Fitbit Debuts New Versa 2 Smartwatch and $10/Month 'Fitbit Premium' Service

[Newtons Apple]

So sick of subscription services. Every company is jumping on this bandwagon to have never-ending income but not everything needs to be a subscription.

Yep, just ANOTHER company who wants you to leave your credit card with them!

I did FitBit for a while but their hardware sucked. A WARNING for all: buy your fitbit locally so it can be returned with ease. Dealing with fitbit and try to get an RMA right after a new device is a horror!

You want the truth, go look at the fitbit forums and the fitbit site!

 

[ani4ani]

Oh brother. This is like BMW charging to use Apple CarPlay...

They do in Europe

 

[PickUrPoison]

That's ridiculous. The Fitbit is not going to cost you anything per month. Only if you get the subscription service. The watch itself is half the price of an Apple Watch, has many features that are actually useful and has twice the battery life. I don't get why people on this forum are just focusing on the subscription service.

Agree re: the subscription service complaints, but not the “half the price of an Apple Watch” part. The Series 3 is $279 and often on sale; you can get the 38mm with cellular for $229 on Amazon as we speak.

Ultimately I think the subscription service will flop, though. I don’t see that bright a future for Fitbit but maybe they can pull off some kind of pivot. Going head to head with what looks like an Apple Watch clone doesn’t seem to be the best strategy, to me. They better figure it out though, the clock’s ticking.

 

[FFR]

No, but I can already do all of those things with my phone without additional cost anyway

That’s the point, I can do all of that without my phone.

The other poster made it look like the Fitbit offered cellular service for the 10 dollar a month subscription service, that’s disappointing guess Fitbit can’t really compete
With the Apple Watch.

 

[patthedog]

The Versa 1 provides a nice way control AirPods volume using the side buttons, without getting out your phone or using Siri (does anyone actually use Siri to control volume?)

Removing the right-side buttons on the Versa 2 seems like a step backwards.

Otherwise, I really like the Fitbit so far and am glad I chose it over the Apple Watch. 5 day battery life, sleep tracking. Continuous heart rate monitor works great, especially with the "Heart Rate Monitor" watch face. FitPay works in the Netherlands, whereas Apple Pay still has very limited support. Very approachable app development environment using HTML, CSS and JS. I much prefer the Fitbit over Apple Health when it comes to visualising activity and surfacing insights.

I'm definitely not in the market for a subscription service though.

 

[vvs14]

Agree re: the subscription service complaints, but not the “half the price of an Apple Watch” part. The Series 3 is $279 and often on sale; you can get the 38mm with cellular for $229 on Amazon as we speak.

Ultimately I think the subscription service will flop, though. I don’t see that bright a future for Fitbit but maybe they can pull off some kind of pivot. Going head to head with what looks like an Apple Watch clone doesn’t seem to be the best strategy, to me. They better figure it out though, the clock’s ticking.

If you are going to compare previous version of Apple Watch, then compare older versions of Fitbit too.

 

[DoctorTech]

I received an email from Kaiser Permanente that they are offering discounts for select smart watches so they are either experimenting with this or they see enough of a benefit to their members to encourage them to get smart watches.

I feel like it is still early on in this fitness device category so I expect trends to change and the research to be updated but human nature won't change or update. The gamification of fitness is interesting though because it taps into a certain part the brain.

I don't have an Apple Watch yet, that's on tap for next month when the new series is released, and while I do exercise at least 4 times a week I don't know if the goals will mean much to me, remains to be seen.

I would love to see Apple continue to build on sensors for glucose and blood pressure though.

Given the rise in diabetes, glucose monitor would be huge for the Apple Watch.

I agree with everything you said. I would just add that there is a 3rd possibility about why Kaiser Permanente (and lots of employers and insurance companies) are promoting these devices. I know of several major employers in my area that offer discounts on Apple Watches and incentives (either cash or deposits into a healthcare savings account) to employees that voluntarily participate in the company sponsored wellness program. However, the definition of "voluntary" is a little bit questionable in my opinion. In several cases, friends of mine told me that their insurance deductibles took a big jump at the same time their employer offered "free money" for joining the wellness program so a cynical person could interpret this as non-participants in the program are subsidizing the program for those who "volunteer" to participate.

The rules vary from employer to employer but some employers require employees to wear the watch nearly 24/7 and share their data (at least minutes of exercise, step count, and calories burned per day, but potentially even location, sleep patterns, heart rate, etc.) with their employer. While I love my Apple Watch, this is literally some of the most personal data I can imagine generating and I don't plan to voluntarily share it. I share some exercise related data on Strava and occasionally I will do an exercise challenge with a workout partner via our Apple Watches but I am not giving up resting heart rate, location and sleep patterns to an employer or insurance company.

 

[Mansu944]

I assume this was rhetorical.

Yes, thanks for replying.

 

[actcyclist]

If you don't get the $10 a month plan, I wonder how often the watch and app will nag you to upgrade?

It has an always on display mode though; which is something Apple doesn't have yet.

 

[definitive]

can't stand the companies coming out with subscription services for mediocre products. f off already.

 

[Abazigal]

Or I can continue with my Apple Watch and not pay an additional subscription.

Given how much the Apple Watch costs, one could make the argument that the Apple Watch itself is the subscription. If Apple wanted, they could probably just build the functionality right into watchOS. Kinda like the same way how the breathe app reminds you to relax periodically throughout the day.

 

[Sweetcheetah]

Yeah.... No thank you, I'm just too much of an Apple fan boy to even bother. It's not iOS or AppleOS. So, no matter HOW cool and great Samsung phones can become, as long as anything that runs non Apple Software, be it Android, or otherwise, it's NO good for me. I love the consistency of the iOS and AppleOS and TVOS and WatchOS, etc they just work. Hell, even the activation of my AppleCard and the use of AppleCard just works seamlessly and I LOVE it. Plus I just feel productive with everything working together with so little effort of worrying about anything. Windows? Oh how awful that couple of my clients doing powerpoint presentation and right in the middle of their presentation, it pops up a window saying window needs to update or something, HOW FRIGGEN EMBARRASING and they didn't know what to do, but to let it do it's thing. Apple or iPAD Keynote. NOT only Keynote does some awesome transitions and effects, one doesn't have to worry about any interruptions for updates. One can Actually control when they want to update NOT what windows says NOW. Wow.

Sorry I digress from the Fitbit watch to Apple watch to a whole set of other things. Anyway, no thank you for fitbit. Got it all under my AppleWatch and enjoying it immensely. And besides, like the samsungs phone market share, Apple is around 40% + market share for AppleWatches above all else combined.

 

[manu chao]

You can still use the device without the subscription. It's an add-on that is not necessary to use the product.

Fitbit had some sort of premium service for many years already, not sure why everybody is getting their panties into a bunch all of a sudden.

 

[PickUrPoison]

If you are going to compare previous version of Apple Watch, then compare older versions of Fitbit too.

Why compare to a Series 4? The Fitbit doesn’t have ECG functionality. Series 3 is more than enough Apple Watch to compare to a Versa 2.

It’s no more necessary to compare a Fitbit to a Series 4 than it will be to compare it to a Series 5 when that comes out next month.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Subscriptions are great for some things (Office 365 is a bargain for what you get). For others it’s ridiculous. This is one of the ridiculous uses.


This Fitbit “watch” is DOA.

First of all, people pay a LOT of money for workout programs. Whether it's a $150/month in-person workout classes, $50/month gym membership, or $10/month on-line workout program. Just because you wouldn't want it doesn't mean no one will. Whether it succeeds is largely in the execution (still TBD). I could see there being enough value from a personalized program that can not only keep track of what workouts you're doing, and how often, but also the intensity of your workout via HR/duration, which could then vary your program/motivation based on your real-world output. Beachbody on demand is ~$10 a month and has access to a lot of content, but is not personalized and doesn't have a built in tracker to record your exercise/output. There is a strong correlation between people who get a fitbit and people who want to exercise and/or improve their fitness. The market makes sense and it's an easy sell to try it for a month or two (especially if they have a free trial period).

Secondly, whether the subscription fails or succeeds is mostly irrelevant to if the versa fails or succeeds. I mean at $200 this is half the cast of a new apple watch (and even $100 cheaper than the nearly 2 year old series 3) and provides majority of the capabilities for majority of the people (to include all android users). I've had an apple watch since day 1 (technically a couple weeks after when my order finally came in) and I love it, but at the same time for majority of people I'd have a hard time arguing to spend twice as much as the versa. Especially when many of the apple watch "extras" also add extra complications (pun intended). People want their watch to be simple. Fitbit provides more simplicity and an always on display. I've never actually used a versa but I'd love to take one out for a spin and see how I like it.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Subscriptions are great for some things (Office 365 is a bargain for what you get)...

The way I look at subscriptions is to multiply them out by the 50 odd years that you are going to want them for, and that's the real price. So in Office 365's case, you're talking ~$5,000. Now ask yourself, if you had to pay $5,000 up front for Office 365, would you think it's a bargain? Would you even pay it? Probably not hey? But you are willing to pay that $5,000 in instalments, simply because your brain can't process that it is actually $5,000 that you're paying for it. And this is the insidious cleverness of the subscription model.

Maybe now you might have another look at the free offerings of Office Libre and Google Docs/Sheets/etc. All are excellent products. I personally use Google Docs and Sheets daily, and Office Libre almost weekly.

 

[drumcat]

These "subscription" rentals remind me of last decade's ringtone bubble.

 

[realtuner]

The way I look at subscriptions is to multiply them out by the 50 odd years that you are going to want them for, and that's the real price. So in Office 365's case, you're talking ~$5,000. Now ask yourself, if you had to pay $5,000 up front for Office 365, would you think it's a bargain? Would you even pay it? Probably not hey? But you are willing to pay that $5,000 in instalments, simply because your brain can't process that it is actually $5,000 that you're paying for it. And this is the insidious cleverness of the subscription model.

Maybe now you might have another look at the free offerings of Office Libre and Google Docs/Sheets/etc. All are excellent products. I personally use Google Docs and Sheets daily, and Office Libre almost weekly.

Let me know when you can buy a piece of software and it works for 50 years. More likely there would be at least 10 versions of Office (once every 5 years) at a cost of probably $499 each (since Office 365 is the equivalent of the old Office Professional). Price works out to be about the same.

 

[arturmeireles]

That's ridiculous. The Fitbit is not going to cost you anything per month. Only if you get the subscription service. The watch itself is half the price of an Apple Watch, has many features that are actually useful and has twice the battery life. I don't get why people on this forum are just focusing on the subscription service.

finally a wise post.
Are we talking about the specs of the new fitbit versa 2 or the subscription?!? I care about the versa 2 itself. You are buying a smart watch. You are not obligated to buy the subscription.
[doublepost=1567044657][/doublepost]The Apple watch can be more beautiful and elegant but specs wise is behind fitbit versa 2. For me the fitbit continuous heart rate is by itself a winner (Get continuous heart rate trackin) for calculating precise total calories burn
-
Sleep Score

Based on your heart rate, time asleep, restlessness and breathing, this personalised score helps you better understand your sleep quality each night. See your time spent in light, deep and REM sleep stages & get tips to help you improve.


5+ Day Battery Life

With a long battery life of 5+ days, Versa 2 tracks your morning, night & everything in between.

 

[ackmondual]

Incoming rant/unpopular opinion:

I see an issue...Look at iCloud. Apple is moving hard to up it's subscription revenue as they're stalling with new hardware. Eight years ago, Apple offered 5GB free. Now, almost a decade later, this hasn't budged. Why? They want perpetually subscription revenue.

Yes, Apple offers 50GB for $0.99/month (super cheap). But this is such a nickle & dime process (just like how they offered 16GB base storage for iPhones until a few years ago). If it's so cheap to offer 50GB for $0.99/month, why not increase standard iCloud to a tiny fraction, say 10GB (they can offset their cost by upping the iPhone price by $15 or whatever Apple pays). This would be better user-experience than the desperate notifications "Your iCloud storage is full. Pretty please upgrade to a subscription so that it will make it harder for you to jump to Andrioid" emails my mom gets weekly.

It helps that the base tier is below your phone's capacity

 

[happyprozak]

I agree with everything you said. I would just add that there is a 3rd possibility about why Kaiser Permanente (and lots of employers and insurance companies) are promoting these devices. I know of several major employers in my area that offer discounts on Apple Watches and incentives (either cash or deposits into a healthcare savings account) to employees that voluntarily participate in the company sponsored wellness program. However, the definition of "voluntary" is a little bit questionable in my opinion. In several cases, friends of mine told me that their insurance deductibles took a big jump at the same time their employer offered "free money" for joining the wellness program so a cynical person could interpret this as non-participants in the program are subsidizing the program for those who "volunteer" to participate.

The rules vary from employer to employer but some employers require employees to wear the watch nearly 24/7 and share their data (at least minutes of exercise, step count, and calories burned per day, but potentially even location, sleep patterns, heart rate, etc.) with their employer. While I love my Apple Watch, this is literally some of the most personal data I can imagine generating and I don't plan to voluntarily share it. I share some exercise related data on Strava and occasionally I will do an exercise challenge with a workout partner via our Apple Watches but I am not giving up resting heart rate, location and sleep patterns to an employer or insurance company.

Wow I guess no free lunch right? It seems very invasive for employers to track this type of information. I’m not sure how I feel about insurance companies having that much information either but they already have our medical records anyways right?

It reminds me of automobile insurance companies who give discounts to people who drive safely but do so by tracking them.

Will I get a health insurance discount for exercising?

 

[ackmondual]

The premium service doesn't seem like it locks any previously/currently free services behind a paywall. I'm unsure why people are having a problem with this. It looks to be basically a life coach with a more robust information system.

I can't say that I would use it, but my point is, I wouldn't feel compelled to. I'd rather they have an option to pay more for something I personally wouldn't want anyway than just build it into the cost of the device for everyone. Maybe that's just me.
[doublepost=1567002706][/doublepost]
Kind of like how we talk about cable now lol.

40th anniversary of "hoping subscriptions will die a horrible death"

I wish we could do away with subscriptions, but, the incentive is there. If users get to stop paying a subscription, it does force the company to offer true value, and keep up with updates. The look no further than the freemium market on the iOS App Store for games in particular.

 

[lordofthereef]

40th anniversary of "hoping subscriptions will die a horrible death"

I wish we could do away with subscriptions, but, the incentive is there. If users get to stop paying a subscription, it does force the company to offer true value, and keep up with updates. The look no further than the freemium market on the iOS App Store for games in particular.

I guess I just have an easier time than some. If the subscription is of value to me I pay for it. If it doesn't, I don't. I view them just like any other product or service. I don't stress about it.

Depending on where you draw the line, I have exactly three subscriptions; Netflix, google music, and YouTube tv (the matter two come with other perks I don't really care about like YouTube red, I believe it's called).

I do have a problem with offering something for free and then putting it behind a pay wall later. Nintendo's online subscription comes to mind as the best immediate example. Based on the quality of the service it simply wasn't worth my money, even if it is about $2 a month.

 

[Andronicus]

Yep, just ANOTHER company who wants you to leave your credit card with them!

I did FitBit for a while but their hardware sucked. A WARNING for all: buy your fitbit locally so it can be returned with ease. Dealing with fitbit and try to get an RMA right after a new device is a horror!

You want the truth, go look at the fitbit forums and the fitbit site!

Yup, this is true. What I’ve found is that you need to wait a month or two after a new Fitbit product is released. Every time I’ve bought a Fitbit product day 1 I’ve had to return it or just suffer with it till an update (ionic, aria 2, charge 3).

I’m kinda pumped about the Versa 2, but I’ll hold off for a few months. I’ve learned my lesson.

 

[ackmondual]

I guess I just have an easier time than some. If the subscription is of value to me I pay for it. If it doesn't, I don't. I view them just like any other product or service. I don't stress about it.

Depending on where you draw the line, I have exactly three subscriptions; Netflix, google music, and YouTube tv (the matter two come with other perks I don't really care about like YouTube red, I believe it's called).

I do have a problem with offering something for free and then putting it behind a pay wall later. Nintendo's online subscription comes to mind as the best immediate example. Based on the quality of the service it simply wasn't worth my money, even if it is about $2 a month.

Hey, you and me!

I used to have extended cable and internet. Cut out cable TV, but downgraded internet to the basic stuff.

I have Amazon Prime for viewing movies and shows, as well as Curiosity Stream. Both haven't been too shabby at all. I'd like to get into Netflix and Hulu+, but, time is the bottleneck.

In recent years, I pay $25 a month for a gym membership, and have tried out Costco. I've been adding a bunch of subscription services, but I've also said no to others, so it's been manageable thus far.