Fitbit’s Versa is the first of the company’s smartwatches that women will actually want to wear. A newly added suite of female health-tracking features lets Fitbit double down on that appeal.
Period-tracking functionality, which Fitbit previewed at the Versa’s launch back in March, will be available starting today (May 7) for Versa and Ionic owners and any woman-identified Fitbit app user.
In the Fitbit app, the new features are tucked behind a new female health-tracking tile in the dashboard. From there, you can log your cycles and symptoms, including flow intensity, fluids and period-related conditions (like cramps and acne). Fitbit’s dashboard presents your cycles as in a calendar view with predicted periods highlighted in fuschia and windows of fertility marked by light blue.
After logging periods for two months, you’ll be able to see trends. Fitbit’s goal is to analyze your periods, exercise habits, heart rate, sleep, and weight trends to show how all of your health metrics are connected. The more periods you log, the deeper the insights Fitbit will be able to offer.
MORE: Best Smartwatches
All Fitbit users will have access to these new features, but Versa and Ionic owners will be able to see that information on their watch faces. For instance, Fitbit will alert you on your wrist when your period is about to begin so you won’t be caught off-guard. (Fitbit app users will be able to see similar notifications on their phones.)
Fitbit is working with third-party health apps to let you track more than just your period on your Versa smartwatch. Diabetes management platform OneDrop developed a new clock face for Fitbit’s smartwatches so you can see your blood glucose levels displayed on your wrist. The Ionic and Versa don’t actually take blood glucose readings, but that information is synced from OneDrop's device to your Fitbit so you can view the data as part of an overview of your daily stats. Dexcom's continuous blood glucose-monitoring device will also sync readings to Fitbit's smartwatches in the later half of this year.
Other new health apps that are rolling out to the Versa and Ionic later this summer include Diplomat Pharmacy, which reminds cancer patients when to take their medications, and Sickweather, a clock face that shows you which contagious illnesses are spreading in your area.
The Fitbit Versa also becomes a more capable smartwatch for Android users with Quick Replies, a feature announced at launch and rolling out today. When you receive an SMS text or a message on an app like Facebook Messenger, now you’ll be able to respond to it using a prewritten response or an emoji.
Before Quick Replies, you could view messages on your watch but weren’t able to respond to them. Fitbit has created five replies to choose from — “Yes,” “No,” “Sounds good!,” “Can’t talk now, will reply later” and “What’s up?” You can also draft your own custom 60-character responses in the Fitbit app under Notifications > Quick Replies and save up to five replies per messaging app.
If you use WhatsApp for family and Facebook Messenger for friends, you may need different custom responses for each audience. You can also use Quick Replies to respond to messages from WeChat, Twitter and Line.
Fitbit’s new features roll out today as part of an over-the-air app update. I plan to test them out and update our Fitbit Versa review with my impressions.
Image Credits: Tom's Guide
