Fitbit unveils a cheaper smartwatch and a tracker for children

The Fitbit family has two new members: a cheaper smartwatch for those put off by the price of the Ionic, and a dedicated tracker aimed at children.

Let’s look at the smartwatch first: the Fitbit Versa. Like the Ionic, it features 24/7 heart rate tracking, NFC payments, sleep tracking and on-device music. Unlike the Ionic, it has no GPS and loses a day’s battery life (four days, rather than five), which doesn’t seem like a terrible trade off given it’s £199.99 compared to the Ionic’s £299.99. There’s also a special edition on the Fitbit website for £219.99, which as far as we can tell, just comes with a slightly fancier replaceable strap.

While these are both clearly cheaper than the Fitbit Ionic, it’s worth noting that other manufacturers manage to get GPS as part of the deal for less money – indeed Fitbit’s own discontinued Surge managed it for the same price a couple of years ago. Whether or not the Versa makes it onto our best fitness trackers list remains to be seen.

Then there’s the Fitbit Ace – a wearable that looks remarkably similar to the Fitbit Alta, but like the Garmin VivoFit Junior 2, is aimed squarely at smaller wrists. Designed for ages eight and above, the device will track steps, sleep and active minutes, while offering encouragement to be active. Launching alongside the Ace is a new Fitbit family account that allows parents to keep an eye on activity, and control what apps are connected to the device.

Another software update is exclusive to just the Ionic and Versa: female health tracking will be added to the devices from spring 2018, “to help women track their menstrual cycle, view holistic health ata in one place, and better understand connections to their overall health.”

The Versa is available for pre-order today, with a release date scheduled for next month. The Ace is also available to pre-order right now, but won’t be on your kid’s wrist until May at the earliest.

Stay tuned for a full review of both once we get review units in.