Fitbit launched the Fitbit Versa series a few years ago. The first Fitbit Versa looked a lot like a now-defunct Pebble watch. There is a good reason to that, but we are not going to get into it.

All I wanted to say there is that I personally really wanted a Pebble smartwatch when they existed. Their smartwatch is unlike whatever smartwatch that was available at the time. They were not running any fancy Operating System (OS) that overcomplicates a smartwatch at the time and either slowed down the watch, or even reduce its battery life by half. They actually look very pretty as well, in my opinion anyway.

When they came up with the Versa 2, Fitbit pushed a few more upgrades to it. It had Fitbit Pay too, which is technically an e-wallet solution by Fitbit themselves. They said that they will be working with local banks and merchants to make the feature available, we have not seen much from that yet. We are still waiting for a wider adoption by merchants. Gyms and fitness centres, in our minds, would be the perfect places to start.

 Design wise though, it looked slightly more modern than the first Versa with rounded of corners on the display. It maintained a physical button, we liked that. The display looks a little sharper and better too, for some reason.

Then they introduced the Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Sense in 2020. To be fair, both are very similarly designed. If you do not know Fitbit devices, you might mistake them as the same smartwatch.

The Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Sense are not that dissimilar in terms of function and features too. It is to the point that the website for both devices tell you pretty much the same things. They are a little different though, the two.

Unlike the Versa 2 as well, the two new devices from Fitbit comes with a new generation strap that is not interchangeable with the older wrist straps. So, if you upgraded from a Versa 2, you have to retire the older straps you might have bought as well.

What is the difference between the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3 though? Which is the smartwatch for you? Could you still walk away with a Fitbit Versa 2 at this point and be happy? We tested the MYR 1,498 Fitbit Sense to tell you.

Design

As we mentioned earlier, the Fitbit Sense has a very similar design language to the Fitbit Versa 3, save for the glossy bezel top of the case surrounding the glass that houses a 1.58-inch AMOLED display. The body, according to Fitbit at least, is premium stainless steel. That explains its glossy exterior.

The unit we have is the black colour option with black strap. You can opt for a Soft Gold option with a Lunar White strap. To be honest, the Soft Gold looks better in photos or renders. When we unboxed the Black on Black variant though, we found that we liked the finish more than we thought.

The design language is technically just an evolution of the Versa series from Fitbit, rather than a complete redesign. It is a little more rounded off in the corners of both the body and the display. It is still a square-ish design, not quite rounded. In a sense (no pun intended), the new Fitbit still looks very much like it is part of the Versa line-up.

The added curves though make the device look a little more modern than before. The Sense looks more at home and more subtle than the older devices. Of course, the black finish does help it blend into the wrist a little bit more.

The glossy rings surrounding the display is what differentiates it from the regular Fitbit Sense. The Gloss finish is only interrupted by two small plastic looking bars on both sides of the smartwatch though. We suspect that the plastic inserts are important for the Sense to receive GPS signals properly, or even for a more stable Bluetooth connection.

The biggest noticeable difference when you pick up the device though is the missing physical button. The Fitbit Sense, as well as the Versa 3 is now relying on a haptic button on the left side of the smartwatch. The ‘button’ does not even look like a normal button, it looks like a dimple, or recess on the flush body of the Sense. Not that we are saying it is an odd-looking thing.

In our opinion, the buttonless approach keeps the body look a bit tighter. We think that it looks good to without a physical button on the side. It keeps the body look flush without interruptions in its lines.

You find that the Fitbit Sense also retains a mic hole that you notice on the Versa 2 on the back plate (or at least part of it). But there is an additional recess on the body that houses two additional holes, one larger than the other. The holes look like they house an additional mic and a loudspeaker unit.

The Fitbit Sense’s speaker unit and mics work with Amazon’s Alexa and supposedly Google Assistant. For now, only Amazon Alexa activation is available for the wristwatch. Google Assistant should be available later in the year, according to Fitbit. The speaker and mic units also indicate that the Fitbit Sense is built with a capability to answer phone calls directly on the wrist. As of now though, we could not get the function to work yet. We are told that the feature will be available in a later update.

Then there is the shiny reflective silver plate that covers the bottom with Fitbit’s new type of 4-pin magnetic charger. This also means you cannot use your older Versa or Versa 2 chargers to charge your Fitbit Sense, although they have similar designs. To be fair the Fitbit Versa, Versa Lite, and Versa 2 has more in common with each other than the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3, in terms of design.

The shiny reflective plate that is also stainless-steel houses the heart rate sensor that scans your heart rate in real time as you wear the device. It also houses a built-in blood oxygen sensor now, something that the older Versa does not have. But the Sense is also supposed to come with an EKG sensor, which explains the shiny metal surface. Sadly, the feature is not yet available in Malaysia, because of that, you cannot access the EKG function of the Fitbit Sense yet.

The strap is a new type of strap that Fitbit calls an infinity band. It is very different from the older quick release strap that you see on the Fitbit Versa 2 and older. They claim that the material should feel better on the skin too, more comfortable. We do have to admit that the new band is slightly softer than before.

The latch mechanism on the older Versa smartwatches are very similar with the quick release straps of regular watches, which opens up possibilities for third-party strap makers to convert their straps into a Fitbit strap. Thing is, the lugs on the Fitbit Versa has a very unique shape to it that might not play nice with general watch straps.

On the Sense, they turned away from the general quick release mechanism and went back to their own quick release design that has worked in their own favour for the longest time. That also reduces the amount of ‘affordable’ or third-party options that you can find on the likes of Shopee or Lazada. Instead, now you have to go back to Fitbit for a different coloured or types of strap for your Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 that properly fits. Spoiler alert, they are not exactly cheap.

The Infinity Band that you get when you buy the Fitbit Sense has an incredibly unique latch mechanism that really secures the watch to your wrist. It only has a small metal latch part that inserts into the pre-made holes in the silicon strap. Once that is latched, you insert the extra ‘tail’ to the other hole on the strap, to keep things nice and tidy. That also means that there is no annoying metal latch that might catch on fabrics or cut into your skin if you strap your Sense too tightly. You still can go for the traditional type of metal buckle strap though; you just have to head to Fitbit’s website (or Official Online Store on Lazada) for different options. Again, you must get it from Fitbit to make sure that the strap actually fits. There is not much in choices yet though in terms of straps for the Fitbit Versa 3 and Sense.

The new lug mechanism is a clever one though. It is much easier to work with than the regular quick release lug. That also means that detaching and changing straps is a 5-second job. All you need to do to take the straps off is just push the tabs slightly and pull the straps away from the Sense. To attach a new strap is even easier than that, just push a new strap in and you are done. The new proprietary lugs also allow the straps to open wider on your wrist, which also means that it should fit bigger wrists better and more comfortably.

Features

Of course, when you buy a smartwatch you want it packed to the brim with different functions and features. Other than packing many watch faces you can choose from, the watch should tell you information like your heart rate, your breathing patterns, where you are, your past, your future, and even what you eat (we are exaggerating on some of these of course). It should be your secondary smartphone that you plonk on your wrist. You should not need to take out your smartphone to see what is on your smartphone.

Notifications

With the Fitbit Sense, you do not really need to take out your smartphone to know what is on your smartphone. Everything that your smartphone gets, your Fitbit Sense can get also. We are talking in terms of notifications, as per the subheading.

We said ‘can’, and not ‘will’. That is because you can choose what notifications the Fitbit Sense takes and which notifications to ignore. You can just set the watch to vibrate and notify you when emails come in, for example. If you wish to ignore Whatsapp for that entire day, you can even turn notification off for Whatsapp.

All these are done through Fitbit’s app. You do not have to dig around to find the notification settings too. You just enter the app, click on your Fitbit device from the app, and the notification settings should be right in that home screen.

Notifications are quite instant too, meaning you will not be missing important calls even if your device is on silent. Notifications are also very dependent on your device though. If you have turned off notification of an app on your smartphone, the notification will most likely not reach your Fitbit Sense as well, by default.

Having notifications on your smartwatch is quite a standard affair these days though. Most smartwatches will also continue to give you vibrate notifications throughout the night if you let it. This is one of those.

Unlike the Fitbit Versa 2 that I personally had, the Fitbit Sense does not automatically turn to sleep mode at your set bedtime. You need to turn the smartwatch on and turn it to sleep mode manually instead. Sleep mode also means that your Always-On Display is turned off to save battery and to allow you to sleep in complete darkness. That, while muting all kinds of notifications, except for the alarms already set on your Fitbit.

Rather than violently shaking your wrist to bits with the alarm function, the watch also has something called Smart Alarm. This is a technology unique to Fitbit watches too. The watch learns your sleep patterns and wakes you up at the most appropriate time before the set alarm time. The most appropriate time also means when you are in the ‘light sleep’ stage of your sleep. That is also not to interfere with your sleep patterns, and you wake up easier, and less grumpy

Fitbit App

The Fitbit App has evolved to one of the best smart wear companion apps available today. It has evolved from just being a smart fitness tracker to an integrated smart wear app. You can track your activities on it. Fitbit is also one of the brands to integrate real-time heart rate monitoring in their smartwatches and that translates to the app as well. It is also your sleep tracker, and your daily organiser, sort of.

In that regards, we would like to see some integration between the Fitbit app with the clock app on your smartphone. The current app does not keep track of the alarms you have on your smartphone, which also means that you have to manually set the alarm on the Fitbit Sense yourself. While the Fitbit app allows you to input your own bedtime and your wake-up time, it does not share that information with the smartwatch to automatically set an alarm for you to wake up. It does remind you that it is nearing your bedtime though, via your smartwatch and smartphone.

You can have an integrated calendar though, via the Agenda App by Fitbit. The Agenda app automatically syncs with any calendar app you have on your smartphone. That also means that you can keep track of your events, or meetings, or appointments from your wrist as well. If you set your calendar app to notify you on an event, you can get that same notification on your Fitbit Sense. The Agenda app itself too will notify you of an appointment.

Of course, the Fitbit app is more than just about managing your Fitbit Sense, or just controlling notifications. It is also your sleep tracker, and everything about your fitness fit into one. Technically it is your Today app that is also on your Fitbit Sense.

Of course, the information available to you is very dependent on the hardware on your wrist. The Fitbit Sense is a unique smartwatch in the range of Fitbit smartwatches because it has a skin temperature sensor for when you sleep, and something called an EDA (Electrodermal Activity) scanner. The Fitbit Sense also has an EKG sensor which is not really used or activated in Malaysia yet.

Skin temperature apparently plays quite an important role in your health. Your skin temperature should typically reflect your core internal temperature with minimal variations. Variations in your skin temperature can determine your health status. That is also why it is important to keep the variation pattern of your skin temperature. The measurements are done mostly when you sleep though, with the Fitbit Sense. The issue is, if you want access to the variation data it is behind Fitbit Premium paywall. If you opt not to pay the MYR 43.99 a month fee, you only get a daily average data.

EDA meanwhile is a measurement of your skin perspiration corelating to your heart rate too. This is a measure of stress levels, technically speaking. So yes, the watch tells you if you are stressed our or not. It even helps you ‘relax’ with some basic meditation programs. Mental health is important too, you know.

Before we forget, the Fitbit App only allows you to have one Fitbit Versa or Sense device paired to the app. That means if you have a Versa 2, you might want to think of selling it or giving it away to your loved ones.

Fitbit Premium

If you pay the MYR 43.99 a month for Fitbit premium, you get more than just daily average readings of your skin temperature. You get to find out what it means too. You also get access to a more comprehensive sleep and heart rate data instead of the basic average tracking that you get.

Perhaps the biggest push for you to get a Fitbit premium subscription though is daily exercise recommendations and regimes. Those might prove useful in this work from home situation. But you get a more in-depth analysis of your sleep patterns too, which might be useful the next time you see your doctor. Exclusive to the Fitbit Sense, you get even meditation recommendations and programs on top of exercise regimes and recommendations.

While subscription-based services are a norm these days, there are certain things that we thought should not be behind a paywall. Yes, Apple does charge for more functionalities and services for their Apple Watch, but they do not hold information back. You still get all the data that the Apple Watch could track for you, whether you pay for it or not.

The Fitbit Premium subscription forces Fitbit’s customers to pay for data that users might want or need for their own analysis. Things like heart rate during sleep, or even movement data when you sleep is not something that you should keep behind your pay wall, in our opinions. You could, however, access your heart rate data during your sleep by just heading to your heart rate monitor though. In that case, why not just make the collected data available to your sleep analysis in the first place?

Once you start paying for the subscription though, you get access to more than just data. You can get access to a personal health or fitness advisor. You get access to Fitbit’s tailored health, diet, and fitness programmes via Fitbit Coach. Some of them are genuinely great programs to get active with in this pandemic situation. On that front, we can agree on the subscription. We still do not see the point of paying just for accessing that little bit more data though. You might as well spend your money on something like a Samsung Galaxy Watch for that.

The Non-Button

Before I go on and mislead you, there is still a button on the Fitbit Sense, I am not contradicting myself. The Fitbit Sense has a button still, a regular single button like the older Fitbit Versa. It is not a regular button with spring mechanism though. It is a haptic touch button, like the ones you might be used to with the Fitbit Charge, for example.

The only thing is that I do find that kind of button on a wristwatch quite annoying. With a regular button, while it does spoil the clean lines a little bit, you get a tactile feedback of knowing when the button is pressed. With a touch button, you hardly know.

The only good thing is that the touch button on the Fitbit Sense is a pressure sensitive button. That also means that you have to press the button like you mean it for it to respond. It even works with a glove; just in case you are curious. But that also means that just a small pressure on the button might turn the watch on. It even triggers if you push it against your own wrist.

While that is not perfect, it is the same set of problems you are presented with when there is a traditional button in the way too. While the traditional button is gone to be replace with this pressure sensitive sensor thing, it is still placed at the left side of the device like any Fitbit fitness tracker does. That little dimple too is helpful since it is deep enough that your thumb or finger can feel it when you reach for it. Then again, you cannot go wrong with placing your thumb in the middle of the left section of the Fitbit Sense.

Charge Quickly and Openly

The new charger is not the clamp style charging dock that you are used with traditional Fitbit fitness trackers anymore. That also means that you cannot be re-using your old Fitbit Versa or Versa 2 charger. Even the Versa 3 has moved away from that old clamp style charger, by the way.

The charging dock is a much smaller package now that you can fit in your electronic pouch in an instant. Smaller also means that it is easier to lose, so you might want to keep that in mind. But smaller is also better for travels and convenience.

Because the charger does not clamp either side of the Fitbit smartwatch anymore, the buttons are now exposed. The exposed button helps with setting up the device for the first time. You need the charger to get your device up and running anyway. But with the buttons exposed, you can get the screen to work without moving your watch around without looking like a crazy person too.

Once you set it up, you might still want to look at the watch when it is charging to check if it is fully charged and even check the time of day. The exposed button is a great improvement in that aspect. When you pick it up too, you will still be charging your device, because magnet.

The new charger is a magnetic charger so it will automatically stick to your device to charge when you place the Sense near it, neat. But the magnetic charger also means that the charging pins are put in a completely different layout compared to the older Versa devices (it does not have to, but why not). That also means that you cannot use this charger to charge your older devices. In that case, make sure you find the old charger if you want to pass on the older device to your family or friends. In this pandemic situation also, we encourage you to give the older device a thorough clean before passing it on.

The new charger is also even faster than before. If you managed to get the battery flat on the Fitbit Sense, the charger gets you up and running again in 12 minutes, provided you have the right charger. This is also part of their marketing blurb; “a full day’s charge in 12 minutes”. That is not full charge though.

We do find this claim to be quite true. If you find that your smartwatch battery has dwindled a little bit to near empty, you get it plugged to the charger, get changed, do your quick toilet break, wear your shoe, tie it down, and you are ready to get going again for a whole day technically. A full charge will typically take about an hour or so too, which also means that you might want to include a quick shower and grooming into that routine before heading out and you are ready to take on even more days with the Fitbit Sense. We will talk more about the battery life later though

OLED Display

We usually include this section in performance. The issue here is, on a smartwatch, the display is more of a feature to have than a performance gauge. Most smartwatch displays are not high-resolution, high-speed, ultra-bright displays that you use to perform digital magic with anyway.

The display on the Fitbit Sense though is still a very pretty display that we have expected since the Versa 2. Like the Versa 2 as well it has an OLED display with super black blacks and vivid colours. Fitbit did not officially mention the resolution of the display because it is truly unimportant.

The OLED display is also bright enough under direct sunlight which is brilliant because you still can see it when you are out and about, at least I can. You might want to choose watch faces that has plenty of blacks too though. The reason for that is so that the Fitbit Sense does not blind you when you are trying to see it in the middle of the night, or when you are in a movie theatre. It also ensures that you do not disturb other people in the theatre, or your partner who is most likely fast asleep.

But OLED displays has more things going for it. For example, because it is more power efficient, your battery life is extended compared to normal smartwatches. That, or you can make your package a lot smaller than necessary packing smaller sized batteries. Thanks to that too, Always-on Display is possible, and looks great because the colours are so vivid.

Performance

The performance of a smartwatch is determined mostly by the virtues of its functions though. To us, the experience that you are going to have with the smartwatch is more important that how fast it churns numbers. So, what if the watch packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series (it does not), It is not like I can play games on the watch anyway (there are no games in the Fitbit app market). What is important then is how fast we can work with it, and how much more convenience we get with the watch.

User Interface

The Fitbit Sense comes with Fitbit’s own User Interface (UI) and Operating System (OS). It is an interface unique to Fitbit’s smartwatches and we foresee it in future smartwatches. They did not mention what sort of hardware the Fitbit Sense comes with to run the OS, just that it runs.

We like the layout of the Fitbit OS very much on the Versa and the Versa 2. They make plenty of sense with big icons occupying the display as you scroll through the interface. Looking at notification is as straightforward as pulling the display down as well, very sensible. While scrolling from bottom to up gives you up to date information from weather, to your heart rate and what not. On the left of the watch face screen is your quick settings like sleep mode or Always-on Display mode.

Everything is where they are meant to be and very intuitive after the first minutes of use. The icons are big and easy to read on the tiny display that is the smartwatch. What we find very annoying on most smartwatches is that the icons for apps or functions are very small on the display. That also means that you need a high degree of precision to make the watch work. Fitbit’s OS only allows you to display four app icons on one menu scree, which also means that you most likely will get the right apps to launch the first touch. Even the quick settings menu only has six big buttons on the screen.  The only issue then is that you have to do a bit more scrolling that usual. Not a deal breaker still.

The UI can lag a little sometimes. We actually hoped that Fitbit improved their OS a little bit or put something a little more powerful to accommodate the sensors and make the UI feel a little smoother. Instead, the same lag when you input and when changing screen that the Versa 2 had can also be seen here. Even opening apps can be quite slow with the Fitbt Sense. There is just no sense of consistency in that too, one app opens in an instant, and another app takes forever to open and load.

Still, at least the app layout looks consistent most of the time. There are plenty of blacks that is used on the UI, which is also good because it makes the whole top looks like the display. Of course, the information screen is shown in a certain area of the display with quite large bezels (for smartwatches).

Most of Fitbit’s app screens has a center background glow too to add some flair and visual drama to the app. When the app is open, the app is laid out like a list, which also makes plenty of sense. It helps you comb through all the important information quickly and makes everything looks bigger and more accessible. The only issue is that scrolling through can be a bit of a pain sometimes because the display registers your touch as a press rather than scroll from time to time. So, you need to be a bit more precise here.

Navigating through the watch is also easy enough. You click to open an app, you click through again to access a specific information, and you press the single button on the side to get it out to the home screen. To go back to the previous screen, simply swipe from the left to right of the display. The button can also have a programmable long-press function. We set ours to launch Music, but you can easily set it to do other things like launch an app on your Fitbit Sense.

Yes, you can control the music app on your smartphone with the watch as well. With the Spotify app you can control Spotify on any device that is playing music with your Spotify account. But the Music app allows you to control the music that you play through your Bluetooth paired smartphone device regardless of the app you use (Tidal is not on Fitbit’s app store). Of course, to enable this you would have to dig into the settings a little bit and allow Sense Control under Music Control. This is a definite improvement over the previous Versa 2 and Versa music control. We also find the Spotify App to be a little finnicky for our liking, working 80% of the time and not working for the remainder of the time because it cannot detect any devices playing on your device for some reason.

You can easily load up music into the device too though via the app if you have Deezer. We do not have Deezer, which also means that it is quite pointless for us to try connecting our Bluetooth earphones to Fitbit Sense also at this point. Fitbit says that the Sense can connect up to eight Bluetooth devices, including a Bluetooth speaker. Still, if you have Deezer, you might want to do that so that you do not have to bring your smartphone out for a quick run.

There are also plenty of watch faces you can choose from in their app market too. While you cannot find the same faces as the Apple Watch or Samsung’s Galaxy Watch, or even stuff from Android Wear, there are plenty of selections from Fitbit’s app market that you will not be bored with the watch face. Either that, or you will find one that suits you in terms of visuals and information load.

Exercise mode

According to Fitbit’s website, the Fitbit Sense has over 20 exercise modes with SmartTrack. You can set your own exercises and set your own goals based on all the exercises. You can go as basic as a simple running, bikes, circuit training, hiking, HIIT, Golf, and even martial arts. Kickboxing is even put into its own category here. The only thing we have done with the watch is go for a quick run though (I am not very fit).

In some of these exercise modes, like running and bike mode, the Fitbit Sense is connected to GPS to track your location and creates a pathway. Of course, the GPS data is also used to measure the distance you have travelled, and even your pace. You can refer to all these data collected on your Fitbit app too, to make life easier.

Of course, like any other modern Fitbit devices, the Fitbit Sense also automatically jumps into exercise mode when it detects your heart rate spiking above a certain rate for a prolonged period. In that sense, you do not need to go into individual exercise modes all the time just to get your Fitbit to log data. The only issue is, it might not detect the sport that accurately, which also means you might need to go back into the watch to get it into the correct mode.

However, it does not contain all the right exercise modes too. One of the most popular past-times or sport in Malaysia is Badminton, which also happens to be my game of choice. That also means that the only mode I can set the Fitbit Sense to, in this sense, is either Tennis, or just let it go to regular sport mode, like I have done on the Fitbit Versa 2.

In those modes it accurately tracks your heart rate and puts it in a nice chart for you to look at after your exercise. It even tells you when your heart rate is at a fat burning stage and what not. Thankfully, in regular sport mode, not much information is hidden behind Fitbit’s Paywall.

Most of the exercise modes can also be tweaked a little bit before you set off on your exercises. You can set them to collect all sorts of data like lap times, number of steps, average speeds, calories burnt, target heart rate, target time, and what not. All the exercise mode can have largely the same data sets too. Of course, not all the data that is being collected are useful to the exercise you are doing at that time. For example, lap times and lap count data are a little pointless in Tennis.

Battery Life

We touched a little bit on the new fast-charging dock. We touched a little bit also on how fast it charges. In all our tests, the Fitbit Sense charges in about an hour if you plug it to the right power source. Of course, Fitbit does not include their own power brick for the charger. They only give the dock with an open USB Type-A end.

This practice is not new for Fitbit though. They have never (in our knowledge) included a power brick to charge your device with. While it is quite unthinkable, it is not such a crazy idea. When you have decided to buy a Fitbit device today, you would already be using a smartphone that comes with a power brick with a USB Type-A port to charge your smartphones. If not, you would also have an extra OEM power brick lying somewhere. If you do not even have that you can plug your charging dock into a PC’s USB port, and it will still charge the Fitbit Sense with a slightly lower charge speed, but it will still charge.

While observing its charge speed (yes, we actually put a stopwatch while watching the charge on the Fitbit Sense go up), we found that the Fitbit Sense will charge fully in about an hour no matter the charge state of the battery. The Fitbit Sense will charge very quickly when there is little to no charge in the Fitbit Sense (with a dedicated charger). The charging speed slows down after a while though, we suspect to extend the battery shelf life. But we also notice that fast charging the device accumulates a heap of heat on the Fitbit Sense, which might not be too comfortable on your wrist right after the charge.

That also means that charges will take about an hour or so before the display lights up to tell you that it is fully charged. Once charged, the Fitbit Sense is quoted to last about 6 full days (a full day for their claim is 24 hours). Keep in mind that the quoted battery life does not consider Always-on Display, which we are using. In our use case we get about four to five days in battery life. It also depends if the watch is constantly on your wrist all-day. A typical use case in my personal experience is wearing the watch only when I am going to bed, heading out, or going for an exercise (at home or out).

Of course, you could save battery by turning off Always-on Display. Your choice of watch face could also dramatically affect its battery life. More blacks, for example, on your watch face uses less resources on the display and therefore consumes less battery life.

While we never got six days out of the Fitbit Sense, it does not mean that the battery life is less than average. The last time we got battery life longer than the Fitbit Sense was from a Garmin smartwatch without a touch sensitive LCD as its main interaction interface. To be fair, those Garmin devices are in their own class as adventure and fitness focused smartwatches.

That said though, even 4 days in battery life is already at least twice or three times more than what you can get from an Apple Watch and most Android Wear devices these days. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 could hold itself up to about 3 days at a maximum with all its function on. In that sense, for something that you rely on inside and outside your house, 4 days in battery life is nothing short of amazing and something anyone can appreciate. Of course, Fitbit devices have always been known to have an exceptionally long battery life from a package no bigger than your automatic watch at home.

We also appreciate how small and compact the charging dock is. We mentioned this earlier, we know, but bear with us a little bit here. The charger can be easily packed into my electronics pouch for a quick trip to a foreign land; Singapore let us say. The charger could be easily left at home though if I am only abroad for two nights since the battery holds a charge for about four days for me. Packing the charger for a ‘just-in-case’ situation though is easy enough and does not add bulk and weight to our bags. We like this even better than the older clamp style charging dock that does not sit properly anywhere.

The Fitbit Sense – Sensible All-Rounder

The Fitbit Sense is not just a small improvement over the older Versa line-up though. It is not a Versa+, not really. It may look and feel similar, but I think that it sits in a slightly different category. It technically is a more premium Fitbit Versa 3 in a sense, I admit. But the whole form factor and functionality is a big improvement over the Versa 2. The newer ergonomics slightly more rounded and softer shape of the Fitbit Sense makes it look more modern, more ‘stealth’. It looks like it belongs on the wrist as a fashion item now. It is stylish.

Then there is the same great UI that we are very easily used to from the Versa series. The OLED display makes everything looks sharper than before and better. We may not agree too much with their shift to a proprietary strap lugs, but it is much easier to work with compared the Versa 2. In that sense, it is a big sensible upgrade.

All these things are packaged in a body that holds a speaker and mic that can theoretically work with phone calls, and even Google Assistant. It already works with Amazon’s Alexa, so the other two should work nicely too. Inside the body is also a potentially game changing feature that is disabled only because of regulation irregularities in the country. Once it is available though, it would be an especially important feature.

You also get more than 2 days of battery life with it, which also means you need not worry about its charge or whether or not it will faithfully serve you through the day without dying. You do not need to carry its charger everywhere you go to0, you do not even need to take it off at work. Even if you need to carry its charger, it is so small and light that you can throw it in your gear bag quickly without adding bulk.

We admit though that we are not in total agreement of the paywall that Fitbit puts up for certain extra information from their trackers. You are already paying a premium for these items. The Fitbit Sense will set you back MYR 1,498, more expensive than any other Fitbit that you can buy today. The most expensive Fitbit in the range of Fitbit fitness trackers only comes with 6 months of Fitbit Premium trial, not even one year. We think that this is a little ridiculous given the timing of its launch too.

The Fitbit Sense is an MYR 350 premium over the Fitbit Versa 3, though. In a lot of sense, they are the same sort of smartwatches with one or two differences in material choice and sensors packed in. They offer the same battery life too, with also over 20 exercise modes. The display is technically similar, alongside the very familiar UI from Fitbit. That also means you can get the same watch faces.

At this point, because the Fitbit Sense is a little crippled by certain restrictions, the Fitbit Versa 3 would seem like a better buy since it is cheaper. We agree with that too. You get a less flashy matte finish case too, which contributes to the ‘stealth’ look better. You do not get unnecessary functions with the Versa 3 too, so that is that. With those out of the way, it should be quite a straightforward choice for you at this point.