Interactions with the watch are now largely relegated to the touchscreen, but there’s a small dip where the left-hand home button used to be, which can now be squeezed to perform the same action. Sporting the same rounded edges and boxy aesthetic we’ve come to expect, the Versa 3 doesn’t change things all that much – but it has done away with any and all physical buttons. For those accustomed to those aforementioned modern designs, the Versa 3 might feel a tad retro, but that’s exactly the reason I enjoy wearing it.

However, the Versa series has always presented something a little more quirky – a design that arguably harks back to the classic smartwatch of a bygone era, the Pebble Time.

Nowadays, smartwatch design has branched off into one of two camps: the Apple-inspired rectangle or the traditional rounded circle. Since this new souped-up Versa still plans to retail at just £199, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have my attention as much as the Fitbit Sense – at the very least to see just how much the device could shake up the marketplace for mid-range fitness trackers. In particular, the latter device has managed take on a bounty of upgrades whilst maintaining the affordable price of its predecessor. With the recently released Fitbit Sense, and now the Fitbit Versa 3, it appears as though Fitbit has managed to turn its luck around. While the Fitbit Charge series has gone from strength to strength, the Fitbit Ionic never really took off as the great Apple Watch alternative it intended to be – and 2019’s Fitbit Versa 2, despite being just shy of £200, failed to deliver key features such as built-in GPS tracking.

Despite the company’s enviable brand recognition, Fitbit has struggled to deliver a consistently stellar user experience across its various devices over the past few years. Of the few positives that can be obtained from looking back at 2020, it can definitely be said that the year presented a great course correction for Fitbit. After dropping the ball with 2019’s miserly updates, Fitbit is back with the next device in its most popular series of wearables – and with the upgrades we’ve been waiting for – in the Fitbit Versa 3.

Download versa 3 black aluminum pebble