The Sense 2 and Versa 4 smartwatches are already available to purchase from the Fitbit and Google online stores, but do the new wearables ship with Google Assistant considering they are technically Google products? Smart Assistants are no longer limited to just smartphones and are now commonplace on tablets, laptops, and TVs. There are also several smartwatches that come with a built-in voice assistant.
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 series come with the Bixby voice assistant out of the box, but users can also set up the Google Assistant on these devices. The Apple Watch has Siri built-in, and a handful of Amazfit and Xiaomi smartwatches come with Amazon's Alexa pre-installed. These voice assistants allow users to control their watch or other connected devices with their voice. Users can also ask questions, set reminders, or set an alarm.
Fitbit's smartwatches have support for voice assistants, and the Sense 2 and Versa 4 are no different. However, the new wearables only support Alexa and not Google Assistant, despite being Google products. This comes as a surprise considering their predecessors, the Sense and Versa 3, support both Alexa and Google Assistant. Fitbit didn't reveal why this feature isn't available, but the spec sheet clearly mentions only Amazon's voice assistant. However, there is a chance Google Assistant may eventually come to the two smartwatches.
Google Assistant Could Be Available Later
When the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 were announced in August 2020, they only supported Alexa. However, Fitbit announced that Google Assistant would be available for the two wearables later that year. While Fitbit has made no such announcement yet regarding the Sense 2 and Versa 4, it could pull off a similar move for its new smartwatches. Fitbit has already announced that Google Maps and Google Wallet will be coming to the two watches, so more Google apps and services could be added in the future.
Until then, users can make do with Alexa, although the assistant is only available in certain languages and select countries. Setting up Alexa is easy if the user is in a supported region. Open the Fitbit app, tap on the profile picture, and tap 'Voice Assistant.' Select 'Amazon Alexa' and tap 'Sign in with Amazon.' Tap 'Get Started' and log in with an Amazon account or create one. Follow the rest of the steps to complete the process. To use Alexa, open the Alexa app on the watch and provide a voice command. For Alexa to work, the Fitbit app must be running in the background on the connected phone.