full review will take place next week after we have tested more.