Fitbit brings a key upgrade to its Sense 2 and Versa 4, but is it too little too late?

Fitbit has begun rolling out key improvements to its users, including new features related to fitness tracking. The company has also given some attention to its in-house smartwatch line with small but significant upgrades.

To start, Fitbit devices can now consistently record even more exercise types with automatic workout detection to track your stats even when you forget to start a workout. All of the added activities (Row, Elliptical, and Spinning) are popular among Fitbit users. The company has also added 20 new exercise types to the Fitbit Inspire 3 specifically, bringing the total number of workouts available to over 40. This means that even the brand’s budget-friendly device can be a capable fitness companion.

More generally, the company also claims that certain Fitbit devices will see improved heart rate tracking in light of Google’s machine learning, plus enhanced GPS tracking accuracy. Heart rate improvements should also lead to more accurate stats for calories burned and Active Zone Minutes. All of these updates are already heading to users’ wrists.

Perhaps even more significantly, the company also announced two new updates to its Sense 2 and Versa 4 devices. Both smartwatches received upgrades related to Magnification and Zoom, allowing users to adjust their text size for easier readability.

Additionally, Sense 2 and Versa 4 users can also now control content on YouTube Music from the wrist. We lamented both devices’ lack of music controls during our review periods, so it’s exciting to see the feature added. The heart rate and GPS accuracy improvements mentioned above could also go a long way to strengthen the potential of both the Versa 4 and Sense 2.

It is nice to see Fitbit support device lines that have felt largely ignored (and even kneecapped) since the arrival of the Google Pixel Watch. However, it’s hard to say if adding music controls and delivering stats we already expected to be accurate is enough to truly make the devices competitive within the growing smartwatch market. Without third-party app support, the lineups pale in comparison to Google’s own smartwatch line, let alone the Apple and Samsung stables.