Versa review from a former Ionic user

[SunsetRunner]

Decided to give Versa a try, even though i was pretty sure the only thing different from the Ionic is the design. Hardware (sensors) and software are the same, hence the similar issues i encountered with both.

So, i have to say that the Versa has the same pool swimming issues as the Ionic. It simply stops counting after a random number of laps and resumes when it feels like it. I don't change anything in my style, stroke rate, push technique, etc. Out of 44 laps it recorded only 36. Reason being it stoppped counting after 25 or 26 and remembered to start again after 5-6 laps. Then again it paused for no reason and resumed. Hence the 8 laps missing. So, same issues as with the Ionic.

Sleep stages work fine, always did, on both watches. I wore an AW3 on the other wrist, using Autosleep app, they both recorded pretty similar results. Heart rate was recorded higher on the Versa, or at least it's so displayed in the "resting HR" graph. 63 on the Versa vs. 58 on the AW3.

What i found annoying is the floors climbed values are pretty crazy, i noticed there's a long thread about this in here. The Ionic did not have such issues. AW3 is spot on, every time.

Battery life is great, i also did an outdoor bike workout using assisted GPS on my iphone, it recorded everything fine, including map of the route. Didn't check if distance values are correct or there are deviations, but since i'm not a pro-biker, i didn't invest time in checking. Swimming is my main activity and i must say the Versa is a great watch but (still) with software drawbacks.

Versa also feels lighter, but the wrist strap is less comfortable than the Ionic. Not much, but noticeable. Maybe because of the closing mechanism and the strap material. IMHO Ionic feels better on the hand.

Don't want to wait for software updates to fix these issues (swimming accuracy/consistency and floors), i waited long enough while i had the Ionic. I'm going to stick with AW3 which feels great on the wrist and doesn't miss a beat and return the Versa.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[LucyAP]

Thanks for stopping by @SunsetRunner! I appreciate your thorough feedback with Fitbit Versa and Ionic. I'm really sorry to hear that Versa wasn't the right fit for you. 

I wanted to let you know that this has not gone unnoticed and be assured that we take into consideration all the comments provided by our users to continue improving your experience. I hope in the future you give us an opportunity to help you on your fitness journey.

[SeñorCaminante]

I have been using a Fitbit Flex for over five years and upgraded this week to the Versa.  The swimming mode is not functioning consistently for me.  The first swimming workout I did went fine -- 44 laps for 2,200 meters using a variety of swimming strokes. During the workout, I stopped for 10-15 seconds a few times to drink from a water bottle - but nothing longer than that. I did the exact same workout today but found at the end of the workout that the device had paused itself half-way through at 1,100 meters.  I tapped the play image (>) in the lower right side of the screen several times, but could not get the swimming program to begin again, so I finally tapped the checkered flag to end the swimming workout.  Any suggestions for how avoid the unintentional pause and how to get it to resume?