The Fitbit Versa offers plenty of features and potential as does its cheaper compatriot the Versa Lite. But knowing the best apps to download from the start can boost your experience tenfold.
Like Fitbit's smartwatch, the Ionic, the Versa, and Versa Lite can tap into the company's app store and provide a home for the range of third-party and Fitbit Labs choices.
Read the review: Fitbit Versa 2 tested
Downloading an app to your Versa can't be done from the watch. So you'll have to do it from inside the Fitbit smartphone app and then sync it to the smartwatch to access it from the wrist.
Some of these apps will prove essential, and some you'll grow tired of quickly, but all are worth glancing over as you get to know your new Fitbit. Need help discovering the top Fitbit Versa apps currently out there? Take a trip down below, as we round up the best options that we've played with.
MySwimPro
Wareable
Providing you have the iOS or Android version of the MySwimPro app, you'll be able to tether and manage things from your wrist while you're in the water – the Versa is waterproof, after all. It can be a little tricky trying to pause proceedings on the fly, but this is a handy way to load workouts and be walked through them step-by-step; all while still viewing your heart rate in real-time.
Philips Hue
Wareable
Adding some color to your bulbs already feels futuristic enough, but just think of the fun you'll be having when you sync them to your wrist for control. With the Philips Hue app, you can – lights can be turned on/off and different pre-set scenes (made on your phone) can be set.
Setting up can be a bit of a hassle, as you'll need the bridge IP when getting started, but it's a great way to quickly switch between colors when your phone isn't to hand.
Starbucks
Wareable
You're already pretending to do work in Starbucks, so why not take things to the next level and begin paying from your wrist to impress people, too? The Starbucks app doesn't act as a portal for Fitbit Pay, because, you know, that'd be pointless, but it does offer a home to your Starbucks Card. From here, you'll be able to redeem all the coffee house's goodness without faffing about.
Deezer
Wareable
It's not the Spotify or Apple Music app you might be craving, but Deezer is still available for subscribers to stream music directly from the wrist – providing you have a pair of Bluetooth headphones at the ready, too. Once you're all set up, you'll have access to 44 million tracks, while Deezer Flow is a nice way to mix up your old favorites with fresh recommendations.
The New York Times
Wareable
Handily, you won't need a New York Times subscription to read all the biggest news stories of the day, with the Versa app condensing everything into small reading chunks. It's a handy tool on your wrist for catching some headlines, but you'll need to go find stories on the app or website if you want to read more – unfortunately there's no automatic handover from the watch to a bigger screen.
Tennis
Wareable
Tennis may seem like a fun time when you watch it on TV, with the score being kept by tournament officials, but those prima donnas won't be showing up to your game at the local park, unfortunately.
And that means you're left to argue with your athletic younger brother over what the score is every other game. Leave this first-world problem in the past with Fitbit Labs' Tennis, an app that'll help you count the score. You'll have to remember to tap your watch after every point, but you'll soon pick it up and even receive insights into your shots by forehand, backhand, and serve.
Uber
Wareable
The Versa screen is naturally too small to give you a look at the map of your Uber driver on their way, but it does give you a way to discreetly and quickly order a ride, view estimates and tap through driver details. On a bad date? With the help of the Uber app, you'll be halfway home and eating that surge charge before they even realize you're not at the bar. You sly dog.
Flappy
Wareable
Ah, Flappy Bird, a titan of the early paid-for phone game rush and a close cousin of 'that helicopter game'. Recreated for the Versa, the magic of Flappy is certainly not in the graphics, complexity or even the paradigm facing urban birds, but instead in the simple addiction. Tap the screen to help your winged friend avoid the pipes – the more you avoid, the higher score you get. Godspeed.
Air Index
Wareable
Approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Air Index can give you a live update on the air quality at any point in the country. Updated every hour, you'll be given the air quality figures and, because nobody knows what those mean, a circular face to tell you if that's good or not. We're glad this one hasn't made it over to London yet, where everybody is breathing in soot like it's the industrial revolution all over again.
Skateboard
Wareable
Fancy yourself as a bit of a shredder, slick? Well, with the Skateboard app for Fitbit Versa, you're now able to track your sessions in the park on your wrist. Your heart rate will feature throughout, while you're also able to get live looks at the current speed, average speed, max speed, distance traveled, and session duration.
Your wood-pushing activity stats are even beamed over to the Fitbit app and count towards your daily goals – just don't go wild trying to max out your speed with a coffin down a hill. That'll end, probably, in your Versa being a watch orphan.
How we test
Click here to find out how our buying guides are compiled
Wareable's reputation is built on thoroughly testing everything that we review and by using the industry's biggest experts to deliver our verdicts. You can read our Editorial Promise here.
Wareable is unbiased, trusted, and respected. Founded in 2014, we are an independent publisher and we have reviewed hundreds of products. We test products in real-world and real-life situations. We don't deliver a quick verdict, we live with devices to determine just how effective they are.
When we test wearable devices, our aim is to rigorously assess them for accuracy, usability, and wearability. That means living with them, just like any normal user. These are the key areas of our reviews and how we review them.
Battery life (general and during exercise)
Where possible we use the device for a number of battery cycles to assess how it drains and how long you can expect to use it for.
Heart rate
Heart rate is extremely difficult to test outside of a lab, so our aim is to compare performance to an EKG chest strap, which is the gold standard generally available to consumers.
We test heart rate at rest, during steady exercise (usually an hour run), and finally during a HIIT session comprising of quick peaks and falls.
GPS accuracy
We will run multiple times with a device to ascertain that the GPS is accurate and up to standard. This will be benchmarked against known, measured routes.
Sleep tracking
We validate new devices against other top-performing sleep trackers, that have been validated by peer-reviewed trials.
The aim is to check that duration, sleep stages, and resting heart rate data correlate across the night. Once that checks out, we assess the actionability of the data and how useful it is to the user.
Step counting and accuracy
We always check step data against other devices (usually Garmin and Fitbit) as well as the iPhone’s built-in motion co-processor to look for any large anomalies.
Design, usability, and wearability
Wearables have got to be wearable. It sounds silly, but that's not always the case. We wear devices 24/7 for weeks during our test process to make sure they're comfortable, look good and perform well.
Original hands-on photos
We take our own candid shots so we can show you what devices look like in the flesh. You won't find press images in our reviews.
Conor moved to Wareable Media Group in 2017, initially covering all the latest developments in smartwatches, fitness trackers, and VR. He made a name for himself writing about trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.
Following a stint as Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large. Conor has become a wearables expert, and helps people get more from their wearable tech, via Wareable's considerable how-to-based guides.
He has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent, and The Mirror.
