Should you buy the Fitbit Luxe or Versa 2?

Fitbit Luxe vs. Versa 2: Fashion or fitness?

If you’ve dabbled with Android smartwatches or fitness trackers at any point, you’re probably familiar with Fitbit. The company is known for offering some of the best wearables in the industry, including the Fitbit Luxe and Versa 2. While one is a tracker and one is a smartwatch, there are still quite a few similarities.

If you’re seeking a fashionable device that’s great for basic health and fitness tracking, you should consider the Luxe. However, if you prefer smartwatches over trackers and you want some bonus features, the Versa 2 is a better pick. It’s not as fashionable as the Luxe, but it’s basically the same price, and you get more bang for your buck.

Look good and feel good with the Fitbit Luxe

If you prefer to buy your wearables when they’re still new to the market, you’ll be glad to know the Fitbit Luxe is the company’s newest release. Fitbit states the tracker is designed to focus on the user’s overall health and wellness while still offering a versatile design for any occasion.

It comes in a sleek stainless steel case available in three colors: Soft Gold, Platinum, and Graphite. The silicone band colors that go with those cases are Lunar White, Orchid, and Black. Fortunately, the Fitbit Luxe bands are interchangeable. So if silicone isn’t your favorite material or you want to make your tracker look even more elegant, you’ll have other options to choose from.

Another perk that isn’t always a given on fitness trackers is the AMOLED display you get on the Luxe. The screen might be pretty small, but the vibrant colors and easy-to-use touchscreen make for a pleasant experience. If you’re used to using side buttons to navigate your wearable, this may be a bit of an adjustment for you.

You’ll get up to 5 days of battery life on the Luxe, which decent enough. We’ve seen trackers from Fitbit with better battery life than this, though. For example, when you compare the Fitbit Luxe and Inspire 2, you’ll see that the Luxe only offers half the battery life of the Inspire 2.

The Luxe offers helpful insight into your overall well-being with the Health Metrics Dashboard.

The Luxe offers helpful insight into your overall well-being with the Health Metrics Dashboard. This feature works with the Stress Management Score to show you your recent trends. You’ll receive data for your breathing rate, heart rate variability (HRV), skin temperature variation, and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels.

When it comes to your basic health and fitness tracking features, there’s plenty to go around. The Fitbit Luxe offers activity/sleep tracking, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, guided breathing, stress monitoring, female-health tracking, and 20+ exercise modes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have onboard GPS, so you’ll need to connect to your phone to track your route. It’s also missing NFC for Fitbit Pay.

If you’d like, you can check out a 7-day view of your metrics in the dashboard. Those craving more should consider a Fitbit Premium subscription, which will show you your monthly trends and personal ranges. The good news is that new Fitbit users will get a 6-month Fitbit Premium for free when they buy the Luxe.

Focus on fitness tracking with the Fitbit Versa 2

Some people prefer to go the smartwatch route, which is where the Fitbit Versa 2 comes in. This may be an older model, but it’s still one of the best Fitbit wearables to date. You get the signature squircle design that the Versa lineup is known for. It comes in a 40mm aluminum case and a silicone band. The Versa 2 bands are interchangeable as well. Keep in mind this proprietary band system isn’t the easiest to work with, but you’ll get the hang of it after a few tries.

You’ll also appreciate the large 1.34-inch AMOLED touchscreen, which comes in handy when you take advantage of the on-screen workouts feature. Unfortunately, you only get one side button, which is slimmed down from the previous model’s three. However, you can customize it so that pressing the button launches Amazon Alexa or any other frequently used app you want to access quickly.

The Versa 2 has some neat extras, including storage for 300 songs, Fitbit Pay, and Amazon Alexa.

The Versa 2 has some neat extras, including storage for 300 songs, Fitbit Pay, and Amazon Alexa. These perks aren’t available on the Luxe, so that gives you something to think about. In addition, you get an extra day of battery life for a total of 6 days on the Versa 2.

It’s worth noting that this watch shares one drawback with the Luxe, which is the lack of onboard GPS. If you can’t live without this feature, you might want to consider upgrading from the Versa 2 to the Versa 3.

As always, you get a wide range of health and fitness tracking perks to round out your smartwatch experience. These are pretty similar to what you get on the Luxe. To recap, you’ll have activity/sleep tracking, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, 20+ exercise modes, female health-tracking, stress monitoring, and guided breathing sessions. The on-screen workouts feature is not available on the Luxe, which offers personalized on-screen workouts that play on your watch and coach you through each move.

Fitbit Luxe vs. Versa 2: Which should you buy?

When you consider how close in price these two wearables are, your final decision will likely be determined by what features matter most to you. Those who are all about finding a compact tracker that doubles as a stylish accessory will lean toward the Fitbit Luxe. Remember that it’s missing GPS, NFC for Fitbit Pay, music storage, and Amazon Alexa.

The Versa 2 also lacks GPS, but it has all the other extras that just might make up for it. It’s not much more expensive than the Luxe, and you certainly get more for your money. If you prefer having a larger display and how a smartwatch looks on your wrist, that’s another reason to choose the Versa 2 over the Luxe. Did we mention the battery life is slightly better, too? All things considered, the Versa 2 is the better option.

Fitness companion

Fitbit Versa 2

Fitness focused

From $170 at Amazon
$180 at Best Buy
$165t Best Buy

It’s not the newest model in the Versa lineup, but the Fitbit Versa 2 is still a highly capable smartwatch that’s full of great perks. Not to mention that it’s quite affordable these days. You get a large display, heart-rate monitoring, activity/sleep tracking, Amazon Alexa, and Fitbit Pay.

Style icon

Fitbit Luxe

Fashion focused

$150 at Best Buy
$150 at B&H

It might be expensive, but the Fitbit Luxe caters to an audience that prioritizes fashion. For some of these people, the price tag will be well worth it. You don’t have GPS or NFC, but you have in-depth health and fitness tracking and few other key features that may just sway you.