Fitbit Sense vs Versa 3 (2021): Comparing Fitness-Focused Smartwatches

Fitbit recently took the wraps off new wearables focused on health and fitness, among which are the Sense and Versa 3.

Put simply, the Sense is the new priciest, flagship option with Fitbit’s most advanced features and sensors to match. Meanwhile, the Versa 3 is the latest addition to the company’s most popular lineup, coming with significant upgrades over its predecessor.

Fitbit Sense vs Versa 3 Comparison Chart

Design and Build Quality

The two look similar across the board.

At first glance, it’s hard to tell the two apart. After all, they each sport a square aluminum watch face with curved corners and AMOLED screen. On top of that, they’re equally polished and sleek.

Speaking of similarities, both have the same water resistance of up to 50 meters and battery life of more than six days as well. They also support fast charging that can provide one day’s worth of battery life in only 12 minutes, according to Fitbit.

The two have built-in GPS and GLONASS too, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise in the Sense’s case. On the other hand, this represents a welcome improvement for the Versa 3 since one of the biggest complaints about the Versa 2 is it only supported connected GPS. That meant you always had to take your phone with you if you wanted to track outdoor workouts such as running.

Fitness Tracking

Either smartwatch can track steps, calories burned, floors climbed, and distance traveled.

The Sense and Versa 3 have the basics down pat. They can track your steps, distance traveled, floors climbed, calories burned, and even your active minutes.

Both also pack more than 20 exercise modes to choose from, and they have SmartTrack to boot, which automatically detects your workout and keeps track of it.

Health Tracking

Under the hood, the Sense has more sensors for health tracking.

In terms of health-focused features, the Sense sets itself apart from the Versa 3 in many ways.

While the two can track sleep, menstrual cycle, heart rate, and SpO2 (blood oxygen), only the Sense has an ECG or electrocardiogram. Moreover, it has an EDA or electrodermal activity sensor to monitor your stress and record your skin temperature.

Smart Features

Both wearables are as smart as the other.

When it comes to smart features, the two are similar. Both can store songs and podcasts from Deezer and Pandora, and they can be used for playback controls for Spotify as well. They also support notifications for calls, texts, calendar events, and apps such as Gmail and Facebook. You can send quick replies or voice replies via their microphone too, but this feature is exclusive to Android.

Both have NFC, and that means they’re compatible with Fitbit Pay. Voice assistant support is also in the mix, and you can use either Google Assistant or Alexa.

Verdict

Except for the health-tracking features, the differences are few and far between.

Clearly, the Sense is the more feature-packed smartwatch here, specifically in the health-tracking department. That’s thanks to its ECG and EDA. However, if those don’t really matter to you, the Versa 3 can go a long way. It’s more affordable, and it’s on pretty much the same level when it comes to tracking activity and basic health metrics such as steps and floors climbed.

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