Today we are comparing the Ticwatch S and the Fitbit Versa. Both watches are cross-platform and offer different features. Let’s take a look at them both.
Check them out:
Ticwatch S: http://jer.fyi/ticwatchs
Fitbit Versa: http://jer.fyi/fitbitversa
Video Transcript:
Hey what’s up, it’s Jerad with State of Tech and today we’re looking at the Fitbit Versa and the Ticwatch S. Both of these watches are $200 dollars currently, very well priced and they both provide a lot of value for the money. So let’s talk about the difference between the two because I have done a full review of the Ticwatch S and I’ve done a full review of the Fitbit Versa, so if you’ve checked out those videos, or maybe you haven’t yet, if you want a more in-depth look at both of these watches individually, definitely check out those videos, subscribing to our channel here gets you notified when those videos come out and so definitely make sure to do that.
So these watches are the same price essentially right now at the time that I’m feeling this. They’re both $200 dollar watches, $199.95. So what’s the difference between the two and why would you choose one versus the other? So the Fitbit Versa is first and foremost a Fitbit. A Fitbit is definitely more activity tracking essential with all of the built-in features and stuff like that for active lifestyles whereas the Ticwatch S, the sport edition I think is what they probably would call it definitely also fits that bill, with this watch having GPS, having a nice beautiful display, being a wear OS watch, meaning that it has the ability to install apps and stuff straight from Android and all of those additional features. That’s also got that going for it. I mean, it’s fantastic. So where do these watches differ?
Well besides the style, you can see here that the Ticwatch is significantly larger than the Fitbit Versa, you know a lot bigger display. The Fitbit Versa has a nice display, but it’s relatively small and square. The Fitbit Versa has several buttons. The Ticwatch only has one, but the Ticwatch is also completely different, so let’s talk about where those differences lie, so Fitbit, you’re gonna get you know a lot of what Fitbit has done in their previous watch in the Fitbit Versa. I go into detail into those things with like the smart coaching and all that stuff in the review, so make sure to check that out. The watch itself here has a four-day battery life. I’ve definitely been able to get near four days of battery life out of the Versa which is actually pretty cool considering the fact that the Versa is tracking your heart rate at all times, so even as you wear it 24 hours a day during your waking hours, while you’re at the gym, while you’re sleeping, it’s tracking your sleep data. It’s tracking your fitness movement throughout the day, all of that stuff, so it’s just, it’s doing a great job at that.
So, it also has notifications that you can get from your phone. Primarily your phone calls and your text messages, but some other notifications like calendars and stuff like that will pop up on the Fitbit Versa, so the Fitbit Versa gives you a live update of your heart rate. You also have your steps, your calories burned. You can sync music over to it. It has an alarm clock built in to wake you up with nice vibration in the morning. The live coaching that you can use for going out and just keeping yourself motivated during a run or maybe you know a little ten-minute ab session. There are some cool features there. Where over here with the Ticwatch, you’re getting more of that standard Android experience, that Android watch or wear OS by Google is what they’re calling it now experience you can install apps on it. So this watch also is GPS. It has GPS in it, so when you’re out running, you don’t necessarily have to have a phone with you, whereas with the Fitbit Versa you do in order for it to give you more accurate tracking of your route wherever you’re running or bike riding or anything like that. The Versa isn’t going to do a good job of tracking that without having some form of cellular connection.
This watch doesn’t have a cellular connection, but it does have GPS, so it can track all of that while you are moving about without having a phone, however it doesn’t have an LTE chip in it so if you’re wanting to stream music or do anything like that, it will require its own internet connection or to be connected to your phone or you can use the four gigabytes of internal space to transfer music to it and then connect Bluetooth to some headphones. The Fitbit Versa also allows for blue tooth connection to headphones. Of course with the Android experience over here, the Wear OS experience, you’re able to transfer other apps like you know having your Starbucks card on your watch … have I guess you could do that too on your Fitbit Versa, there’s a Starbucks App, but there isn’t a whole lot, yep there is a Starbucks app, but there isn’t a whole lot of other apps available for the Versa.
I can get an Uber with this Ticwatch S. I can check my stocks on the Robin hood app. There are just a lot more apps that are available here. It’s also integrated with Google Fit and it’s awesome because regardless of whether or not you’re using this watch with an iPhone or Android, it’s still gonna track your data over to Google Fit which is great. Also, the app itself for the Ticwatch will allow you to connect your data, if you’re using an iPhone, to your health app on your iPhone as well. Pretty fantastic. So the main differences there is pretty much the experience of the device which is a huge part of it. You’re getting more of a smart device I guess you would say here whereas, with the Fitbit Versa, you’re getting more of a smart tracker, an enhanced fitness tracking device with some additional features. Fitbit is still early on in building smart devices. They have taken the approach of taking, of doing what they do really well and adding in smart features to that using their own operating system that they developed here, whereas with the Ticwatch you’re getting the Google experience with the Android Wear or Wear OS experience, so it’s just gonna be a different all around experience here and with this watch, you’re definitely gonna get a lot less battery life.
This watch struggles to get me a full 24 hours. It will get me through a day, but going 24 hours and if I had to rely on using the GPS for fitness tracking, that’s definitely gonna eat into the battery life too, it would … fitness tracking would eat into the battery life of the Fitbit Versa as well, but you’re still gonna get a lot better battery life out of the Versa. So who chooses what? Like when it comes down to it, why would you choose one versus the other. Well, you would definitely choose Fitbit Versa if you were looking for a watch that also was an amazing fitness tracker. Yes, it had a few extra features, but really what you’re looking for is just a better Fitbit experience. Maybe you’ve had a Fitbit in the past and you just want something with a clock on it, something with a really good, heart rate monitor on it. That’s definitely what the Fitbit Versa is going to be.
If you’re wanting more of a smart device experience, a smartwatch experience, you’re probably gonna wanna go with the Ticwatch S here. The Ticwatch S has a more standard watch design. It has complications on the screen. It has just a lot more to offer. Of course, you can use any third party watch face on it, so you customize this watch till you’re blue in the face. There are lots of options here. Both watches are pretty well water resistant. You’re gonna be able to swim with them. The Fitbit Versa is up to 50 meters it says. The Ticwatch S is IP-67 certified and so while you can swim with it, I wouldn’t go diving too deep with the Ticwatch S, but none the less, it’s gonna handle your sweaty days, your runs in the rain and stuff like that without any problem.
So what do you prefer? Do you … have you had both? Have you had one or the other? Have you had a Fitbit kind of device and an Android Wear or a Wear OS type of device? What all around is, has been your experiences? I’d love to hear that in the comments section. If you haven’t had any experiences yet, tell me what’s important to you in the comments section in a smart device. Is it apps, the availability of apps so that you can install more stuff and do more with your watch or is it better fitness tracking, better ability to use this device as something that adds to your fitness experience? What’s most important to you? Let me know down in the comments section below. So with that said, definitely check out our Instagram as well at State of Tech. I’ve got some photos here of both of these devices and our website also has side by side specs for you to check out at state of tech dot net, so make sure to do that and if you have not already, subscribe to our channel here on YouTube, so you can get updated when we put out new videos. So with that said, until next time, my name’s Jerad and I hope that you enjoyed this video. Give it a thumbs up if you did and we’ll see you back here soon at State of Tech.
