Fitbit announces Versa Lite, Inspire HR, and Inspire: User-friendly fitness trackers to help you achieve your goals

The Fitbit Versa, see our full review, is one of the most popular fitness watches available today. The wearables category continues to grow with companies like Fitbit, Apple, Garmin, and Samsung leading the way.

The new Inspire and Inspire HR also provide advanced life tracking in a sleek form factor at affordable prices. With these new products in the Fitbit line, everyone should be able to measure and understand their daily life with guidance on how to improve your health, lifestyle, and productivity.

Fitbit Versa Lite

While I use GPS-enabled smartwatches or sports watches, my oldest daughter loves the Fitbit Versa. The new Versa Lite will be available for $159.95, $40 less than the Versa. For this $40 savings, Fitbit removed the altimeter for measuring floors climbed, removed lap tracking for swimming sessions, took out the onboard music support, and removed Fitbit Coach on-screen workouts.

The Versa Lite is still a very capable fitness watch with a 4+ day battery life, 24/7 heart rate monitor, 50m water resistance, female health tracking, smartphone connectivity, goal-based exercise modes, and connected GPS support. There are new colors available with the construction still being anodized aluminum and Gorilla Glass 3.

Colors of the Versa Lite include silver aluminum with a white band, silver aluminum with a lilac band, mulberry watch and band, and marine blue watch and band. The classic, premium Horween leather, stainless steel link, stainless steel mesh, and woven hybrid bands fit the Versa Lite, Versa, and Versa Special Edition watches.

Also: Fitbit Charge 3 review: Comfortable activity tracker backed by a powerful fitness platform

There are two buttons on the right side and one on the left of the Fitbit Versa while a single button is positioned on the left side is used on the Versa Lite. The display is a touch screen so you use touch in addition to the button to navigate the new Versa Lite.

James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit, stated:

Since founding Fitbit almost 12 years ago, we've focused on making health fun and achievable for everyone – regardless of fitness level or goals. Today we have a growing, supportive community of more than 27 million active users around the world who are getting more active, sleeping better, reducing stress, managing weight and getting healthier from being 'on Fitbit,' which is a testament to the power of our platform and our consistent innovation across our devices, software features and mobile app experience.

Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR

The Fitbit Inspire will be available for $69.95 with the Inspire HR priced at $99.95. The heart rate monitor on the Inspire HR adds 24/7 heart rate tracking, heart rate zones, a cardio fitness level score, sleep stages with REM, connected GPS, more than 15 goal-based exercise modes, and guided breathing sessions.

Both versions of the Fitbit Inspire offer all-day activity tracking, a water resistance up to 50m, up to five days of battery life, female health tracking, SmartTrack exercise recognition, smartphone notifications, move reminders, and an OLED touchscreen panel for navigation and control.

Also: Fitbit Versa review: Finally, a smartwatch that can make Fitbit proud

The Inspire comes in black or sangria with the Inspire HR in black, white/black, and lilac. Bands are available from $19.95 to $69.96 in print, classic, stainless steel mesh, Horween leather (single or double wrap), and even as a clip for the Inspire. It's been many years since I wore a Fitbit clip, but it's nice to see this as an option for the Inspire. A clip might be useful during athletics where a band is not allowed.

While these three are fully functional advanced fitness trackers, I'm a runner who often runs without a phone so will be looking to a future successor to the Fitbit Ionic. In the meantime, I'll be testing and posting reviews of these two over the next few weeks. Let me know if you have specific questions related to either device.

Fitbit announces Versa Lite, Inspire HR, and Inspire: in pictures

According to Fitbit, "The Fitbit app will soon receive a major redesign, giving users more ways to personalize their health journey on Fitbit. The new design will make it easier to view and understand their health and fitness stats, log data, discover new content, see their progress in Challenges, and better connect with Fitbit's large global health and fitness social community. The update also adds Fitbit Focus, a new section found at the top of the dashboard that delivers relevant insights, messages and tips to keep users engaged, informed and motivated."

Fitbit and Solera partnership

While I am a believer in tracking your health data and using it to help achieve goals, Fitbit and Solera have proven this through an analysis of people who enrolled in a Diabetes Prevention Program through Solera's network. Among 1,700 participants, those who redeemed a Fitbit device were more active and lost more weight during the program than those who did not. All Solera DPP participants, including Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, now have access to a Fitbit Inspire or Inspire HR.

Fitbit stated, "Type 2 diabetes affects more than 30 million American adults and costs the U.S. approximately $327 billion annually in direct medical expenses and lost productivity. Yet, the onset of disease can be delayed – or even prevented – among the 84 million U.S. adults at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Research has shown that people with pre-diabetes who lost five percent of their body weight through healthier eating and 150 minutes of activity per week cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes in half."