The Fitbit Versa 2 improves over the first-gen smartwatch in many small but meaningful ways.

Great battery life; Better screen & performance

Still lacks ECG; Not as feature-rich as Apple Watch

Fitbit on Wednesday announced a bunch of new health and wellness offering, including some new low-priced smart scales, a premium health app service and - most importantly - a brand new smartwatch: the Fitbit Versa 2.

You won't desperately need to upgrade your existing smartwatch to the Fitbit Versa 2, but there are lots of smaller improvements here that suggest it will be a top smartwatch for a lower price than a lot of the competition.

Fitbit Pay as standard; Amazon Alexa should prove useful

Only Connected GPS; Still has a thick bezel

The Apple Watch Series 4 is still a more powerful wearable with a much wider variety of faces and apps, but it also costs twice as much as the Versa 2 and requires an iOS device to work.

Attractive AMOLED screen with always-on option; Long battery life; Lots of useful apps and fitness features; Fitbit Pay; Amazon Alexa

Screen isn't quite as bright as the original model; Alexa responses are text only

Fitbit's first smartwatch may have been the Ionic , but the company is throwing all of its resources behind the Versa . While the Ionic targeted serious athletes, the original Versa was more accessible in design, features, and price.

Solid; water-resistant design; Faster performance; New AMOLED display with always-on mode; Convenient quick-access menu for toggle settings; Fitbit Pay; and more; NFC for Fitbit Pay is now a standard feature; New voice replies for Android users; Good battery life

Cannot download Spotify playlists; No completely hands-free way to summon Alexa; Still no use of the SpO2 sensor; Switching watch faces is a painfully slow and convoluted process; No integration with Apple Health or Google Fit

On paper, the Fitbit Versa 2 is a compelling upgrade over its predecessor. It features a bigger, better display, useful Alexa integration and refined software. It still lasts days longer than Samsung and Wear OS watches and looks pretty, to boot.

Attractive and comfortable design; Alexa integration feels useful; Accurate sleep-tracking; Long-lasting battery without Always On Display

Finicky connectivity; Unintuitive OS

Alexa is the star of the show here, but it’s the small improvements in the design and software that really make the Versa 2 feel like a leap ahead. There are bugs that need fixing, particularly with Alexa, and some people will simply want something more stylish.

Rounder; curved design; Alexa’s handy (when it works); Fitbit Pay on all models

Adds Alexa and Spotify; Got a week on a single charge in testing.

I'm not sure we really needed this watch so soon

With an OLED display, on-board Alexa, and amazing battery life, the Fitbit Versa 2 is ready to take on all comers—including the Apple Watch.

Nice design with an excellent display; Amazon Alexa and Spotify controls are nice addition; Amazing battery life

No on-board GPS; Alexa has no wake word and limited functionality

The Versa didn’t single-handedly save Fitbit, but it gave the struggling wearable company a way forward. The smartwatch demonstrated the potential for life beyond the fitness tracker.