Fitness champ
Fitbit Versa 2
Pros
- 5+ days of battery life
- Fitbit Pay
- Amazon Alexa built-in
- On-screen workouts
- Heart-rate monitoring
- Automatic workout detection
Cons
- Lacks built-in GPS
- Proprietary bands aren't great
It's no secret that Fitbit is one of the most popular fitness tracker brands on the market. The Versa 2 brought some great upgrades, including longer battery life, Amazon Alexa built-in, and making Fitbit Pay a standard feature. It lacks built-in GPS but if you can see past that, this is a near-perfect fitness smartwatch.
Affordable basics
Fossil Sport
Pros
- Built-in GPS
- Google Pay
- Google Assistant
- Heart-rate monitoring
- Unique design
- Helpful rotating crown
Cons
- Laggy software
- Disappointing battery life
The Fossil Sport is a fitness-focused smartwatch with many desirable features, like built-in GPS, heart-rate monitoring, Google Pay, Google Assistant, music storage, and more. If you're not bothered by having to charge it each day, this is a budget-friendly watch that gets the job done.
If you're on the hunt for a fitness smartwatch, you'll have plenty of options to pick from. This might come down to choosing a preferred brand or operating system. However, if you're deciding between the Fitbit Versa 2 or Fossil Sport and don't care about the brand, you'll find that they both have a lot to offer in terms of fitness tracking as well as smartwatch features.
The Fossil Sport has an attractive price tag, especially since it comes with built-in GPS, Google Pay, Google Assistant, and music storage. However, you're going to be faced with the usual Wear OS challenges and subpar battery life. It's clearly geared toward the fitness crowd, but it's not easy to compete with Fitbit in that aspect.
The Versa 2 has an extensive health and fitness tracking suite, Fitbit Pay, music storage, and Amazon Alexa built-in. You also get more than five days of battery life, which is significantly more than the Fossil Sport. However, you'll be missing built-in GPS. If you can live without that and want a true fitness-focused smartwatch, the Versa 2 is the way to go. If you're content with a basic fitness tracking suite and want to stick to a budget, the Fossil Sport is still a solid choice.
Many pros and a few cons
It sometimes feels next to impossible to find a smartwatch that checks all the boxes on your wishlist. As a fitness enthusiast, it's safe to say the Fitbit Versa 2 comes pretty dang close to succeeding. Other than lacking onboard GPS and having fewer apps with FitbitOS, the Versa 2 does a nice job of meeting most users' needs. The proprietary bands aren't that impressive, but that's a relatively easy fix.
| Fitbit Versa 2 | Fossil Sport | |
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | 3-axis accelerometer, altimeter, SpO2 sensor, ambient light, optical heart rate | Accelerometer, altimeter, ambient light, gyroscope, heart rate |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy / Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Bluetooth® Smart Enabled / 4.2 Low Energy, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| Water resistance | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Battery life | 5+ days | 24 hours |
| Built-in GPS | ❌ | ✔️ |
| NFC payments | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Music storage | ✔️ | ✔️ |
On the plus side, you'll have everything you need for a successful health and fitness tracking experience. Some of the stand-out features include on-screen workouts, 15+ exercise modes, sleep tracking and stages, cardio fitness level tracking, automatic workout detection, female health tracking, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, and guided breathing sessions.
You're guaranteed to get a good 5 days of battery with the Versa 2.
As for the design, the new Fitbit Versa 2 has a slightly larger footprint than its predecessor and comes in a brushed anodized aluminum case. The rounded square design is unique and soft on the eyes. The color AMOLED touchscreen with the optional always-on display is another new addition, which is an appreciated improvement. It has just one side button instead of three, which can be set to open Fitbit Pay, Amazon Alexa, or any other app of your choosing.
Let's not forget to address the stellar battery life. While this can vary based on usage, you're guaranteed to get a good five days of battery with the Versa 2. In our initial review, we were able to reach almost six days on a single charge after tracking multiple workouts, occasionally using always-on display, and tracking sleep. Luckily, you'll be able to reach a full charge in under two hours.
The basics at a fair price
The key advantage the Fossil Sport has over the Fitbit Versa 2 is onboard GPS. This might not be the deciding factor for you, but many fitness fanatics are committed to tracking their route when they exercise. If you don't want to have to bring your phone with you to do that, you're probably going to be drawn toward the Fossil Sport for this feature alone.
When it comes to health and fitness tracking, the Fossil Sport is integrated with Google Fit by default. This may not be everyone's preferred platform, but it gets the job done and has slowly improved over time. There are three separate components within Google Fit: the main app, a workout app, and one for guided meditation. This smartwatch tracks your heart rate, steps, distance, and calories burned.
The key advantage the Fossil Sport has over the Fitbit Versa 2 is onboard GPS.
You'll have two size options with the Fossil Sport: 41mm and 43mm, both of which are a mix of plastic and brushed aluminum. The smaller model comes in a bunch of bright colors, including red, blush, black, gray, light blue, and neon. The larger model comes in black, navy blue, dark red, smoky blue, and spruce green. Both sizes come with a silicone band. You'll also enjoy a smooth crown that allows you to scroll and click through options with ease.
Not surprisingly, this is another Wear OS smartwatch with disappointing battery life. It should last for a day depending on usage. You have the option of switching to low-power mode for two more days of battery, but you won't be able to do much. As for time-only mode, this extends the battery life by up to 30 days. Unfortunately, this disables everything but its ability to tell time. The only saving grace is that the Fossil Sport can reach an 80% charge in one hour with rapid charging.
Bottom line
While both of these fitness smartwatches are great in their own ways, your final decision will come down to your needs and preferences. Those who aren't set on having onboard GPS might still appreciate all of the other health and fitness features that the Fitbit Versa 2 provides. Not to mention the fact that it beats the Fossil Sport in battery life by a mile. This also might be your pick if you're already familiar with the Fitbit ecosystem or you simply don't want to mess with Wear OS.
On the other hand, if built-in GPS is a major selling point for you, then you might be leaning toward the Fossil Sport. It has other features you'll love as well, like Google Pay, Google assistant, music storage, and so on. It isn't as robust as the health and fitness tracking suite found on the Fitbit Versa 2, but the reduced price tag might just make up for it. With all of that in mind, the Fitbit Versa 2 will likely be the superior choice for most fitness folks.
Fitness champ
Fitbit Versa 2
A true fitness watch with tons of features
If you want a well-rounded fitness smartwatch, chances are that you'll love the Fitbit Versa 2. It has connected GPS, multiple exercise modes, Fitbit Pay, Amazon Alexa built-in, and music storage.
Affordable basics
Fossil Sport
Everything you need at a good price
Not willing to settle for a fitness smartwatch without built-in GPS? You'll find what you need with the Fossil Sport. Some other bonus features include Google Pay, Google Assistant, and music storage.
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