Advice needed: buying Sense or Versa 3?

[DoraD]

Hi everyone!

I'd really appreciate a bit of advice.

I've been a long-time FitBit user and am planning on buying a new smartwatch. I've used the Flex 2, Charge 2 and Charge 3 so far and am debating on whether to upgrade to a FitBit Sense or Versa 3. I'm leaning towards the Sense. I have some concerns though, and I'd really appreciate it if the community ere would give their personal feedback based on experience, rather than just what the manuals and promo videos say. Here are the factors I'm considering in order of priority:

1. Heart rate accuracy: I've heard the two watches are similar when it comes to this. Not perfect bot good enough for amateur athletes? I'm into weightlifting and the occasional run/hike.
2. GPS accuracy: which would you say is more accurate? P. S. there's no way to turn GPS on the watch itself on/off, right? It's permanently on?
3. Body temperature measurements: I'd also like to utilize the Sense for fertility tracking and use the temperature sensor. Is it completely free? And does it work every night? Is it accurate?
4. Connectivity: do either of these devices lose connectivity to your phone (Android btw) so you have to refresh the app to reconnect?
5. Scratch-proof screen: how sensitive are the screens compared to one another? I realize they both have Gorilla glass but my experience with this is that it's a bit overrated. I've scratched my Charge 3 before and have since been a bit paranoid about this.
6. Bang for your buck: given the pretty large price gap between the two, I'm concerned if the additional features really are worth it. The main differences here are the stress management tools, EDA sensor (which isn't available in Croatia yet if I'm not mistaken?), and the skin temperature sensor. So, are these additional features accurate and worth the money?
7. Future updates: will future software updates be able to fix any inaccuracies in the above areas (e.g. oscillations in heart rate detection), voice calls using the built-in microphone, ECG availability, etc.?

I'd really appreciate any advice I can get right now. I'm eager to get a new plan (planning to do so today ideally) and have researched all over the place for some consistent feedback. Reviews vary greatly (which is disheartening), and I can't use the watch and then return/exchange it so....it's a big investment for me.

Take care, everyone!

[NellyG]

Hi @DoraD If you have the money, Id go Sense as it has more features and more features yet to come. I have found them both similar in all the stats I use - exercise tracking (auto and started via the app), step count, Heart Rate, Sleep tracking etc. I dont use GPS so cant comment on that.

[DoraD]

Thanks for the feedback Nelly! What other features are yet to come apart from ECG? And have you been able to compare either of them to any other FitBit or other smartwatch/fitness tracker (in terms of accuracy of heart rate or other features)?

[volkan_ayk]

Hi @DoraD ,

I have been using Sense for more than a month try to anwer your questions as per my experience :

1- HR Accuracy : There are many negative feedbacks but so far I am satisfied with the measurement of Sense.  but my my usage is similar to you (ne weightlifting etc.) . 

2-GPS : That is the weakest point of Sense for me. The accuracy is OK but the connection takes time and it can loose connection easily. Before Sense I was using a Garmin product and GPS performance of Garmin was far better than Sense in terms of both accuracy and stability. 

3-Temperature Sensor : There is 6 months premimum coming with sense. So I am still not aware of what is free and what is not, but this is a function of the Sense it should be free I think. It works everynight you sleep with Sense, just first 3 night it calculates your baseline so no result is given. About accuracy, it is difficult to say but as per my feelings it seems reasonable. 

4-So far I have never faced any connectivity problem. 

5-I am generally a carefull user and so far I have no scratches. 

6-My main reason was selecting Sense over Versa 3 was ECG. It is working in Germany and it seems working fine. I was not considering EDA sensor at first but I used it very often and I like it. I think EDA sensor is not limited according to location but I may be mistaken. So in my case the additional money is really worth the functions. 

7-As stated except GPS connections instabilty I dont think there is unacceptabel inaccuracies (I did not made any scientific test ) so the most important upgrades would be the function related to location. 

These are my experinces and as you stated some there are different comments about the device. But my experinece so far is really very positive. And to be honest the time I question about my Sense is whenever I read this forum 🙂 . If I skip the forum for a while I am very happy with sense, whwever I read this forum I start having questions 🙂  

[DoraD]

Thanks so much for the detailed reply! Believe it or now, I read it on my way to the store and it helped me make up my mind - I ended up getting the Sense. I can afford it at the moment (thankfully), and figure so much stuff is individual. I'll just have to try it out to see for myself. It can only be better than the previous models (by some logic?) and hoping future updates will solve lagging issues. Thanks again!!!!

Still would love to hear any additional feedback if people have it 🙂 just to know what to expect and to see if opinions and experiences differ.

[volkan_ayk]

Enjoy your Sense and stay healty and fit with it :))

I hope you will also be happy with it 🙂 

[lemayp]

@volkan_ayk  I agree with your observation on point 6 about the EDA.  We ear more about ECG because people are complaining it is not available in their countries (like in Canada where I live) but after using it a few time I don`t think this is that important for me.  But regarding the EDA, if someone likes to do small/med/long "meditation"/relaxation session, I find it very cool and instructive.  I start using it multiple times each working day now.

@DoraD I am a long time user too (2015) and I just upgraded from the Charge 2 and I really like the upgrade.  The bigger screen was something my eyes were requesting (I looked at both the Versa 3 and Sense), but eventually decided to go with the extra "gadgets".  I had some initial issues but for now everything is stable.

[DoraD]

Thanks! So far so good. I'm discovering a few bugs, but I get the feeling they launched the watch a bit early and they'll be fixing things in the process.

E..g. a few wi-fi issues (occasionally disconnecting), as well as an issue with the clock faces. I can't seem to switch them if I add the clocks app as a shortcut. But when I change them from my phone or from the watch (in the usual app list), they work fine.

Tested it out in 2 workouts already. Running seemed to be pretty much on-point (though it wasn't an interval run). The weightlifting workout I feel could have been a bit more accurate in terms of heartrate. I feel like it was constantly lagging a bit behind, which more or less corresponds to some reviews I've read/watched. We'll see in due time....hoping updates will resolve these issues.

[beckycraig]

If you are buying fitbit tracker for teen then sense is always a better option.