When comparing Fitbit Zip vs Fitbit Versa, the Slant community recommends Fitbit Zip for most people. In the question“What are the best fitness trackers that pair with iPhones?” Fitbit Zip is ranked 8th while Fitbit Versa is ranked 19th. The most important reason people chose Fitbit Zip is:
The Zip keeps you motivated through friendly competition. Along with giving you a rank among your friends, you can also cheer them on or taunt them.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Social component to help keep you motivated
The Zip keeps you motivated through friendly competition. Along with giving you a rank among your friends, you can also cheer them on or taunt them.
Pro Easy to hide under your clothes
The Fitbit Zip fitness tracker is very small, so you can easily wear it somewhere that it will be hidden (belt, pocket, bra strap, etc.). Unlike most trackers which have wrist bands, you don't have to worry about trying to make it blend in with what you're wearing.
Pro Fitbit app lets you track a variety of health-related stats
The app doesn't only display the stats from your device, it also lets you track a variety of different health-related stats by entering them manually. You can log your food for the day, how you slept, activity, weight, and more.
Pro Automatic synching that's easy to setup
The Fitbit Zip fitness tracker wirelessly syncs with both PC and smartphones via the Fitbit app. After getting it set up you don't even think about syncing, it's just automatic.
Pro Provides a great blend of design, quality and comfort
Since the Fitbit Versa is light, flat and waterproof, it’s comfortable to wear all the time – while sleeping, showering, working out or in your everyday life. The LCD screen is made of guerilla glass, which ensures scratch protection and durability for active use. The Fitbit Versa has a clear and bright display, making it easily visible both underwater and in direct sunlight.
Even though the watch’s UI is already designed to give users easy access to everything, the three buttons on the watch can be customizable for shortcuts and commands.
The visual design might not suit everyone, and it might seem cheap and childish to some, but customizability and comfort outweigh this con. The app store offers many watch faces, so you can find whichever suits you best.
Pro Tracks a comprehensive amount of health and fitness data
Fitbit Versa offers all-day heart rate tracking, reminders to move, guided breathing sessions, 15+ exercise modes, sleep tracking, female health tracking and subscription-based on-screen workout sessions, all of which is traced and displayed on the Fitbit app. Although the watch does not have built-in GPS tracking, it can easily be connected to your smartphone in a 30 ft range for accurate tracking of speed and distance.
Pro Long-lasting battery life
The battery life of the Fitbit Versa varies between 3 and 6 days depending on use and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings. This also means that you usually don’t have to worry about charging your watch at night and you can properly use the “Sleep tracking & stages” feature. Regarding the charging itself, it takes only two hours to get from 0% to a fully charged battery.
Cons
Con Lacking many of the features that fitness trackers often offer
The Fitbit Zip only tracks distance, steps, and calories burned. It's basically a pedometer with a smart tracking platform you can use for manually tracking the rest of your day. It can't tell you stairs climbed or heart rate, and there is no alarm, sleep tracking, or GPS.
Con Issues with the battery not working
The contacts in the device are very sensitive. If you don't place the battery in just right, it will only work for a short period of time before the battery needs to be readjusted or replaced.
Even when following instructions provided by the company, some people report that still can't get it working properly. The battery may end up lasting days instead of the promised 4-6 months.
You can see how to properly change the battery here.
Con Easy to lose
The tiny size of the Fitbit Zip makes it very easy to lose track of.
Rather than a wrist watch like many other trackers, it only has a slide on clip. The clip is fairly secure for normal activity, but you may knock the tracker off without realizing it.
Con Lacks a rechargeable battery
The Fitbit Zip fitness tracker runs on a 3-volt lithium-ion battery that lasts between 4 and 6 months. It requires getting a new battery every time it runs out of charge.
Con Setting up music is a hassle
The watch offers 300+ song internal storage, but transferring songs takes a long while and it's different for everyone. On this forum post a user has said that it took 7 hours to upload ~5.5 hours of music on their Fitbit, but another has reported that it took 9 hours to sync 9 hours of audio. There are many posts on the official Fitbit community forum referring to this problem.
In terms of streaming, the app store only offers Pandora and Deezer as of now.
Con Relatively small app library
Since Fitbit is a relatively new arrival in the smartwatch scene and has a smaller community, its app store offers only a fraction of what other competitors can provide in the third-party app and integration field.
The app store itself is not perfect – some apps and watch faces offer trial versions and need payment for full-time use, which is not always disclosed at first.